During EPA’s budget hearing at the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, I witnessed a moment that deserves to become a national call to action.
By Dr. Emmanuel K. Urey Yarkpawolo
After presenting the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget, I invited Rafael Ngumbu, our Director for Research and Radiation Safety, to explain the need for a Nuclear Authority to support Liberia’s development of a cancer diagnosis and treatment center. He presented the cancer burdens and explained the consequences our country could face in the coming years if decisive action is not taken.
His presentation connected scientific knowledge to human suffering and public policy. The proposed authority is part of the institutional foundation needed to use radiation safely in saving lives. Indeed, Liberia’s 2026–2030 cooperation framework with the International Atomic Energy Agency identifies establishing an independent regulatory authority as a national priority.
Finance Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan was visibly impressed. He asked about Rafael’s background and, invoking the familiar “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” described him as one of Liberia’s stars. He then urged his assistants to find such talented people and identify ways to incentivize them.
That instruction should travel far beyond the hearing room and therefore, the purpose of this essay.
Liberia has stars everywhere: in government ministries, agencies, and commissions; in private businesses and nongovernmental organizations; in colleges, universities, and high schools. Some already command international recognition. Others work quietly, waiting for someone to recognize their ability and give them a meaningful opportunity.
Our responsibility is to find them, train them, promote them, and give them the space to work.
Consider Dr. Dougbeh Chris Nyan, the Liberian biomedical scientist whose work on detecting multiple infectious agents has earned United States patents. His achievements demonstrate that Liberian scientific talent can contribute to solving problems of global importance. Such expertise deserves opportunities to strengthen research, mentor young scientists, and serve national needs.
In the private sector, Mahmud Johnson, founder of J-Palm Liberia, shows how entrepreneurial talent can connect local resources with better livelihoods. Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) documents J-Palm’s investment in mini processing mills and digital traceability, helping improve the wild-palm supply chain. This is practical ingenuity directed toward rural economic opportunity.
In civil society, Alfred Lahai Gbabai Brownell Sr, founder of Green Advocates, received the 2026 Elisabeth Haub Award for Environmental Law and Diplomacy. His example reminds us that national talent includes legal skill, courage, and the ability to help communities defend their interests. Public service also happens outside government offices. The next generation is already emerging.
FIRST Global’s 2024 Liberia team profile featured high-school students including Rachel F. Gbatu of Effort Baptist High School, Jeronetta M. F. Beh of Haywood Mission Institute, and Prince Kiatamba of Nathan E. Gibson Memorial Academy. Their interests and contributions span robotics, technology, and programming. We should nurture such promise early through school laboratories, mentors, scholarships, and practical projects.
These examples are illustrative, not exhaustive. Many equally capable Liberians have never appeared in a newspaper or received an award. A serious national talent strategy must reach all fifteen counties, including rural schools and institutions with limited resources.
Other countries offer useful lessons.
Singapore deliberately connects talent with institutions. Its Returning Singaporean Scientists Scheme identifies accomplished citizens abroad and brings them into leadership positions in universities and publicly funded research institutes. Liberia can adapt this principle by matching diaspora expertise with clearly defined national assignments and adequately supported local teams.
South Korea made a similar deliberate investment through the Korea Institute of Science and Technology. Its approach combined recruitment of skilled scientists with competitive compensation, research facilities, and institutional autonomy. These measures helped create conditions in which expertise could contribute to industrial development.
The lesson is straightforward: recognition must lead to practical support.
For Liberia, this means transparent recruitment and promotion based on competence, integrity, and results. It means scholarships tied to national priorities and credible opportunities for graduates to apply their training. It means competitive research grants, reliable equipment, fair compensation, and partnerships connecting schools, universities, businesses, and public institutions.
It also means allowing professionals to exercise judgment, present inconvenient evidence, and pursue solutions while remaining accountable for public resources. Leaders should welcome capable colleagues and help them succeed.
Minister Ngafuan’s appeal should become an institutional practice. Every ministry, agency, commission, university, business, and civil society organization should identify promising people and develop concrete plans to support them. National budgets should reflect that commitment.
Our people’s God-given talents are resources entrusted to Liberia. We must use them wisely.
Let us find our best minds, train them, promote them, and give them the space to work. Liberia’s stars are already here. Our duty is to help their light reach the nation.
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