The 2017 general elections will bring us to seismic moment in our post recovery process. Indeed a time when we are expected to peaceably make a momentous decision, either to choose a seamless transition to prosperity or stagnation and despair.
The debate must be issues and ideas oriented and not trivial personal attacks
The entire process is going to be exclusively owned and managed by Liberians. Our international partners will provide the support needed but they will be doing so only from the margins; expecting a welcoming outcome- free of violence and chaos.
All this means that the electorates particularly the youth, along with; the National Elections Commission (NEC), political parties and their leaders, the media, and civil society, have a shared responsibility of ensuring that the hard won peace and stability are not eroded and the gains made are maintained.
While a lot of attention tend to be reserved for the day of polling, and ballot counting and tabulation processes, the comportment, pronouncements and activities of political actors prior to and during the campaign period are critical to achieving a successful outcome. We cannot allow ourselves to fail, for we might never get a second chance in a very long time.
The recent elections in Ghana and Nigeria are good lessons to learn and they give us optimism that we too can be that country that firmly aspires to the tenets of a functional democracy in Africa.
Regardless of who wins these elections, there is a huge gap to fill and certainly a strong foundation to start on. Consolidating the gains made from the last twelve years and boldly correcting the missteps and banishing the old order might prove daunting but yet remain the panacea to a secured, just and prosperous future.
Admittedly, every outgoing president will be concerned about his or her legacy and may want to have an influence in the picking of his/ her successor. However, true to our conscience, this election is not just about preserving a ‘president legacy’ but rather more about securing the future for ourselves and the next generations thereafter.
Least to say, will it be about who runs the most sophisticated campaign, neither the one who makes the loudest noise nor the one who articulately sells his/ her rhetoric, not even about the one with the most education.
In fact, there isn’t a strong variance of institutional identity and manifestos. But quite simply, it is about the one who carries the grace and nobility to lead us into shared prosperity.
I am a reader and practitioner of international development and I know governance and development are inseparable, complex and difficult with enormous push backs but with strong will, commitment and honesty and well defined policies and vision, these hurdles can be surmounted.
The winning party of this election, presumably will be the government for the next twelve years. By then, we will be in our forties like many others who make up a two-third of our population. Truly, more than half of our supposedly appointed time of our earthly journey according to the good old book will be covered perhaps some of our kids would be in her mid-teens.
So much is at stake not to be honestly critical and demanding of ourselves. We must ask the hard questions and do the most thorough assessments of character, experience, history, integrity, temperament and judgement of those seeking to serve and lead us.
These years will account for us being either a successful people or miserable failures. It will determine if my unborn kids and will have that kind of basic quality education that offers the chance to compete with others across the globe and not be laggards.
Of course it will determine if my unborn babies will survive up to their fifth birth anniversary. For sure, it will determine if many of our seniors (old people) can get access to medicare and the physically challenged, most vulnerable will get social protection. These are the issues that matter most.
Importantly, the potential winners and losers of these elections are those call the ‘Forgotten Majority’ (Youth). Consequently, we are the ultimate decision maker. It is important we remain positively engaged. The current waves of personal attacks drift us further away from the core issues related to our destinies- quality education, health and a fairer and better functioning economy that provides opportunities for everyone regardless of your political, sexual, social and religious persuasions and status.
A rejection of an idea- centered discourse gives us only one outcome and that is bad leadership- something too expensive to afford at this moment. We might tend to be mean and insensitive because of our connections to a party or class which might flaw our selection of the next leaders.
Quite so, because of self-aggrandizement, thus, eroding the sense of love for country. But I ask then, to what end?
Some of us may get lucrative jobs but what pleasure will it give, when a good fraction of our generation got no sustainable livelihood and income? Some of us will travel abroad to attend the best schools but what pleasure will it give seeing other colleagues struggling to acquire education from universities without an up-to-date libraries, fast internet service modern science labs and classrooms occupied with ill-prepared lecturers and professors?
Some of us will ride fancy cars but what pleasure will it give to see other young folks and seniors commuting because there isn’t an affordable and efficient public transport system?
Some of us will afford to seek medical abroad and send our wives and fiancés to foreign hospitals to give birth to our kids but what pleasure will it give to see our kindred die in hospitals not fully funded, staffed and equipped? Some of us will afford a good meal at the best restaurants across the city but what pleasure will it give seeing a fellow compatriot hustling in an undignified way just to have a day meal?
These are some of the hard questions that should resonate with us when we make the ultimate call of who should govern us and how we should engage the process. The more we ignore these questions, the stronger we are building an environment of insecurity and the closer we edge to another civil conflict which many predict might be brutal than the first. This prediction could be wrong except there are less disenchanted folks walking on the sidewalks of our streets.
We can safe our generation and secure the future for the next. The debate must be issues and ideas oriented. We must choose the right leaders with the will, passion, dedication and integrity. We cannot let ourselves fail.
About The Author
Bill McGill Jones holds a Bachelor of Science in Degree (BSc.) in Economics (Cum Laude) and is currently studying Environment & International Development (MSc.) at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK. He is a mid-career professional with several years of working experience in development planning, monitoring and evaluation, project management and consultancy; a researcher and provide policy support to senior policy actors/national leaders and also inter-sectorial (public, private and non-profit sectors) coordination. Excellent communicator, good inter-personal and team working skills acquired through my volunteering works with the Liberian National Students’ Union and Federation of Liberian Youth. He is interested in working with development driven organizations that are interested in environment, climate change, project, development planning, community engagement, policy, programs and research. He can be reached at [email protected] or [email protected]