A Letter To President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf

My trip to Liberia after 20 years gave me a glimpse of the situation in my home country. What I experienced added more bile to my gall bladder. I had to spill some out, especially to the woman I admire so much:

Now that Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has made her intention known by announcing her candidacy for president of the Republic of Liberia in 2011, and as a staunch supporter of the President, I want to express my feelings about a few things that have gone right and a lot of things that have gone totally wrong since she took over the helm of the ship of state four years ago.

It is good to sit in America and write and criticize what is going on in Liberia. It is also good to go to Liberia and see for oneself what is actually going on in that country. In America, we constantly hear that people who have been selected to serve in the Liberian government are continuing the legacy of those who came before them. That legacy is stealing and misappropriating development funds. We continuously hear that when this happens, a state of sorrow immediately consumes the president. She will replace these crooks and reassign them as advisors. Advisors of what? Only God knows. This behavior is a big negative.


With apprehension and trepidation, I flew to Liberia and spent two weeks there. With the same feeling, I drove far into the interior of the country. I went as far as Zuolay in Nimba County. Besides the check points, no one stopped me, and I did not encounter any problems. This is a huge positive. Stability and security are important for growth and progress in any country. I met people from Canada who had traveled to Ganta. They told me of the exotic experience they had had. They were beaming with smiles when talking about the beauty of the country.

I also visited the Headquarters of the Unity Party on Broad Street. There were a lot of young people there. They were visibly upset about not having jobs. They talked of the “importees” who were given preference for government jobs and how these “importees” were stealing government money. They were frustrated that the president was no longer listening to them.

As these young people vented their frustrations, I asked them: “Let’s just suppose the election for president were held today, will the oldma win?” They looked me in my eyes and said without a lot of hesitation that the oldma would lose. These are the people who make things happen...these are the grass roots. They were genuine in their assessment, I felt; and I was not happy about it. This one is a monumental negative that must be change to a tsunami-type positive before October, 2011 arrives.

Ellen Johson-Sirleaf lived in Wisconsin and Virginia, USA; after four years as head of state of Liberia, I did not expect the streets of Monrovia to look that awful. The lack of order among motorists is insane. If the government cannot afford traffic lights, the least that can happen is to install 4-Way stop signs at the various intersections in Monrovia. It is a big shame that Liberia even has a police director. I wonder what motivates the chief as he enters his office each morning. As regards the chaos in Monrovia, this is a huge eyesore.

I saw that it is impossible to drive normally through the Red Light area of Paynesville. I also came to the realization that the marketers at that junction of the Monrovia-Kakata Highway are Liberia’s hope for the future. They are the best entrepreneurs in the whole wide world. They begin selling at 5 a.m., endure the blazing sun, and quit at about 7 p.m. With small loans from the government, these people could become economic bread winners for thousands of relatives.

Since the Red Light area is now known as Liberia's largest commercial district, leave these sellers alone. Redirect traffic to Paynesville and Free Port by constructing new roads to bypass Red Light. If the vision for resolving this headache is not in the pipeline, then someone is not paying a lot of attention to reality.

I used to drive from Rockville, Maryland to Houston, Texas. It is a 1500-mile distance. It used to take me about 23 hours of smooth driving. To drive to Zuolay, in Nimba County, it took me about eight hours. Distance: About 225 miles. If it is going to take a businessman eight hours to travel 225 miles in Liberia, then it is not worth the effort. The government’s priority at this time in the country’s history should be good roads – paved roads – period. After four dry seasons, the road condition in Liberia is a major problem and a big negative for the Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf administration.

Like Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, there are too many people in Monrovia, Liberia. With no public toilets and running water, I wonder how these people deal with hygiene and sanitation. By a lay man’s estimate, I think out of the 3.4 million people in Liberia, 1.7 million of the population resides in that small town of Monrovia. The countryside is virtually people-free. There is serenity and tranquility as one drives away from Monrovia. A plan to encourage citizens to return to where they lived before December, 24, 1989, must be in some government pipeline.

Election year 2011 is not far away. If Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf can change course by ending the recycling of failed ministers, listen to the people who voted for her in 2005, create jobs for the million or so unemployed, and hire more young people who hate sleeping in the dark and in the heat; if the president bring in real patriots who hate driving on pot-hole roads, then the vision to have pipe-borne water and electricity in the whole of Monrovia in a short period of time, will be a reality.

If these burning issues are adequately addressed, if family manipulation in government can be curtailed, then there is no reason why the Liberian people will not give Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf another chance for a six-year term, according to the constitution of Liberia.