MONROVIA – Despite Liberia’s constitution stressing the 35-year age requirement for any Liberian aspiring to become President, the issue of marriage, while not a constitutional requirement, holds strong moral significance. However, the Presidential candidate of the Liberian National Union (LINU), Dr. Clarence Moniba, remains unmarried and has disclosed that he has not been involved in any romantic relationship for many years.
By J.H. Webster Clayeh (0886729972) – [email protected]
During an interview on the Spoon Talk late Monday night, Dr. Moniba, who is 45 years old, was asked by Gibson Jerue, one of the panelists on the talk-show, about the status of his romantic life or whether he has a girlfriend.
In response, Dr. Moniba emphasized that he appreciates the fact that his critics cannot find any evidence of corruption against him, except that he is not married, let alone having a fiancee.
“Right now, I do not have a girlfriend,” LINU Presidential Candidate Dr. Moniba replied, as a smile played across his face.
He added, “I will put it this way: I’m blessed, I am very comfortable with where I am in my private life right now, and anyone who enters my life in a romantic way will understand what takes priority in my life. For the last 20 years that I have been in Liberia, building my career and contributing to this country has been paramount.”
“Has it affected relationships in the past? Absolutely yes. But at the end of the day, I feel confident in what I am doing, I feel confident in my career, and my career is aimed at ensuring that Liberia becomes better than what we have today,” he asserted.
According to him, the only reason people bring up the issue of romantic relationships in front of him is because, “There is no hole, and I don’t say this to brag, but there is no gap in my educational career. I have been blessed with academic degrees, including two Masters and a PhD, making me the most educated presidential candidate in the history of Liberia.”
Garbage Politics
Despite his educational background, LINU Presidential Candidate says he has a wealth of experience, having served as a consultant at the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the United Nations, the Minister of State, Chairman of LEC, Head of the Presidential Delivery Unit, and has maintained a record of being corruption-free.
“So, because there is no hint of any corruption or any scandal, the question then becomes: ‘Does he have a girlfriend?'” Dr. Moniba said.
He continued, “This is garbage politics, that’s what it is. They’re trying to disqualify me from being President, not because of my education, not because of my qualifications, not because of my vision, but because I’m not in some kind of pseudo marriage. Why should I be in a marriage if I am unhappy, or if the lady is unhappy? This is where we begin to mislead the Liberian people, because one of the moral obligations of being a President is to be married.”
“I Made a Commitment to My Father to Change Liberia”
Dr. Moniba’s father, the late Dr. Harry Moniba, was a former Vice President to the late Liberian President Samuel Doe. His father passed away in 2004, and since then, the LINU Presidential candidate says he made a commitment to his father that he would be one of those individuals who would transform Liberia, and that has been his focus for over 20 years.
“My commitment has been since 2004 when my father passed away. At his funeral, I made the commitment to two people: myself and him. I pledged that I would be one of those people to transform this country. Since that time, everything I have done has been to empower me and prepare me not only to run for the Presidency but to genuinely transform this country,” he stated.
Dr. Moniba added, “Being President is one thing, but more important than being President is ensuring that Liberia becomes better. I don’t know if there’s someone for me, but that person will have to understand that Liberia comes first.”
“We Don’t Have to Remove President Weah If Marriage is a Deciding Factor”
Furthermore, Dr. Moniba believes that not being married should not disqualify him from being a good President. He also noted that there should be no need for anyone to contest against President George Weah on the basis of marriage.
“If marriage should be the deciding factor, then we should be trying to remove President Weah from office because he is married. We need to stop this cheap politics around here. We are striving to build and develop our country. It’s not about whether you are married or not; it’s about leadership,” he said.
Dr. Moniba concluded, “I’m not going to get married because someone thinks it looks good. I have never done anything in life to please other people, and I’m not going to start now. There is a time for everything, and right now, I am focused on Liberia. My entire last 20 years have been dedicated to Liberia, focused on the Republic of Liberia, building my career, and trying to help develop this country. That has been my focus.”
“I’m very sure that at 45, people under my age are going to be the ones who will transform this country. So, the reason I am running is that Liberia is a great country, and we are the ones who are going to make it even greater,” he concluded.