Saying No To Another War

“I am a sitting Senator. My people, the Nimba people, will resist any attempt by the TRC to forcibly have me appeared before it to explain circumstances in connection with Doe’s death.” This is a quote from the Senior Senator of Nimba County.

There is an eerie feeling and an ominous shadow that hover over me every time I think about those walking the halls of the Capitol Building in Monrovia. The rooms of these halls are occupied by war lords who committed or gave orders to others to commit despicable atrocities against their fellow Liberians. At the University of Liberia and perhaps Cuttington University are war lords going from class room to class room teaching those whose bothers and mothers and fathers were brutally mimed or killed and left for dead or buried in unknown graves. At the Executive Mansion, as has been confirmed by "General Butt Naked," are secret cells and tunnels where human sacrifices and many other strange occurrences happened. That is why I suggested a few years ago that the Mansion should become a museum. That place has had it share of bad governance and unspeakable human activities.

From every indication, Liberians are living in a land of ghosts and goblins begging for some closure to the unspeakable things that happened to them when they were alive; Liberians are living in a land of evil men and women, masquerading as repented Christians, changed Muslims, and enlightened animalists. These are people, some of whom a few years ago, played religious songs on guitars as dead bodies laid at their feet. How can we forget these things? How can the world of the 21st century forget the evils committed against ourselves?

The quote from the Senior Senator of Nimba County is sad and disingenuous. Why would the people of Nimba County have any problem with Prince Y Johnson explaining to the Liberian people all he knows about the war that has made that county a laughing stock of every Liberian? Wouldn't the Nimba people be happy to know what caused the split from NPFL to INPFL? Doesn't the Senior Senator have an obligation to make more history by going to the TRC and explaining to his people in Nimba and the country as a whole what moved him so passionately to be such a famous or infamous participant in our civil war? If I had the notoriety or compassion of the Field Marshall, I would not hesitate to tell the world the reason for such characterization. I would be happy to know that I was a Robin Hood to some and saddened by my caricature as an Idi Amin or Mobutu Sese Seku or a Charles Julu to many of my own people.

The people of Liberia are weary of war. We have had our share and are now looking forward for better days for our children and their children. Anyone who after 14 years of killing and destruction, will go around invoking the specter of war and trying to incite his people for a bale out is not doing the wise thing. I don't think the people of Lofa County will be coming into the streets of Monrovia to bale out Alhaji Kromah when he's asked to appear to testify to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. I am extremely doubtful that the members of any county would want to resort to another war because of the inhuman activities of their son or daughter during those 14 years of nightmare.

Apparently, the greatest crime committed by Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was her saying that the Mansion should be leveled. That statement seems to be the greatest evil that many are talking about. I don't know what was more scarier: The wiping out of a whole county or the demolition of one building. All of us have made some serious mistakes in our lives; all of us supported the civil war either morally or financially. In the deepest crevices of our minds we agonize over the fact that something went terrible wrong during the excitement of our various celebrations as we welcomed change. Those who sat in halls across the United States to support Charles Taylor are hitting their heads against the wall, lamenting the results of their desire to change things in Liberia. Their regrets are a burden they will carry to their graves. No manner of prayers can wipe away the tears these supporters of war continue to share for the mayhem that resulted from the quick fix that should have been.

That is why all of us must make peace with each other. That is why we must give the TRC the chance to operate and do what it was mandated to do. That is why everyone who is called should be gladly willing to appear. Saber rattling and dragging your cutlasses on stones for sparks to be seen will not help the reconciliation process. War lords and foot soldiers must be given equal chance to tell their stories, no matter how gruesome and how Robin-Hood like their contributions were.

The final call in this whole saga will come when we all can embrace and ask each other for forgiveness. No matter how hurt we are, we have to do this if we genuinely want to move forward for the sake of Liberia and posterity. Another war is not an option. "You killed my ma, you killed my pa, I will vote for you" was a cry for help from a traumatized people. It was one of the most poignant and humiliating moments in the history of mankind when that song was sung and heard around the world. Those who benefited from such a song should drop their heads in utter shame.