On October 10, 2017, Liberia will experience a democratic process that will lead to its first democratic transition since 1944 when Edwin J. Barclay was succeeded by William V.S. Tubman.
As the country approaches this pivotal epoch in its political history, there is a rising tide among many Liberians for a disciplined, selfless, visionary and a nationally conscious leader who will serve as the trailblazer of the Republic of Liberia.
Liberians believe that, with these attributes, this leader will have the impetus, courage and charisma to take their country (the oldest Republic on the continent of Africa) from its current state of socio-economic and political abyss to a celestial height of a nation with shared values, equality, dignity, and justice for all.
A reader may be astonished as to why should a people of a nation-state which was founded in 1822 and gained independence on July 26, 1847, at this time of the 21st century still be in search of an architect who will lead the drive for development beginning from the first step.
It becomes a paradox especially when one evaluates the level of development taking place in countries that are considered offspring of Liberia.
The fact is, since the founding of this space call Liberia by freed slaves from America, this country has been faced with leadership enigmas which translated into political failures; thus putting the country among failed nations of the world. This piece will chronologically provide a narrative of Liberia’s history of political failures.
A call to action will not only be provided but also a recipe for changing the narratives for the common good will be provided to the Liberian populace, vast majority of whom has been the direct victims of the many political wounds.
The Origin of the State
The settler-slaves who founded this land of liberty on this West side of Africa after the abolition of slavery in the 19th Century, through the Republican and True Wing Parties, dominated the land politically and economically from 1847-1980.
Their dominance of the Liberian space saw not the full utilization of the enormous common wealth of the state to implement a roadmap that would transform a vast forestland into a modern and an industrialized country.
Some scholars have even argued that these people only saw the landscape as a place where they would just come to rest while their slave masters forget about slaves’ repatriation and they would eventually returned to the United States of America.
Therefore, the opening of the political space, the building of a transportation network connecting all cities, towns, and villages, the building of an educational system to trained men and women that would use their talents and skills to aid in the development of the country, the structuring of a viable health care system to defeat curable and incurable diseases, and etc. were all benefits that those men and women thought could only be made available in the U.S and not necessarily in Liberia.
In the freed slaves or Americo-Liberians’ economic and political domination of Liberia, the building of a country on the dictates of everyone hoping, dreaming and aspiring together, regardless of one’s social, political or religious background was an exception rather than a rule in nation building.
The indigenous that the settlers met when they arrived in 1822 were the majority segment of the Liberian population. Unfortunately, they (indigenous masses) were excluded and isolated from the happenings in the republic.
This is evidenced by the masses being barred either by law or public sentiment of many of the major rights and privileges of man. Article 1, Section 11 of Liberia’s 1847 Constitution excluded the natives from voting because they did not own real property and also could not afford to pay hut taxes.
In the 1930’s, many of them were sent to the Fernando Po Island as slaves on plantations owned by Spanish and Portuguese.
They also out of their will worked harshly without compensation on the plantations of the Americo-Liberian bourgeoisies. The indigenous masses were considered as object that could be directed and controlled rather than partners in building a nation where everyone would succeed as the results of developing all and sundry’s talents and skills.
The Coup of 1980
In a country where negative actions exceed positive actions, extreme social contradictions parade the corridors of such society. Consequently, among the mass of the people, there will be anger, malice, and envy, man’s inhumanity to his fellow men, and also among the masses, there is deep indignation for the ruling class. In this state of affairs, such country will unarguably explode.
This was the case with the Russian Revolution of 1917 and many other revolutions in world’s history, be it the Cuban, Chinese, American, French, or Mexican Revolutions.
For Liberia, because the social contradictions which were created by the minority settler-slaves, through their various political, religious, and fraternal institutions, could not be resolved through dialogues as was advocated and agitated for by Edward Wilmot Blyden, Edwin J. Barclay, Nete Sie Brownell, Albert Porte, Dieho Tweh, the Progressive Alliance of Liberia (PAL), the Movement for Justice in Africa (MOJA), the Student Unification Party (SUP) and other progressive individuals and movements that rose up in the 70s, seventeen (17) uncommission soldiers decided to resolve those contradictions through the barrels of the gun.
Thus, we saw the brutal overthrow of President William Richard Tolbert on April 12, 1980. Event after the coup saw the establishment of the People’s Redemption Council (PRC) which was headed by Master Sergeant Samuel Kanyon Doe, a member of the indigenous class.
This led to the abrogation of the 1847 Constitution, the ending of the First Republic of Liberia and the wind-up of the over 130years of Americo-Liberian minority oligarchical rule in Liberia.
The People’s Redemption Council’s Era
With the coming of the PRC, the people believed that with the changing dynamics of the politics, especially with one of the sons of majority of the people at the helm of power, their dream of building a nation where the people believe that they are one because they believe in themselves could be realized; the bringing about of a nation where the wealth of the country is used for the benefit of everyone and not a few elites could not be overemphasized.
They joyously ran with the thoughts that with many of the radical civilians from PAL and MOJA holding key positions in the PRC government, their hope for bringing together a people with one destiny would had been actualized.
Ironically, very sooner than later, the people’s aspiration of building a community with shared values and aspirations was defeated by one of their own.
Out of “nervous reaction” to a news of counter-coup, on April 22, 1980, twelve officials of government from the Tolbert regime were executed.
In 1981, influenced by members of the old order who have resurfaced in government, Sergeant Doe ordered the arrest and subsequent execution of five members of the PRC whom he believed were aligning with radical socialists to overthrow him.
By 1983, the remnants of the True Wing Party had manipulated Doe to directly and indirectly kick out all the radical civilians from the PRC government.
In 1981, Togba Nah Tipoteh had resigned as Minister of Planning and Economic Affairs because of the execution of the five PRC members. Baccus Matthews had been sacked by Doe, courtesy of lies and gossip from the returned members of the True Wing Party. Oscar Quaih had resigned as Internal Affairs Minister.
H. Boima Faunbulleh, Jr. resigned in 1983 as Minister of Foreign Affairs. The only main radical civilian who was found in the military government was Amos Sawyer. He was serving as the Chairman of the twenty-one (21) men Constitutional Commission.
Events leading to the 1985 elections saw the barring of the Progressive People Party (PPP), an offspring of the Progressive Alliance of Liberia (PAL), the Liberian People’s Party (LPP), also an offspring of the Movement for Justice in Africa (MOJA).
Samuel K. Doe has been advised that the only way to clinch unto power in a civilian regime was to decisively deal with the PPP and the LPP who had the enormous support of the mass of Liberians.
The 1985 Election and Its Aftermath
With the Progressive People’s Party and the Liberian People’s Party barred, Samuel Kanyon Doe cunningly won the 1985 Elections.
A coup led by General Thomas Quiwonkpa, a son of Nimba County failed in 1985.
Gen. Quiwonkpa was captured and executed. For vengeance, Doe implemented the Nimba Raid, thus introducing tribal bitterness and rivalry in the political history of our country – a circumstance that still remains a scar in the conscience of many Liberians.
The people of Nimba County developed resentment for the people of Grand Gedeh County, the native home of President Doe. Doe had complete control over the republic. His kinsmen and allies from the old order (TWP) pillaged on an industrial scale the resources of the state.
The people were bullied. Their freedom was curtailed. Journalist and activists were killed, and tortured for speaking truth to power. Liberia, instead of rising from “grass to grace,” remained in its dark ages under the despot Doe.
It has been proven time without numbers that when the people get severely outraged with a ruling class, they render support to any resistant movement whether such movement is in their interest or not.
That was the case with the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) when it launched an insurgency against Doe through Butuo, Nimba County.
The people welcomed with opened arms the pseudo-revolution of Charles Taylor’s NPFL.
Their anger with Doe could not even let them analyse whether Taylor was truly a liberator or another vampire coming to suck the blood and resources of the people and their land. So we saw a break-away faction of Taylor led by Prince Yormie Johnson killed Doe in 1990.
The Macabre War, Interim Periods and the Taylor’s Epoch
Between 1990 and 1996, the history of our country witnessed series of interim regimes and also several unrest, killing many sons and daughters of the motherland.
Then in 1997, we saw the overwhelming election of Charles Taylor as president of the Republic. The people hope of bringing change through reconciliation, reconstruction and national healing was once again thrown into the dustbin by Taylor’s cabal.
The reign of tyrannical, plundering, human rights abuses, and etc. were the attributes of Taylor’s criminal cartel which he called government. In 1999, the country once again was plunged into a macabre war.
The LURD and MODEL forces sought to take Taylor from power. In 2003, Taylor agreed to step down and he drifted into exile in Nigeria. Like Dr. Fahnbulleh asserted in his May 20, 2005’s speech delivered to the Liberian community in Washington D.C, “You will agree with me that rarely in the annals of African history has a nation been wrecked as our country.
Our people, like very few peoples on the African continent have endured some of the worst atrocities known to modern times. Our land stands ravaged and our people disconsolate.”
The Accra Comprehensive Peace Accord of 2003 brought in an interim government which was headed by Charles Gyude Bryant. This interim regime, after three years of existence, led the ravaged West African Nation to a Legislative and Presidential Elections in 2005.
After the elections, the 52nd National Legislature of Liberia was formulated by the people and Africa’s first democratically elected female President, Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was inaugurated on January 16, 2006. She became head of state, head of government and commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Liberia.
Liberia under President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Ellen inherited a pariah state. Every sector of the country was atrophied and devastated. After two terms of President Sirleaf’s leadership, can we objectively analyze whether there have been some achievements in building a nation where all its people will be considered as partners and eventually derailing the country’s history of political failures?
As a young man who has been living in this generation, it will be a disservice to my conscience if I “bury my head in the sand like a proverbial ostrich” and argue that there has been nothing achieved under the stewardship of Madam President. Of course there has been little progress. There is democracy.
This is because our people’s rights to elect their leaders are being guaranteed.
Unlike during the times of the oligarchy of the TWP, the despot Doe and the war crime convict Taylor, the political space is opened for everyone’s participation.
Liberians are now critically discussing issues affecting the country without being bullied or intimidated.
Freedom of the press and speech is no more a taboo.
There is a complete silence of the sounds of guns. Our people are no longer scattered in internally displaced camps and refugees camps in the region.
Yet, the challenges remain enormous, a further authentication of the country’s history of political failure.
With massive support from the international community, Liberia stands as the fourth poorest country in the world, according to a Global Times Magazine’s 2016 Report.
According to the International Monetary Fund’s recent World Economic Outlook, more than seventy-five percent of Liberians live on less than 1.20per day.
The World Health Organization has established that the life expectancy of the average Liberian is less than 60 years.
The appalling state of the country’s health care delivery system was further exposed by the 2014 Ebola Epidemic that snatched away the lives of more than three thousands (3,000) of our compatriots.
The massive and consistent failure of our students in public exams proves the messy state of our educational sector, least to say of the dreadful state of infrastructure in the sector.
UNICEF recent report which indicates that Liberia has the highest ratio of number of children that lack access to primary education out rightly proves that this government under the auspices of a Harvard trained has done little to provide access to quality education to the young people of Liberia.
With almost twelve years of politically administering the state, the provision of electricity, safe drinking water and other basic social services like housing, health insurance, pension benefits, and etc. remains a mystery.
The little economic growth the country experienced between 2009 and 2013 did not reflect in the average living standard of the mass of our people. Unarguably, this is as the results of the concentration of wealth which significantly benefits foreigners and top members of the ruling class.
Because of lack of economic activities and basic social services in the rural areas, the mass of the people are drifting into the already abysmal so called urban areas, finding habitat in some of the worst slums in Africa.
The awakening of the agriculture sector still remains an illusion. This is evidenced by the millions of dollars the country spends on imported rice, the country’s stable food in the midst of vast land and a youthful population that can give this aged-old country a demographic dividend.
With all these challenges the country face, corruption remains its best friend; thus, helping immensely to hinder the growth and development of the land and its people.
The Transparency International 2016/2017 Corruption Perception Index found Liberia scoring 30 out of 100; thus, putting the country among the world most corrupt nations on planet earth. Lack of political will from the leaders of this political administration has undermined the fight against corruption.
The refusal of the Executive and Legislative Branches of Government to grant the Liberia Anti-corruption Commission persecutory power and the many abandoned audit report at the General Auditing Commission are enough to solidify my claim.
Access to justice for all Liberians still remains a huge challenge. This is vividly seen in the preponderance of pre-trail detainees languishing behind bars around the country and being denied the due process of law. The selective application of the law is also another contradiction worth mentioning.
Many ordinary Liberians are ailing in prison centres around the country for alleged rape while big shots accused of similar felonious crime are left dancing and singing before their victims.
The People Must Act to Change the Narratives
This is a sadistic state of affairs of a nation which was founded on the principles of equality, liberty, freedom and justice for all. For the quantity of contradictions which have hindered the people from moving forward to serve as reasons for a qualitative change in the status quo, the mass of the Liberian people must be prepared to stampede into history. No one else but the people! Only the people can change the course of history.
When the people, in unity and with consciousness, elect to transform a society for the common good, no kleptomaniac ruling class is too strong to resist the people’s quest to move forward.
The reactionary Apartheid system is a victim of the determination of the people of South Africa to build a non-racial society where blacks and whites would coexist. Fulgencio Baptista, the American backed Cuban dictator in 1959 got victimized by the wrath of an angry but patriotic people in pursuit of revolutionary transformation.
It took the resilience, courage, fortitude and discipline of Americans to fight for independence from British colonial rule. Notable among those Americans are Patrick Henry and George Washington. I can reminisce on the patriotic soundness of Henry who said, “Give me liberty, or give me death”.
The victory of the Americans did not come about on July 4, 1776 because the revolution was foundation on tribal or religious bigotry.
The Americans did not get induced by the colonial power who exploited them mainly through the “Taxation without representation”.
The Americans along with their indigent leaders went to the struggle in one accord. Today, they have a nation which believes and exists on the principles of “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
Like the people of South Africa, Cuba and the United States of America, the Liberian peasants that are stagnant in the rural areas, the working class that is being shackled by private monopoly capital; thus its real wage is diametrical to its demand for goods and services, and the students who are casualties of a messy educational system must develop the organizational spirit and discipline and establish a vanguard movement that will serve as the trailblazer of the people as they seek to march into history. This movement must cut across tribal, religious and economic lines.
This movement must be a people’s movement and must avoid the cult of the personality. Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini are very conscious of the repercussions of such backward tendency when they turned their respective societies (Nazis Germany and Fascist Italy) into a big man show. Like every other revolutionary movement in the history of man, this movement will experience early failures. The ability of the leaders to persevere in politically working with the people will accrue the people’s victory.
ALUTA!
Moses Uneh Yahmia is a student of the University of Liberia. He studies Political Science Major, Economics Minor, with emphasis on International Relations. He can be reached via: [email protected]