Paynesville -The keynote speaker of the 14th graduation exercise of the Seventh Day Adventist School System in Paynesville has put the blame on the government for the poor living conditions of the Liberians.
Cllr. Bobby Livingstone says “Liberians do not deserve the current economic hardship in the country”.
He made the statement over the weekend when he served as keynote speaker of the 14th graduation exercise of the SDA School at the ELWA Junction in Paynesville.
“Fellow compatriots, this is a special moment that comes at a time when we as a country faces crunching difficulties and where doubts are on the increase as to where we are headed as a country,” said Livingston, who is also the secretary general of the Liberia National bar Association.
“Considering the all that is unfolding in Liberia today, I say to you that uncertainty looms more that ever before as to which path our country is taking.”
Livingstone said Liberia has become a country where violence, lawlessness and the frequent violation of laws are the order of the day.
He named lawlessness, corruption, bad governance, economic hardship as factors responsible for the 14 years of civil war that took place in the country.
“Only a country that wants to retrogress will travel on the path of lawlessness and flagrant disregard for the rule of law. Some of the things that held us for tool long include: public official stealing public money and go with impunity when they should be behind bars for theft,” he noted.
Livingstone also said the country has turned into a country where qualify and professional people have been subjected to humiliation and tortured at job sites at the hands of party loyalists.
Speaking further, the keynote speaker also admonished the graduates to be an agent of generation change.
“Liberia has become a country where competent are making way for the incompetent and where education is mocked and being to bow to for illiteracy to triumph, it is a pity
“We need to rise up to the occasion that this should not be permitted to happen in this country. We should be graduates that will transform Liberia.”
Livingstone stated that the current education system needs to be treated as a national emergency, emphasizing that education is a critical engine to the development of any nation.
He also urged the graduates to be steadfast to write the wrongs of society and contribute to the development of the country.
“Graduates, this is the time for the truth to be told to power, otherwise, the emperor may just have no clothes on. A wrong way in which people are being awarded and given accolades for doing nothing or for doing the wrong thing,” Livingstone added.
For his part, the Principal of the Paynesville SDA High School, Dickson K. Yorkor admonished the out-going seniors to be good ambassadors by replicating the values and virtues that characterized their period of study.
He said Liberia needs competent young men and women to harbor the helm of national and institutional leadership.
“Those virtues should be audible in your speeches and visible in your behaviors and manner dress. When you subscribe to these values, the light of Adventism will be kept alive, which is paramount our belief,” Principal Yorkor added.
Delivering the valedictory address, student Edwin Zordyou challenged his fellow graduates to believe in themselves in order to fulfill their dreams.
“It doesn’t matter how high you rise, at times you bounce and stumble because you are constantly pushing yourself high. There is no such thing as failure, failure just enlightens you to move on to another direction,” Zordyou said.