Gbarnga, Bong County — The Secretary-General of the Council of Patriots (COP), Mulbah K. Yorgbor, Jr, has called on the youth to reject politicians who instigate them to engage in violence before, during or after elections.
By Selma Lomax, [email protected]
Yorgbor observed that some politicians and opinion leaders in Liberia who ought to be counseling the youth against violence were fuelling conflicts and unrest in parts of the country.
“They are not in for your good, they are only after their selfish gains, don’t have anything to do with them,” he said.
The COP Secretary-General made the call Saturday in Gbarnga during an interactive forum with youth. The invite extended Yorgbor, according to the head of the Bong Youth Social and Athletic Club, Sheick Sheriff, was to sensitize the youth in Gbarnga to reflect on the bad influence of some politicians and opinion leaders in Liberia.
Yorgbor said the time has come for every community to discuss, analyse and speak against such leaders no matter what they offered them with.
“Such leaders remain the beneficiaries of conflicts and unfortunately, they don’t have any feeling of regret”, he said.
He noted that since the youth and women were in the majority, they could always change the political orientation and the socio-political conditions of the nation by critically assessing political candidates and their capabilities.
Yorgbor urged the youth to be concerned with the development of their communities and hold their leaders accountable as that was the only way to prevent such leaders from taking them for granted.
Youth need to put aside petty political differences and fight for the common good and this can only be done by resisting political elites at the expense of the country’s cohesion and development, Yorgbor said.
He expressed concern over the continuous manipulation by “greedy politicians” at a time the government has failed to deliver on Its electoral promises.
“The COP is deeply concerned over the continued manipulation of youth by rowdy politicians at a time when the government has failed to deliver on its core obligations to revive the economy and create jobs for thousands of youth who have been the biggest casualties of a failed economy,” he said.
Yorgbor added: “Since the ascendency of President George Weah in 2017, the country has witnessed a growing trend of cases of political violence perpetrated by youth and this is a genuine cause of concern.”
The COP Secretary General said it’s very much concerning that instead of improving the livelihoods of young people, those at the echelons of power have turned youth into a weapon to entrench their stay into political offices or fight perceived or unknown enemies.
COP to establish chapter in Bong
Yorgbor disclosed that plans were underway to establish a COP chapter in Bong County as was done in the case with Grand Cape Mount County. “Very soon the COP Bong County chapter will be established. We are encouraging those interested in becoming members of COP to get ready as the process to establish our Bong County chapter was underway. Grand Cape Mount is the first county outside Monsterrado to the COP chapter was established. And gradually we will establish COP chapters in all the counties,” he said.