The Editor,
Happy July 26th or a dreaded July Nightmare to our fellow Liberians back home. I am tired of pouring water on a duck or trying to convince a turtle to race against a horse. Or worst still, to tell a blind person to get the chair in the next room; or still, to shout at a deaf person and ask him to hand me something. This is the dilemma we are confronted with now in Liberia. I have been beating on a dead horse.
I am afraid chaos, violence, bloodshed and much more may return to Liberia again. So much so you can keep bullying another person that he can’t take it anymore. It is just a matter of time before Liberians tell George Weah this is not the “democracy” we fought a 14-year over that killed 250,000.
I keep saying that President George Weah’s ill-advised policies have rightfully made heroes out of Henry Costa, Yekeh Kolubah and those calling for Weah’s head to be delivered on a silver plate as had happened to William Tolbert, Samuel Doe and now jailbird Charles Taylor. It seems people or Liberian leaders have refused to learn from our recent ugly history.
Every Liberian leadership bashes in this false sense of invincibility that the fate of its predecessors can never happen to them…until it is too late.
You look around Weah and you look carefully at his senior advisers–Sammy Tweah, Nat McGill, Jeff Koijee, Mulbah Morlu and Bhofal Chambers–and you know this regime is bent on gradually committing political suicide. What have they accomplished in life prior to running this country?
Now I am convinced why Mr. Weah could not persuade his uncle, the nationally acclaimed economist, Dr. Togba-Nah Tipoteh and the no nonsense former Auditor General and corruption busting Czar, John Morlu to accept to work in his government with guys who are busy lining their pockets and have no clue on how to run a government.
If CDC fanatics think things are bad now with the economy slowly sinking, wait till we enter the mid-point of Weah’s six year term. This is just 18 months into this rocky political marriage and Liberians are already singing the blues.
During the good old days when the month of July was fast approaching, government workers were given, at times, three months of pay in advance to celebrate Independence Day (July 26th). But for this year, government workers including those who supposedly hold the keys to our bank vaults,—elected Representatives and Senators—have yet to see a paycheck going on several months now. Then what about the average unemployed Liberian who would feed off of a good economy?
I see Gloom and Doom beginning July 24 as COP enters phase 2 of its June 7 protest. “Power concedes nothing without demand”, Frederick Douglas once said. COP wants to apply that formula but is COP ready for the sacrifices as did the people of Sudan who chased a 30-year dictator out of power? Hundreds were killed in Sudan but in the end the courageous Sudanese People’s Revolution toppled dictator El Bashir.
The CDC leadership has created this deadly toxic poison for itself and the regime. How long will this political honeymoon lasts is anyone’s guess. Good luck George Gbekugbeh Manneh Weah.
Even if you don’t like Yekeh Kolubah, why would you violate his family’s constitutional rights to free travel. How do you justify your action to the international community, especially the United States and our foreign partners who you will run to tomorrow if your back is pinned against the wall?
The unsophisticated excuses given by your regime is that Yekeh’s wife was engaged in “human trafficking.” Really? Why didn’t you arrest her then? Even, after she had traveled with the same children before twice out of Liberia? Then why grant them passports and other travel documents in the first place? And shamelessly, you took their clothing and food meant for the children. Why George Weah yet you preach about upholding human rights in Liberia.
I hate to say this: I hate to see happening to you what happened to Tolbert, Doe or even Taylor. But it is your call to make. Just a thought and not a sermon.
Jerry Wehtee Wion
Washington, DC, USA
[email protected]