IN THE END, HOUSE SPEAKER ALEX TYLER’S VOW to hang on to his gavel fell prey to increasing wave of defections from those on the opposing end of the aisle who have been advocating, lobbying and urging him to relinquish his hold onto power.
LIKE EDWIN MELVIN SNOWE, the man he succeeded following his ouster under similar eventful turn of events, Mr. Tyler’s resistance to hang on in the wake of a damning report by the London-based watchdog group, Global Witness alleging bribery involving the embattled speaker and Cllr. Varney Sherman, former chair of the ruling Unity Party, spoke volumes.
THE GLOBAL WITNESS exposé uncovered more than US$950,000 in bribes and other suspicious payments by UK mining firm Sable Mining and its Liberian lawyer, Cllr. Varney Sherman, who is also the former head of the ruling Unity Party.
PRESIDENT ELLEN JOHNSON-SIRLEAF set up a Special Task Force to probe a finding which has so far indicted both Mr. Tyler and Cllr. Sherman among others. The report, The Deceivers, shows how in 2010 Sable hired Cllr. Sherman in an effort to secure one of Liberia’s last large mining assets, the Wologizi iron ore concession in northern Liberia.
THE GW REPORT claims that on August 25, 2010, Mr. Tyler received the amount of $US75,000 to help facilitate the concession passage in the lower house.
TYLER’S POSTURE caused a great divide of opposing forces, splitting the lower house right down the middle. But like Snowe before him, the wave of defections put Mr. Tyler’s defense against a changing tide that proved nearly impossible for Mr. Tyler to recover.
THE BEGINNING OF THE END came Thursday as murmurs in the early morning hours of a press conference by Mr. Tyler sparked ricochets of speculations that a decision had been reached.
SENATOR’S SANDO JOHNSON(BOMI) and Dan Morias(Maryland) sought to claim credit in calls in to the Bumper Show Thursday, revealing that a dozen senators had spent the night prior urging Mr. Tyler to throw in the towel.
JUST AROUND MIDDAY Thursday, Mr. Tyler faced the inevitable, telling legislative reporters at a hastily-arranged news conference that he was making the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of Liberia. “If my recusal is the ultimate sacrifices that will move our country forward and end this current quagmire, I am herewith recusing myself from presiding over the plenary of the House of Representatives so that the business of the Liberian people can be fully addressed.”
THE EXECUTIVE MANSION welcomed the news and hoped that the decision would lead to a shift in attention to the body to the work and interest of the Liberian people. “It is noted that the recusal of Honorable Tyler as Speaker of the House of Representatives will now allow the House of Representatives and the National Legislature in general to focus on its constitutional duties for the development of the country,” read a statement from the President’s office.
THE STATEMENT ADDED: “The Executive Mansion acknowledges that the Executive has over the past several years worked with the National Legislature in carrying out its duties for the good of the country and will continue to do so.”
THE EXECUTIVE was quick to point out that the Speaker’s resistance toward the first branch of government came at the behest of the Speaker’s quest for the presidency, pointing out that the collaborative process between the two branches of government had changed after Tyler announced his bid for the Liberian presidency and adopted a non-cooperative posture. “As a result, critical legislations were stalled which had the effect of undermining the country’s development plan. The Executive Mansion notes that it is clear that an indictment is not the presumption of guilt but the start of a legal process, but it also brings into question whether it is right for one so charged to continue to preside over a body which has responsibility for the allocation of resources for the country. The Executive Mansion expects that Honorable Tyler will continue to make contributions to the governance and development of the country and help maintain the peace and stability of Liberia.”
TYLER should have done the right thing by recusing himself the moment he was indicted based on the findings in the report. His resistance and attempt to hang on to power defied wisdom and political convention rarely seen in Liberia’s rugged history.
TYLER’S resistance brought to a halt the workings of the legislature at a time when the national budget remains in limbo.
CHARLES TAYLOR in spite his many missteps realized that it was time for him to step aside when it became clear that Liberians were dying because he was stubbornly hanging on to power.
TYLER’S PREDECESSOR, Edwin Melvin Snowe, in 2007 had a stronger case to fight on but he too, saw the illogic wisdom of a futile fight that was only bound to lead to more problems for a country emerging from war.
LIBERIA HAS HAD enough, Liberians deserve better and we all must muster the courage to do the right thing when it matters.
ON THURSDAY, Mr. Tyler did just, a little too late but better late than never. We only hope that his demise would spur a rejuvenated effort by the legislative body to do the right thing for Liberia and Liberians, particularly those languishing at the bottom of the economic ladder.