From Chief to Thief: A dumb case of petty thuggery and a madman’s quest for relevance Jones vs Donkey (Duncan)
I usually wake up sometimes at odd hours to do some reading, and the places I most frequent are Frontpageafrica, Allafrica or other Africa news related pages. While the controversy surrounding another political strong man is of note, I was shock to come across a trending narrative starring Crayton Duncan and Dr. Mills Jones, just that in this case the chief (Dr. Jones) was now portrayed as the scoundrel while the lapdog and better yet the “bag boy” was pushing to be seen as a victim and hero of the story.
Immediately, the story heading betrayed the contents of the fallout and the ultimate infidelity and unprecedented over-ambition, greed, quest for political and social relevance by a man (Duncan) once respected by a man (Dr. Jones) who had no reason to respect him or even bring him in his inner circles. Half way through the piece, I was hurt and felt a punch in the stomach trying to draw parallel between the case of Judas and Jesus on one hand and Duncan and Dr. Jones on the other.
Before reading down further, the adage that “…when a donkey kicks you and you kick it back, that implies that you are both donkeys (Duncan)” came back to mind. All I could manage to exhale was, “why Duncan?” To paraphrase an insurance company commercial here in the US, “…I say a thing or two because I know a thing or two” about this purported political and economic powerhouse, Duncan.
Duncan came to the Central Bank in around 2009/2010 with literally nothing but a shirt on his back and a pants sized too small for him. Looking back now, I strongly believe that Duncan didn’t even know the cost of a half lot of land because he could not afford to purchase one. For now, let’s leave that discussion for the appropriate forum. Coming in as a “Director of Communication,” a position that was in the first place scratched before, Duncan was director of himself in a tiny room with no other staff except himself (that tells you the political accommodation accorded him in the first place); through “begging” family connections and weaseling his way around through schemes and his coined “political entrepreneurship discourse, he was able to get the attention of the governor, most of this which I credit to Dew Mason’s role in “talking” to the governor for him, Duncan.
I have been around Duncan for quite a bit and know the level of imitation of brilliance he can project, making people fall victim to his treacherous behaviour. As a matter of fact, I was unfortunate for Duncan to have had the privilege of lecturing me in one or two of my classes at the United Methodist University. Through these classroom interactions, I placed my own price tag on his academic and other claims, remembering him as a chauvinist who talks about his economic or social stature and status in a bloated fashion, always creating a scenario that he has got it going even in the mist of playing fool out of himself.
He always comes with this pompous, bombastic and sonorous demeanour in any room, screaming the loudest as though the contest is for the loudest in the room. I can assure you out there that it is this type of behaviour that brought Duncan in the same room with Governor Jones. And in simple English, we can all just say that the governor “fell” for his lies.
I remember one day I met Dr. Jones and Duncan at the airport in Accra around 9:00pm, we had all just disembarked and were on our ways to our various hotels, a brief discussion ignited amongst us, Duncan, the governor and myself. Through that short conversation, I could see a love of a man for another man, this love wrapped up in respect and loyalty to a man clearly beneath the governor from all angles.
The governor treated Duncan with the outmost respect not because Duncan was the smartest around, but because he could lay his way through anything and the only mistake the governor made was to not see through Duncan’s sham. From the very onset with Duncan, anyone who has common sense would see this man’s jinxed charm and clearly understand that he is just a monosyllabic chatterbox of a person looking for someone to use to achieve his goals. It hurts me so much that the governor could not see through his retarded speed demonry of political entrepreneurship wrapped up in his flamboyant modesty.
In some ways, I feel apologetic for the governor, for putting all his eggs in Duncan’s basket. He did this by showing off Duncan in all of his operations, from his mother’s burial to his entrance in Sinoe, making the case as though Duncan was a strategy powerhouse. This gave Duncan the “cahunas” to front as though he was a kingmaker.
This level of ignominious character displayed by Duncan in the name of politics to a man that “made” him is not only petty thuggery but heartlessness to say least. For those of us that know Duncan’s humble beginnings from the Executive Mansion, the Insurance Company on Randal and Broad Streets, UMU, Cuttington, AMEU and others, know him as a mad go-getter. And I sort of applaud him for his hustle and the ears he is able to get to listen to him, but there is honor even amongst thieves.
From Calling Mills Jones chief to now calling him thief, not capable of being a president of Liberia is something only spurned by hubris of unimaginable connotation. Honestly, Duncan’s betrayal of the confidence and trust placed in him by the Governor is a modern drama with ancient Greek overtones. This is a story of a little boy (Dr. Jones lap dog) whose hubris vis-à-vis his quest for fame and political relevance with a tragic proclivity for being important. This story will not end nicely for Duncan even in the mist of all the political decadence.
Duncan, Dr. Mills Jones made you what you are today! You either be appreciative, staying forever indebted to him or shut the “phuck” up. But in case you are thinking that you are going to mislead Joe Boakai, think again, because from your recent betrayal of Jones, the whole world is looking at you with squinting eyes.
In Dr. Jones’ case, you were more like a medieval sorcerer’s or scholar’s apprentice or maybe an enchanted donkey with chattering tone that wooed Mills into believing that you were who you said you were.
Know that Joe Boakai only have you around now because he knows the power of more in politics, not because he respects you character wise but because it always pays to add more to the number in politics. I can assure you that you are going to be rather a political ventriloquist with a skewered/tainted lexical jambalaya that is an open book of betrayal and disloyalty. Interestingly, Joseph Boakai is a politician and an incumbent. Nice!
Rinny V. Jackson, Contributing Writer
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