Stealing of the country's money has become a way of life for those entrusted with the lifeline of Liberia. Employees and government officials are knee deep in keeping our people backward and promoting the failed-state status of our homeland. When I read that members of the president's family were also busy sucking our country dry of its diversity by taking lucrative positions in this government, I had to jump in with my gut feelings:
When I am not writing to the Editor of FrontPageAfrica, I am busy on the Internet, on Liberian listservs, fighting other Liberians who believe in their hearts that Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is somehow transforming into the worst president Liberia has ever had. The frustration out there is amazing. Supporting Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf now a day is becoming a daunting endeavor for many of her staunch supporters. I wonder whether she is hearing any of the thousands of criticisms coming her way.
About a month ago I read that FrontPageAfrica was being denied access to certain areas in the Ellen Government. I don't know how far this has gone, but it seems from your daily output that the doors to these restricted areas are being gradually opened for you to peep in. Keep peeping in, for there is nothing more exhilarating than to see and report to the people some of the evils that go on behind closed doors and in dark alleys.
Some people are extremely mad that Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf wrote her memoir while she is still occupies the presidency of Liberia. Some even say that the title: This Child Will Be Great is egotistical and a bluff. Because of what some old man said near her bed side when she was about a day or two old, these people argue, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf did not rest until she became great by becoming President of Liberia. She did everything in her power to fulfill that prediction.
Our people are tough and when they get on your back, it's like white on rice. My counter argument to this book brouhaha is that if someone told me that I would be great, I would do everything in my power to do the best I can to fulfill the dream of greatness. And if my greatness benefited society, there would be no reason for regrets. I told the story of my Eleventh Grade Teacher who wrote on the back of my Report Card at the end of the year that: Cooper Would Be An Excellent College Student.
I took that comment very seriously. No one had ever come to our school to tell us about any college. After high school in Liberia, many, many students are left to fend for themselves. Potential Doctors and Lawyers and Engineers and Writers are left to rot on the dryer of inequality. When it seemed to me that I was slowly becoming a bad statistics, I remembered the comment of my Eleventh Grade Teacher. Those words gave me the push I needed to enter the University of Liberia. Like Ellen, I wish all Liberians could find some words said by some stranger to make them move forward in a positive way.
I don't know what has become of the $508,000 confiscated from the Nigerian Businessman by the security forces of Liberia. I heard an argument on Star Radio via the Internet between the Justice Minister and a Member of the House of Representatives. The well-spoken Justice Minister who was once Dean of the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law, I believe, seemed baffled by the persistence of the Representative's inquiries. If I were grading the arguments, I would give the Minister a D and the Rep an A. The FOC in this case was used in a dubious and hasty manner. Why couldn't these smart people people keep that money in the bank until a thorough investigation was completed? Is there a comprehensive break down of how this money was so hastily spent? What is going on, my people?
History is repeating itself in Liberia. And the band wagon is getting loaded with history makers. Those who vilified John Morlu for saying that the EJS government was three times more corrupt than the previous governments are hanging their heads in shame. How will the people of Liberia benefit from the resources of their country when one day $1 Million is deposited into a bank and the next day 10 strangers will go and begin withdrawing the same money from the bank? Who are these bankers? Are they part of the syndicated group of corrupt Liberians and foreigners?
Looking at those 13 officials of the Liberian Government who were executed in April of 1980, I would think that such a scene would remind the president and her family of those dark days in the history of our country. It is a shame and a big disgrace that we as human beings are so quick to wipe from our minds the evil of the past. I hate to think that the same thought of Liberia being the farm of the Tubmans and the Tolberts when they were in power, those same thoughts are popping up again in the minds of Liberians.
Someone who just left Liberia was saying in a gathering that there would be a coup if the United Nations took its troops from Liberia today. Why would anyone want such a thing to happen to us again? Why is Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf falling into the same trap that Tolbert and Doe and Taylor did everything to fall into? What is it about government that makes fools out of great men and women?
I did not like when the whole of Grand Gedeh left the East and settled in Monrovia when President Doe was in power. I did not like when Frank Tolbert and Steve Tolbert and all the Tolberts sat in those lucrative positions when William Tolbert was in Power. For 27 years, Cape Palmas was all over the Liberian people because William Tubman was president of Liberia.
Today, the whispers about the Sirleafs and their cousins and their sons and daughters and their in laws are all over the place. Those who, by the skin of their teeth, not the love of God, were able to escape the incident of 1980, are back and more prepared to steal everything in their path and again, run away to far-away lands to bury their loot. Every president of Liberia brings a baggage that leaves a worthless legacy behind. Our first female president seems to be falling into this strange web of doom. And I don't like it. This ship is heading toward a precipice. Friends of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf need to tell her the God truth.
Since the norm is that history must repeat itself and there are those who are bent on making history by carrying on the same thievery that continues to keep our people down and our country a failed state, the future of Liberia looks bleak. For no matter who comes next as president of this country, nothing will be different. The whole of Sinoe County will migrate to Monrovia if the next president comes from that part of the country.
This vicious cycle is never-ending.
5/20/09
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Liberia does not have an effective lobbying group in the US Congress. The stigma of slavery of our own people and constant mistreatment of our people by us are all reasons why the friendship between Africa and the blacks in America remains lukewarm. The debate continues:
When all things are spoken and placed in their right perspective, it is believed that most African Americans would prefer associating themselves with South Africa or Kenya or Ghana rather than being associated with Liberia. On page 296 of Ellen's Book, This child Will Be Great, she writes:
"Moreover, I believe there is a segment of black Americans who want to distance themselves from the settlers of Liberia, because of what the settlers did in forming this land. They left the land of bondage and oppression and came here to impose another form of colonialism on the people already here. Who wants to be associated with that? The whole stigma of slavery and oppression that Liberia represents...that Africa represents...to many black Americans is precisely what they want to distance themselves from."
As we can see, African Americans may not have copiously checked many of the misconceptions and falsehoods about Africa. They have, however, seen and continue to witness the atrocities Africans have committed against their own people. Things will never be as rosy for them in America. Yet, they have no other alternative; they have nowhere to run to. Germans and French can move to America with ease. Africa is a whole different story for black people around the world!
In a nutshell, Africans have been mean to themselves. And as far as we are concerned, we continue to shoot ourselves in the foot.
Cooper Kweme
5/12/09
12:00 AM
When all things are spoken and placed in their right perspective, it is believed that most African Americans would prefer associating themselves with South Africa or Kenya or Ghana rather than being associated with Liberia. On page 296 of Ellen's Book, This child Will Be Great, she writes:
"Moreover, I believe there is a segment of black Americans who want to distance themselves from the settlers of Liberia, because of what the settlers did in forming this land. They left the land of bondage and oppression and came here to impose another form of colonialism on the people already here. Who wants to be associated with that? The whole stigma of slavery and oppression that Liberia represents...that Africa represents...to many black Americans is precisely what they want to distance themselves from."
As we can see, African Americans may not have copiously checked many of the misconceptions and falsehoods about Africa. They have, however, seen and continue to witness the atrocities Africans have committed against their own people. Things will never be as rosy for them in America. Yet, they have no other alternative; they have nowhere to run to. Germans and French can move to America with ease. Africa is a whole different story for black people around the world!
In a nutshell, Africans have been mean to themselves. And as far as we are concerned, we continue to shoot ourselves in the foot.
Cooper Kweme
5/12/09
12:00 AM
Monday, May 4, 2009
Being Positive For Once
Many detractors and frustrated individuals are bent on destroying what little is being accomplished in Liberia. From criminal to the worst of names, these detractors are vilifying the President, the first lady president of Liberia, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. I can't stomach the venom being spewed. When one of these detractors challenged me to be more expansive in my criticism of the men who have ruled our country, I made it brief:
I don't have to be analytical about this. But look. From Joseph Jenkins Roberts to Charles Taylor....all these men presidents, have one way or the other, ruined our country. From 1847 to 2006....159 years, Liberia saw nothing but a period of underdevelopment, mayhem and chaos! Whose name do you hear of more often stealing the people's money? I think it's mostly men, right? Besides Aisha Conneh, I did not hear the names of a lot of women war lords during our 15 years of conflicts. In this new dispensation I do not hear the names of women in the stealing business.
The crazy notion is that because one has the right to be critical, rude and inconsiderate of one's leader, those who believe in change for the better should just lay back and read incendiary, rhetorical nonsense. For it is extremely obvious, and we all know this, that if Liberia had a Gbanapekin or a Flomolon as its leader, the people of Liberia would not have been better off than they were 3 years ago. Chaos, tribalism and you know what would have been the order of the day.
The venom being spewed by most men against Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf on these listservs represents the frustration that has saturated their inner self. When the opportunity presented itself for 159 years, the men squandered and misused such opportunity. If the Liberian women were given at least 50 years to run the country, I am sure as sure can be that Liberia will be the Liberia that our children can all be proud of.
The "criminality" of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is news to the Liberian people who voted for her. And who can be more justified for what occurred in November of 2005 than the people of Liberia?Stop insulting the intelligence of our people. And, stop it now!
There are so many fake names on these listservs that it is difficult to know whose rhetoric is being responded to. What I try to do, however, is to be consistent, no matter who tries to touch my hot button.
Finally, people should stop this " in-the-cause-of-the-people, the-struggle-continues thing." That is just rhetoric. President Doe said the same thing. We know what happened to the people. President Taylor was a mother of an advocate for the people. The outcome: 250,000 plus of the Liberian people died as a result of his fake exuberance.
We all can help build Liberia by giving good advice to the president. She will not be president forever. If road construction is your passion, talk to her about it. If schools and hospitals are your main concerns, write her and let her know. Be positive for once in your life. This is the most open government Liberia has ever had.
It's just difficult for me to be so negative knowing that just a few years ago, 250, 000 of our people died for me to have this opportunity to be positive.
Cooper Kweme
5/4/09
I don't have to be analytical about this. But look. From Joseph Jenkins Roberts to Charles Taylor....all these men presidents, have one way or the other, ruined our country. From 1847 to 2006....159 years, Liberia saw nothing but a period of underdevelopment, mayhem and chaos! Whose name do you hear of more often stealing the people's money? I think it's mostly men, right? Besides Aisha Conneh, I did not hear the names of a lot of women war lords during our 15 years of conflicts. In this new dispensation I do not hear the names of women in the stealing business.
The crazy notion is that because one has the right to be critical, rude and inconsiderate of one's leader, those who believe in change for the better should just lay back and read incendiary, rhetorical nonsense. For it is extremely obvious, and we all know this, that if Liberia had a Gbanapekin or a Flomolon as its leader, the people of Liberia would not have been better off than they were 3 years ago. Chaos, tribalism and you know what would have been the order of the day.
The venom being spewed by most men against Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf on these listservs represents the frustration that has saturated their inner self. When the opportunity presented itself for 159 years, the men squandered and misused such opportunity. If the Liberian women were given at least 50 years to run the country, I am sure as sure can be that Liberia will be the Liberia that our children can all be proud of.
The "criminality" of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is news to the Liberian people who voted for her. And who can be more justified for what occurred in November of 2005 than the people of Liberia?Stop insulting the intelligence of our people. And, stop it now!
There are so many fake names on these listservs that it is difficult to know whose rhetoric is being responded to. What I try to do, however, is to be consistent, no matter who tries to touch my hot button.
Finally, people should stop this " in-the-cause-of-the-people, the-struggle-continues thing." That is just rhetoric. President Doe said the same thing. We know what happened to the people. President Taylor was a mother of an advocate for the people. The outcome: 250,000 plus of the Liberian people died as a result of his fake exuberance.
We all can help build Liberia by giving good advice to the president. She will not be president forever. If road construction is your passion, talk to her about it. If schools and hospitals are your main concerns, write her and let her know. Be positive for once in your life. This is the most open government Liberia has ever had.
It's just difficult for me to be so negative knowing that just a few years ago, 250, 000 of our people died for me to have this opportunity to be positive.
Cooper Kweme
5/4/09
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