THE SYMBOLISM AND IRONY were all on display in Liberia last week when Senegalese-American singer, rapper, songwriter, businessman, record producer and actor, Akon dropped by to embark on his campaigning for education and solar energy projects, two badly needed sectors complicating Liberia’s transition from war to peace.
IN LIBERIA, AKON whose real name is Aliaume Damala Badara Thiam, used his stop in Liberia to discuss and interact with parents and students about the importance of quality of education, using his own life story as a shining example of what youngsters can achieve if the setting and their environment provides them the opportunity to flourish.
“Everyone here can’t be shipped on to the U.S. or to Europe for education. The education in Africa, believe it or not, is ten times better. The only thing we need is proper facilities for our children to learn in and a comfortable environment for them to be able to teach”, he said.
WHILE MANY have embraced the entertainer’s initiative, his welcome in Liberia, a nation badly in need of consistent electricity and an aggressive education reform appeared to have been eclipsed by scores of officials more concerned about getting selfies with the star and posting on Facebook than actually working toward achieving those important goals on both ends.
THE ENTERTAINER WHO endorsed Liberia’s controversial plan to outsource oversight of its primary education system to Bridge International Academies did not shy away from the realities.
ELECTRICITY IS A MAJOR part of Liberia’s post-war survival. While 80% of the world’s population has access to electricity, only 30% of the African population enjoys this benefit. In Liberia, very few homes and business have access to electricity. Many have to rely on petrol and fuel-run generators.
EQUALLY IMPORTANT IS the education sector which was described as “a mess” by President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf after all 25,000 students failed the entrance exams for the University of Liberia a few years ago.
WITH LIBERIA NEEDING all the help it can get and the courage, fortitude and political will of leaders to achieve these burning goals, it is sad that those tasked with the responsibilities of ensuring that the education sector is improved or electricity is provided throughout the length and breadth of Liberia are the very ones holding back the country’s progress.
DOES LIBERIA REALLY need a singer, rapper and businessman to come in and tell them Africa’s oldest republic that electricity and education are important?
CERTAINLY NOT! But such are the times we find ourselves when officials are more concerned with associating with celebrities than actually working with lawmakers and their own agencies to push for the basic necessities of life badly lacking in Liberia today.
AFTER MORE THAN a decade of war and on the eve of a major and the most important elections in 2017, it pains us that those at the helm of power tasked with responsibilities simply are not getting it.
PUTTING COUNTRY BEFORE SELF has and continues to remain a difficult task for many. Not a day goes by without reports surfacing about how one official after the next have been hogging projects key to improving livelihood and the welfare of Liberians.
DID LIBERIA REALLY need Akon’s presence to hit home the point? We certainly don’t think so. What Liberia needs are sincere-minded people in positions that can make a difference and change the outlook of things to come, step up to the plate and stand and deliver when it counts.
WE HOPE that now that Akon has left the building, his initiative will hit home and simply not fall in the dustbins alongside other great ideas, suggestions and assistance that have come Liberia’s way. If we cannot see our potential and seize the moment to make life better for those languishing at the bottom of the economic ladder, then we might as well kiss our existence good bye. No one, not Akon, not any super power can change our outlook.
ONLY LIBERIA can save itself from oblivion. But it begins and ends with those in positions of power. Standing idly by for the president’s presence to act will not cut it; neither is waiting in the wings for the next celebrate to come popping by.
A HINT TO THE WISE!
