Monrovia – Mr. Taa Wongbe, on whose shoulders the opposition Alternative National Congress appears to be leaning its fate in vote-rich Nimba County in this year’s Senatorial Mid-Term elections, has dismissed suggestions from the Godfather of the county, Senator Prince Y. Johnson, that he is an alien to Nimba County.
Report by Henry Karmo, [email protected]
Senator Johnson, appearing on OK FM last week labeled Mr. Wongbe as an “Alien” in Nimba County.
The Senator’s outburst was in response to a question about the strength of candidate Wongbe in the ensuing December 8 elections.
Mr. Wongbe, responding to a FrontPageAfrica inquiry, Monday refuted the Nimba Senator’s claims against him being an “Alien”, declaring that he does not believe anyone from the county can be considered Alien to Nimba or its politics.
Mr. Wongbe instead claims that Senator Johnson’s outburst against him is perhaps due to his refusal to prioritize the Senator’s request to purchase 50 computers and 100 chairs. “As you know, I am one of the biggest financial supporters for education, but I had to prioritize public institutions like Nimba Community College (NCC) and others and sending our children to school abroad. I do promise to support his school later, but I do not want to be seen as buying his support.”
In response to question about whether he’s capable of winning Nimba without the support of Senator Johnson, the ANC candidate said: “Absolutely, I believe I am the only one who has not sought his support since I started my process. Also, in 2017, seven of the nine candidates he supported were massively defeated. Even in his home district and town, he lost.”
Mr. Wongbe averred that he doesn’t seem bother at all by the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) formwork document that speaks to the procedure leading to the selection of candidates to contest on the CPP ticket December as he continues to strengthen his base.
In fact, Mr. Wongbe noted, he wishes that candidates who are defeated in CPP primaries would rally support around the winners of the process and campaign to ensure that candidate victory which would be the CPP victory by extension.
Why he may be considered as the underdog, Mr. Wongbe says he believes he has a strong political base in Nimba that could shock his opponents, citing his stronghold as the Doe and the Tappita belt. “I am a firm subscriber to Lao Tzu’s quote that; “there is no greater danger than underestimating your opponent. I believe the ancient Chinese philosopher and writer was right then; and is right now. Anyone who is running is a major opponent, but I can promise you this, we will outwork, strategize, outplan and outspend everyone in this race and I believe we will win.”
Mr. Wongbe says he stands a good chance because he sees himself as a “cut-across” candidate and believes the young people see him as their face and hope in Nimba. “In fact, they call me the face and hope of the young people in Nimba. I cut-across with tribes as well as with the women. I have a lot of support among the women in Nimba.”
Mr. Wongbe said his record speaks for itself. “While the youngest in this race, my records of the last 10 years are all across Nimba. My integrity, values, innovation and my agenda for Nimba self-reliant through agriculture are just few of the core reasons. I have a track record for delivering. Over the last 10 years I started a company from scratch to build it to a global organization employing hundreds of Liberians and Africans. Come December, the people of Nimba will have a choice and I believe it will be Moving Nimba Forward.”
Mr. Wongbe is originally, from Graie, Nimba County, the most populous county outside of Montserrado.
“I am a firm subscriber to Lao Tzu’s quote that; “there is no greater danger than underestimating your opponent. I believe the ancient Chinese philosopher and writer was right then; and is right now. Anyone who is running is a major opponent, but I can promise you this, we will outwork, strategize, outplan and outspend everyone in this race and I believe we will win.”
– Taa Wongbe, Senatorial Aspirant, Nimba County
He was 10-years-old when the civil war started in Liberia and he moved to the United States after being a refugee in Guinea and Cote D’Ivoire for several years. Having experienced the devastation of the civil war and living in poverty, Taa developed a passion for development and people, especially empowering youth, women and societies most vulnerable. That passion led him to return home in 2007 for the first time after the civil war where he quickly discovered the gaps in the development activities in his country, Liberia. While many programs were being implemented with great intentions, many lacked local cultural context and good data. These gaps led to programs failure or limited impact.
Wongbee is founder of The Khana Group (TKG) which focuses on positively transforming and impacting lives through advocacy and partnerships with organizations to develop more sustainable programs that are informed by research and local cultural context. 10 years later, TKG is a leading social impact management consulting firm with a focus on research and strategy. Weather it is a program aiming to understand the impact of the road networks and transportation sector on the health sector or a program aiming to work with the government to develop the business environment to enable economic development, TKG works hand in hand with clients and serve as the last mile to communities. In Liberia, TKG is the largest management consulting and research firm. TKG also has offices in Ghana, Nigeria and the U.S and has worked in 18 countries across Africa.
He previously co-founded and served as Chief Technology Officer for Pangean Technologies, a technology firm that provided communications solutions and services to corporations globally. Taa has also served as a consultant for Deloitte, McKinsey & Company, Gartner, and ThruPoint and has supported projects for many global and Fortune ranked organizations. Taa has a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Technology from the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). In addition to his work impacting lives, he sits on the board of a number of non-profit organizations.