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Liberia is indeed a graduate of a lengthened war which overwhelmed the physical feature of the country in addition to the allied untold sufferings and loss of precious lives of its citizens.
During the fifteen years of war the heroes and heroines were those who handled the guns and crowned themselves kings and queens of the time.
They were unquestionable. They were the self ordained judges who passed judgments on others based on their own volition. They could not see another world of peace beyond the shoulder of the prevailing night. I doubt if the Holy Spirit ever existed in their minds and hearts. Life was rendered useless because men led by evils decided the fate of others. It was therefore difficult to believe the dawn of freedom would ever come because the language of war, the mindset to destroy the nation, and the established habit of possessing territories to show power and strength was the order of the day. The bible was chased out of the picture because the words of God appeared like iodine in the fresh sore. Peace was being edged far away and the nation stood divided on factional lines. Looting and raping formed the core rhythm of the day as the law was buried beneath lawlessness.
There was potential darkness at noon in every dot of the nation. However, the war has since taken its exit but it persists in yet another form and manner including civil disobedience, feeble judicial system, greed for wealth and selfishness at the highest level, political immaturity, nepotism, favoritism, predetermined corruption, among others.
Certainly so Liberia faces another angle of war that is being waged by arm chair politicians most of them recycled ones. Unlike the guns that splashed bullets, created untimely graves, looted, raped, suppressed freedom of movement, speech and of the press, gun in terms of corruption, greed and selfishness has established poverty, joblessness and an uneasy calm between and among the people.
There are clever designs by highly placed individuals in society to keep themselves wealthier while the bulk of the people sit and painfully wallow in abject poverty. Those who manage to seek Ellen’s kingdom through sycophancy, blackmailing, among others are often preferred. Like the dark period in Liberia where the warlords and their followers reigned as kings and queens, the recycled politicians have the greater share of the national cake.
In the Sirleaf Kingdom the flag of nepotism is raised up high while the act of corruption is left like the running water. Many of her chosen ones are being indicted for corruption according to the GAC report.
There is dark cloud hanging over the discovery of oil deposits in the country since greed and selfishness has engrossed the development. The president’s son, appointed by her mother now chairs the board of directors for the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL) which has the mandate to regulate the oil related matters. President Sirleaf is good when it comes to placing her children, friends and relatives in strategic positions. She has brought on board all of her old friends into government as a way of remaking them. In so doing she has her ears closed to the cries of critics and would defend her action.
Yes, the late president William R. Tolbert did the same thing when he appointed his brother as finance minister. Tolbert could not listen to the cries of critics. He went on in line with the dictate of power.
Yes, at time I sit and blame not the users of power. The fact remains that power like the steering of the car uses it users. Power, like alcoholic drinks drives the human mind with unusual speed and makes the human person brave, fearless and most time arrogant. Certainly so power corrupts the mind and changes the human person from being original, from seeing the ugly past, from standing upon the corridor of justice, from making self-examination, from knowing from where one has come and to where one is supposed to go. If power can treat those who are expected to contain its wave like way, then what about the younger ones whose minds and hearts are still driven by the pleasure of the world?
From my own judgment power and young people cannot make compatible bedfellows. Young people are normally arrogant, inexperienced to the complexities and intricacies of life. Young people have little or no wisdom to handle state matters in a way that would stabilize society.
Where then can Liberia turn to be saved and stable? I suppose that is the question on the minds of many people. The educated class who preached and prepared the stage for revolution in the country is now comfortably seated in the vehicle of state power. Most of them came from the Diaspora after long years and are occupying crucial state positions. Their families are not in the country and so their loyalty is certainly alienated if not non-existent. They ride the best of cars and take home handsome salaries in a country whose citizens are bent low under the weight of poverty. Most of them are the cronies of the president who seem to be implementing the agenda of remaking her old friends, relatives and the old politicians.
In the wake of this attitude the youths in the country seem resolved to take power at all cost. Hence, they follow a youthful and inexperienced character believing that character could make the desired change. They say leadership does not require education but wisdom. Hence, Liberia stands in the middle of these developments. It remains to be seen whether the star will shine where the moon could not.
As bitter as it is, I think I prefer the bed bugs to suck the blood than the mosquitoes. The bed bugs suck blood quietly and unnoticed than the mosquitoes that often do theirs in a hostile manner by going into the nose, the ears and the mouth.
My experiences from the war and that of the days of the military junta continue to keep me advised and to choose the lesser of the evils until at such a time when God can prepare a true savior. |
