Ganta, Nimba County- Friday’s eerie appearance of the ever-bustling city of Ganta in Nimba County can probably be associated with the success of Friday, June 7, #SavetheState protest.
Report by Franklin Doloquee/Nimba
Economic activities were virtually shut down as peaceful protesters assembled on Capitol Hill, the meeting point for the protesters. This is maybe understandable for Monrovia, which was the main center of attraction for the protest and not far places like Ganta, which lies on the border with the Republic of Guinea.
Normal activities in Ganta, which is referred to as the “City that never sleeps” came to a standstill due to the on-going protest in the country.
The Council of Patriots, organizers of June 7 protest, didn’t call for a nationwide protest. But, it seems their fellow Liberians who are equally feeling hardship of the economy heard them several hundreds of kilometers away from Monrovia and decided to join them in their struggle.
According to our Nimba County correspondent, Ganta’s main streets, which are very busy 24/7 became very deserted. The government did all it could to thwart the protest by telling other Liberians to go about their normal businesses, including going to sell their goods.
However, those traders didn’t listen to them. They sided with COP; eventually, the left the market places empty. This is also in the very busy Vai Town and Waterside markets in Monrovia.
Most of the moving around in Ganta is done by motorbike but on Thursday, there only very few on the roads.
Emmanuel Doe and Jackson Paye, two motor cyclists, told our correspondent that they were on-able to run their normal activities because everyone preferred staying home.
Our correspondent, however, met few women in the market selling fish. They told him that they should have been they known. According to them, they were misled by Senator Prince Johnson, who according to them, had told them that the day would have been like any other day.
They also said they heard him say on the radio that the protest was aimed at removing President George Weah from power. Our correspondent also observed that most of the original residents had left the city and went to spend the weekend in their villages, far from the city.