Former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, has taken on Prof. Kwamena Ahwoi over his narration of an incident which occurred at a commissioning ceremony at Ada in the Greater Accra Region in his controversial book, ‘Working with Rawlings’.
In an interview on Accra-based Asaase Radio, the former First Lady asserted that the narration by Prof. Ahwoi is speculative and imaginative and not based on facts.
While dismissing the narration of the incident as contained in the ‘Working with Rawlings’ book, Mrs. Konadu Rawlings stated she hates academics whose academic writings are premised on conjectures rather than established facts. She contends that Prof. Ahwoi should have conducted the necessary research, as is expected of every academic, to establish the facts of the incident before putting pen to paper.
“I hate people who are in the academia and yet write by speculative imagination. You’ve got to do your homework then write because the Afiadenyigba issue has nothing to do with me,” Mrs. Konadu Agyemang Rawlings said.
Professor Kwamena Ahwoi claimed in his book, ‘Working with Rawlings’ that an incident which occurred at Afiadenyigba in the Ada East District of the Greater Accra Region between Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings and Ernestina Naadu Mills, then first lady and second lady respectively, was the main cause of the friction between former President Rawlings and his then vice, Prof. Evans Atta Mills.
According to Prof. Ahwoi, former president Rawlings had summoned him to the seat of government then at the Osu Castle in April 2000 threatening to “disown and disinherit Professor Mills as the NDC’s Presidential Candidate for some ‘insolence’ that Mrs. Mills had shown to his wife, Nana Konadu, at a political event at Afiadenyigba in the Dangme East District of the Greater Accra Region, and which Nana Konadu had reported to him.”
But Mrs. Konadu Rawlings,who insisted the incident had happened before she got to the commissioning ceremony and had nothing to do with her, stated that Mrs. Mills and her convoy had attempted to drive into the event ground contrary to etiquette by the leader of the NDC and then president Rawlings that did not permit government and party officials to drive into functions which had chiefs and people gathered as the vehicles could whip up dust on the gathering.
She added that the police officer present at the event had stopped Mrs. Mills’ convoy from driving into the durbar ground in line with the government’s directive but she got infuriated by the actions of the police and threatened to leave the event which she (Mrs. Rawlings) invited her to be introduced to the people of the area since Mrs. Mills was a native of the area and her husband, Prof. Mills was nominated to succeed Mr. Rawlings as the NDC’s presidential candidate for the 2000 elections.
“I was going to commission some projects and Professor Mills had been nominated as the flagbearer and Mrs. Mills comes from that area so I said let me ask if I can go and introduce her to the chiefs and the Ada community. She agreed to go with me. The day we were going she decided she would go ahead. I got there and there was commotion and it was because the two cars Mrs. Mills had driven into the arena and the policeman had stopped them and said they could not drive further. They should go back so that they would walk (into the event ground) and she (Mrs. Mills) got very upset. The policeman was trying to explain that it was a new regulation but I think it didn’t sit well with her,” she recounted.
On her arrival, she said, she saw the organizers of her 31st December Women’s Movement on their knees pleading with Mrs. Mills while crying.
Amused by the turn of events, Mrs. Rawlings said she enquired and was told what had transpired. Her intervention, she disclosed, resolved the issue and led to Mrs. Mills rescinding her decision to leave the event.
“I was late for whatever was happening there so I got there and I was asking because the organizer for Ada and the regional organizer were on their knees and they were crying. Big ladies crying like that! I said ‘what’s the problem and they explained to me and I said it is ok. I would try and see if I could solve their problem’. That is where my involvement ends,” she added.
