“Our Pa Sorry We Made Mistake”–Crazy Songs That Decide our Elections

I heard this recently and I was like, “Sorry again?” Is Liberia losing her mind?

We have been singing songs at the threshold of our political transitions that have made us look like a nation of fools to the outsider who does not understand the nuances of our body politics. From my perspective, the one captioned above does not particularly fit into the title of this piece. However, it is amazing how a change of context can make a big difference.

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By Obed W. Dolo contributing writer 

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“Native woman born soldier, soldier killed Tolbert! Native woman born soldier, soldier killed Tolbert!” were the chilling chorus that greeted the news of the overthrow and murder of Liberia’s 20th president, Dr. William R Tolbert Jr. It was the fizzling sound of the eruption of the seismic tension that had brewed for years at the fault lines between the Americo -Liberian hegemony that ruled the country for eternity and the native Africans they met here.   True to the adage that violence begets violence, Tolbert’s successor, Master Sgt. Samuel K. Doe, wasted no time in plunging the country into a wave of violence that subsequently morphed into a full-fledged civil war.

Doe’s nemesis, Charles M Taylor, West Africa’s smooth-talking salesman of violent revolution, did not live up to his image of a rescue knight. He submerged the country deeper into turmoil and bled her dry. When Sgt. Doe was finally neutralized by a breakaway fashion of Taylor’s revolution, the stage was set for another violent phase of jostling among warring factions hoping to seize state power. When none of them emerged victorious at the end of the bloodletting, it seemed likely that only the ballot box and not bullet would give Taylor the power he so desperately craved. 

External observers were confident that Liberians would massively reject him at the polls for what he had done to the country. After all, it was only logical. They were in for a rude awakening. Majority of Liberians had found another song to rationalize irrationality. Taylor was their choice for president. “You killed my ma, you killed my pa, I will vote for you!  You killed my ma, you killed my pa, I will vote for you!” , were the logic-defying words of the new song. Taylor won by a landslide, leaving many in normal parts of the planet scratching their heads in bewilderment. 

The United States of America, Liberia’s perpetual influencer, could not let this one slide. The only way to right what they considered an egregious travesty of common sense was to bring more firepower to bear on this villainous creation of theirs. The country once again paid dearly for singing “crazy songs”. The consolation, however, was that Taylor was routed and forced into exile as a first step to incarcerating him for life.

With Taylor’s exit, the tones were now set for the country to breathe some air of normalcy. Liberia voted Africa’s first female president, HE Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and made history. When her twelve years of concerted effort to put the country on the path to recovery came to an end, many thought the days of singing crazy songs were over for good. 

Unfortunately many of Liberia’s war children had come of age and were now proudly wielding their own weapons–the right to vote . And no one realized that singing ‘crazy songs’ was a genetic thing. “You know book, you don’t know book, we will vote for you! You know book, you don’t know book. we will vote for you!” The young people had set their eyes on George M. Weah, Liberia’s famous footballer. 

 Mr. Weah had Challenged Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf in 2005 and 2011. He had fallen by the wayside for what was perceived as his lack of leadership experience and controversial academic credentials. The latest generation of ‘crazy singers’ were telling the world that education did not factor in their criteria for selecting leaders, especially when it came to George Weah. Paraphrased, their song said George Oppong Weah, it does not matter whether you are educated or not, we will vote for you!

Mr. Weah was pitted against Mr. Joseph N. Boakai, an experienced statesman who had served as vice president to Madame Sirleaf for twelve years. Boakai did not stand a chance! Mr.Weah was enthroned by these marauding young people to usher Liberia into  another political dispensation that was seen as a deconstruction of all things sane and reasonable– an era of the Fast and Furious and the Young and Restless.  

When the six years term of HE George M. Weah staggered into the twilight of history. It seemed as if some deep reflections had been taking place in the national psyche. On the campaign trail of the general elections of 2023, there were many songs but it was apparent that the appetite for crazy songs had dwindled in the grime of daily survival in a country whose trajectory was anybody’s guess. One song seemed to resonate with the desperate search for reason that gathered pace on the eve of the hotly contested election. “Our  pa sorry, we made mistake. Our pa sorry, we made mistake.” 

Was this a genuine confession of a people who had finally learned their lesson? They were telling Joseph Boakai sorry for rejecting him in the election that had brought President Weah to power.  Though with a slim margin, HE Boakai finally got his chance to become President of Liberia.  His campaign was dubbed Rescue Mission and his platform, ARREST, an acronym for Agriculture, Road, Rule of Law, Education, Sanitation and Tourism. 

 In January of 2024, when the RESCUE TRAIN embarked on its six years journey, there was a high wave of optimism for a brighter future for a country that has suffered so much abuse at the hands of her own. However, six months on, there is a lingering feeling of uncertainty as to whether the goods will be delivered. The train seems to be enduring too many glitches. 

The oscillating start to ARREST has made losers of the past election who are still nursing their wounds, to suddenly have visions of possibilities against all odds. Former President Weah has not hesitated in doing a backflip on his promise to retire from politics. He has begun to mobilize to transform his “setback into a great comeback” come 2029. The CDC machinery is not shy about its ambition. My intrigue was their attempt to steal the relevance of a reasonable song and carve it into another ‘crazy song’. As Mr. Weah’s motorcade swaggered on the unfinished Roberts International Airport Highway, one glaring token of the failures of his tenure, I was shocked to hear “Our pa sorry, we made a mistake. Our pa sorry, we made a mistake” as his supporters welcomed him back into the country. Mistake?  I went to bed with a headache.  Liberia must be losing its mind and it is obvious we don’t know what we really want. What is certain is that the days of crazy songs are not yet over. I wonder what they will sing in 2029. I am reminded of a song they sang back in the days. YOU LIKE IT JACK-O, YOU DON’T LIKE IT JACK-O- LANTERN, whatever that meant!