Rawlings who ruled Ghana from 1981 to 2001, died from COVID-19 complications on Thursday, November 12, 2020. He was 73 years of age.

Rawlings ruled as a military president until 1992, and then served two terms as the democratically elected president of Ghana.

A flight lieutenant of the Ghanaian Air Force, Rawlings first staged a military coup as a young revolutionary on May 15, 1979, five weeks before elections were due to hold.

Rawlings' coup failed. Which meant he was immediately jailed, publicly court-martialed and sentenced to death.

After initially handing over power to a civilian government, he took back control of the country on 31 December 1981 as the chairman of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC).

He resigned from the military, founded the National Democratic Congress (NDC), and became the first president of the Ghanaian Fourth Republic.

He was re-elected in 1996 for four more years. After a constitutionally permissible two terms in office, Rawlings endorsed his Vice President John Atta Mills as presidential candidate in 2000.

He is credited with paving the way for Ghana's political and economic revival after doing away with the soldiers who held back the west African nation; and for laying the blueprint for modern day Ghana.

"President Buhari sends heartfelt condolences to the government and people of Ghana over the passing of the country’s former President, Jerry Rawlings, 73, affirming that the entire African continent will sorely miss the sterling qualities of the great leader," the presidency said in a statement.

"President Buhari believes the passion, discipline and moral strength that the former Ghanaian leader employed to reposition his country over many years continue to reverberate across the continent and beyond.

"The president notes, with commendation, the unique role the former president played in strengthening political institutions in his country and Africa, stimulating the economy for sustainable growth and vociferously championing the African cause by urging many leaders to work towards interdependency on the global stage, especially in areas of competitive advantage.

"President Buhari joins family, friends and associates of the former Ghanaian leader in mourning his departure, assuring that the ideas that Rawlings postulated, particularly for development in Africa, and his sacrifices in working in various countries as an envoy for peace and democracy will always be remembered."