MONROVIA – The Former Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General to South Sudan, Sara Beysolow Nyanti has expressed delight over her nomination as the standard bearer of the African Liberation League (ALL), which now propelled her to contest as a presidential candidate in the October 10 elections.
By: Gerald C. Koinyeneh – [email protected]
Madam Nyanti was nominated by ALL, a newly established political party as its political leader and standard bearer for the ensuing elections recently in Kakata, Margibi County.
Addressing a landmark conference at the party’s national headquarters in Congo Town, she said after serving the UN in many countries in several capacities, she honorably retired and was glad to return home to serve her people.
“I am here because I want to serve you, the Liberian people. I served others around the world, I served women around the world, I served men and I served boys, and I want to serve you to the fullest of my ability,” she said.
“I have been serving you in a packet. I believe if I join my effort to the effort of the people around this table, and the network we have planted in this country, together we can reach you where you are, understand what you need, how you would like to be served and serve you in that way.”
Not concerned about the ‘Just coming’ tag
Madam Nyanti, once an official at the Liberian Ministry of Health, joined the UN System in 2003. By the time she retired 20 years later, she had worked her way through and served in some of the high-profile positions within the UN.
The last, perhaps, the tedious and highest-ranking position was in South Sudan where she spent 18 months serving as the Deputy Special Representative to the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), UN Resident Coordinator in South Sudan and Humanitarian Coordinator in the East African nation.
Before her retirement recently, she frequently visited Liberia, launching several initiatives. Soon, she was touted as a force in the ensuing elections, with bookmarkers naming her as a possible vice standard bearer of any one of the largest opposition political parties.
However, by the time she retired from the UN and returned to Liberia, the top political parties had already chosen their standard bearer and vice standard bearer tickets. But she threw a hint about her political ambition in a remark delivered at an event organized to celebrate her early retirement from the UN under the theme: Sara 3.0, Opening a New Chapter.
She said: “Thank you all for being a part of my journey in so many ways. I have seen so much. I have been to so many places. You see the glory, but you do not know the story. I have been working as a Liberian doing the best I can for the people of the world. I have been helping women and girls around the world. I realized that I needed to come home to help women and girls in Liberia. I have spent time talking and building education and health systems around the world, it is time to talk about my own.’’
Few days after the event, she was unanimously nominated as the ALL political leader. But already, a segment of the public and pundits are saying she came too late.
Brushing aside the skepticisms, Madam Nyanti said she is not concerned about the “she’s just coming” tag. She said, with her amazing team at ALL, they would engage all Liberians with the rightful message that they should join hands and build Liberia.
“I believe if I join my effort to the effort of the people around this table, and the network we have planted in this country, together we can reach you where you are, understand what you need, how you would like to be served and serve you in that way.”
She said with her experience and skills in solving complex problems in some of the world’s most troubled regions, she would not hesitate to apply the same in Liberia in whatever capacity.
“We can do this by ensuring equitable distribution of resources, going to where we provide basic social services and empowerment, lifting people out of poverty. This is not about the politics of yesterday. This is about the future of Liberia. This is about tomorrow.”
Asked whether she has the financial backing for the tedious and costly task of running a presidential campaign nationwide, the career diplomat said she will not be a transactional politician that would go around dishing out money for votes.
“What I bring to the table is my knowledge, my skills and my experience. So, I bring that into the political space. I must operate in the political space. But if you define a politician as one who will make promises that they won’t keep, then I am not.
“Will I be the one who will throw money at you temporarily and say temporarily let me buy your votes? No, I will not be doing that, I will be coming to you telling you the truth, what I can and cannot do, but what your resources can do for you.”
“Don’t let people cheat you of your resources. The resources they are throwing at you is your money that is supposed to be provided at the community level and at the local level, and to bring you your services, and to bring you your right, at least your human rights, so if it is transactional, you give them your votes and they are gone.
“So, what I am doing that is different is speaking to the Liberian people to educate them on how we are to work together to build Liberia. The fallacy that a person or two will build this country is what has left us behind. Everybody has a role to play in nation building. We must build this Liberia together. We are already too far left behind.”