A senior lecturer at the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana, Prof. Ransford Yaw Gyampo, has shockingly revealed he was scared of meeting Jerry John Rawling.

The comment was contained in Prof Gyampo's eulogy to the former President of Ghana hours after he passed on at the Kole Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra on Thursday.

According to the UG professor, he feared for his life meeting the retired military ruler for the first time since he [Gyampo] severely criticised him during Prof John Evans Attah Mills' era as President of Ghana.

He recounted meeting Mr. Rawlings in a face to face interview at his residence following his research dubbed 'Democratic Devolution'.

Prof. Gyampo however, disclosed that contrary to what he had long propagated on his mind, his meeting with Mr. Rawlings was characterised with a smile.

"Two years ago, I had the privilege of joining a group of researchers to go interview him at his residence. When we got there, we realized he wasn’t well and wanted to reschedule. But he insisted on talking to us until his doctors showed up. He was a man who could endure pain and smile.

"I criticized him on several occasions when Prof Mills was President. I was therefore scared for my life when my research on Democratic Devolution, forced me to go meet him face to face in his house. But he only smiled, when I introduced myself." he eulogised.

Meanwhile, Prof. Gyampo has recommended a Kevin Shillington book titled “Ghana and the Rawlings Factor, 1992”, to the general public just so they could appreciate Mr Rawlings' "enigmatic persona".

"If you ask me to talk about Rawlings, I won’t know where to start, how to start, where to end and how to end. Just read “Ghana and the Rawlings Factor, 1992” by Kevin Shillington to appreciate his enigmatic persona." a devastated Yaw Gyampo said.