Rawlings said there were attempts by the intelligence agencies in Ghana and the West to force him to leave the country after the handing over.

He said they even threatened to bury him alive when his refused to heed their call to leave the country.

Rawlings made the revelation during an address at the 75th-anniversary celebration of the formation of the Mine Workers Union in Ghana.

“After my handover to Limann’s government in 1979, there were many by the intelligence machinery in the collaboration with the Western Embassies to persuade me to leave the country as they had done with the other colleagues,” the NDC founder said.

“My refusal to do so unleashed an avalanche of fabrications designed to assassinate my character as a prelude to my physical elimination. The Western Intelligence machinery threatened to bury me alive and they very nearly succeeded.”

Rawlings was part of two separate coups staged by the military, before being democratically elected as Ghana’s President in 1992.

He first led a coup d’etat in 1979 to overthrow General F. K. Akuffo of the Supreme Military Council II, before staging another against President Hilla Limann of the People’s National Party in 1981.

Rawlings explained that the coup of June 4, 1979 was necessitated by the need to bring an end to the corruption, rot and abuse of power that had taken over the country.