FLASHBACK: How JJ Rawlings got his infamous 'Junior Jesus' nickname

Jerry John Rawlings is dead and long buried but his significance and the stories about the man continue to excite and interest many people.

For quite a number of people at the time, Jerry John Rawlings had saved the country from a time of many wrongs, including corruption.

In effect, ‘Junior Jesus’ only stood for the same name as JJ, although that acronym actually stands for Jerry John.

Dela Coffie explained in a 2021 interview that Rawlings’ coming in at the time was to help get the people of Ghana out of what was an unjustifiable economic crisis in the country.

Dela Coffie was also of the view that Jerry John Rawlings’ 1979 coup redeemed Ghanaians from such hardships, bringing them relief.

He also explained that because of this, the people put their trust in his leadership and forthrightness, adding that it was for such a milestone in the country's restoration that he was nicknamed the 'Junior Jesus', while others simply called him the 'savior.'.

Jerry John Rawlings went on to become Ghana’s first elected democratic leader in the fourth republic, before he handed over power to John Agyekum Kufuor in 2001