Monrovia – Presidential aspirant for the ensuing 2017 election, Constitutional Lawyer and law Professor, Dr. Jallah A. Barbu is expected to address the 42nd General Assembly of the Union of Liberian Associations in the Americas (ULAA).
Dr. Jallah who is currently in the United States has accordingly been consulting Liberians on their views of the state of affairs in Liberia and encouraging them to pay greater attention to the Country’s evolution.
On his visit, Dr. Jallah has met with Liberians in Indiana, Delaware, New York and Philadelphia and has had several teleconferences with others in Minnesota, Maryland and Washington D.C., in addition to three radio interviews relayed by some radio stations in Liberia.
Following a town hall meeting in Philadelphia on September 17 where he presented his national program and gathered suggestions on moving the Country forward, Dr. Jallah is now expected to address the 42nd General Assembly of the Union of Liberian Associations in the Americas (ULAA) in Buffalo, New York on September 24.
Another Presidential aspirant, Mr. Alexander B. Cummings of the Alternative National Congress (ANC) is expected to serve as guest speaker at the Assembly.
A close associate of the Dr. Jallah for President 2017 team told FrontPageAfrica through a dispatch from the United States that Mr. Cummings and Dr. Jallah will grace the ULAA occasion, applauding ULAA for bringing opposition Liberian politicians together under a non-political process.
He assured that Dr. Barbu has no qualm with the arrangement because he believes that political opponents are not enemies but carriers of separate beliefs that they are better situated to serve their people than their adversaries.
Explaining why most contributions and engagements in communities by Dr. Jallah are not broadcast in the media as it is normally done with other aspirants, the Team Jallah official emphasized that when it is appropriate to publish an event or statement, Dr. Barbu will not hesitate, citing a recent publication informing the people of Liberia that he had written the President on a number of critical national issues.
He also promised that in few days Dr. Barbu will speak on the current economic and other situations affecting the Country as well as on the ensuing elections.
On his Buffalo meeting, the source indicated that Dr. Barbu’s statement will cover problems affecting Liberia’s educational system and measures that should be employed to improve it; the need for ULAA and other Diaspora and local Liberian institutions to be more visible in Liberia’s administration as stakeholders; dual citizenship; and the promotion of Liberian entrepreneurship both in the United States and Liberia through a ULAA sponsored process.
The member of the Dr. Jallah for President Team said, statement from the aspirant will be published as soon as possible.
As the race to the political process in 2017 heats up, political pundits believe that the strength of no one candidate should be underestimated whether such candidate is not part of a coalition of aspirants or not.
Dr. Jallah on June 10, 2016 declared his intention to contest for President in the forthcoming October 10, 2017 Presidential and legislative elections and, divergent views continued to be expressed as to the actual motives of the unassuming and resilient advocate for the rule of law and good governance overtook conversations on his pronouncement.
Some argued vehemently that the President of Liberia had paid this lawyer, known for his uprightness even in the classroom, to unshackle the bid of Vice President Joseph Nyumah Boakai as the both hail from Lofa County while others say the motives are squarely on the Vice President as employing Dr. Barbu as a backup for him in the event the former is knocked out of the Unity Party.
For supporters and those who have encountered Dr. Barbu, they say his declaration is untainted; they argued that he had calculated and made the deliberate decision to go full force in what is expected to ultimately be a battle of the courageous and capable.
Since the pronouncement, a number of media personnel and institutions have followed the aspirant assessing his commitment to his June10 pronouncement and to establish which of the views expressed is real about the lawyer.
Dr. Barbu’s grasp the attention of the Liberian public during interviews with various radio and television stations in and around the Country, highlighting his brilliance and his novel approach to political elections and state governance.
Many believe that the current political culture of Liberia is far from ready for the new approach the aspirant is propounding but in no time Dr. Jallah who is relatively new on the political landscape has been receiving positive reception from people, especially in the interior parts of the Country where Dr. Barbu initially focused his activities.
In some counties, people say Dr. Jallah has an understanding of national leadership during his engagement with people in communities, villages and towns, sometimes deep in the forests, of Montserrado, Bomi, Rivercess, Nimba, Lofa, Grand Bassa and other Counties and working with them to reach decisions on what is critical for their survival and growth as well as how they can collaborate to achieve their goals.
During one of his tours, in a village in Nimba County, an 87 year old elder expressed satisfaction, stating, “he is ready to work for the people; for us.”
A single mother in Rivercess was fascinated when he lifted and held her baby in his arms: “This is the first time anybody who wants to be big government official has come close to any of our children in this town; they always scare that our children will dirty their clothes,” she explained.
After interacting with people he calls “the crux of the matter” Dr. Barbu took off to the United States where his wife is pursuing a doctoral degree in family law.