I am not a Unity Party Partisan but I’m supporting Joseph N. Boakai for Liberia’s Presidency and I think you should think about it too. Here’s why

Kula V. Fofana- Liberian Activist

kvf2007@yahoo.com

October 8, 2017

In few minutes, election campaign activities will come to an end in Liberia. The country is expected to hold a third in a series of elections since the end of the civil war in 2003. This election will be recorded as a historic one as it will be the first time in more than 70 years that a democratically elected government will be turning power over to another democratically elected president.

Liberia story is not a unique one. The challenges are many. The war years left indelible scars that may take forever to heal. More than anything else, Liberians need an assurance of a secured nation. Security in this sense goes beyond tradition security. Human security is what is necessary for Liberia's transition. A 1994 United Nations Development Program (UNDP) report defines security as for people rather than territories, with development rather than arms. It further equates human security to economic security, food security, health security, environmental security, political security, community security, personal security etc. 

For Liberians, what matters is the economic viability for all and not the 1950s "growth without development" under President Tubman's leadership. 

In these elections, there are twenty presidential candidates in the race to replace H.E President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Each of these candidates has sold to you their platforms throughout the campaign period. Some did so explicitly while others did vaguely. Some used larger stages like debates while others thought there isn't value added to debates and boycotted. However you received the messages, some are meant to be given serious thoughts. Electronic and Print media were flooded with those messages. 

Yes, you have heard and seen a lot.  If you are a non-partisan like myself, it makes it challenging to pick a choice as elections are not of saints. It took me a long time to finally decide who to support in these elections. Though primarily it was due to the respect of the Code of Conduct. This also is in no violation of the Code as it protects respect of opinions of public officials. After several pondering, and in my opinion, the best choice for Liberia's transition is H.E Joseph N. Boakai, Vice President of the Republic of Liberia. 

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf ran a "transitional government" and we must all give her a standing ovation and due credit. Before 2006, Liberia was a total mess. The physical and mental shells of the guns and bullets were present everywhere. Education, health, infrastructure, social services were all non-existent.  The country's image internationally was bleak. Being a Liberia outside of Liberia drew pity and sorrow. She knew it was not going to be an easy task.She was the "Danielle" thrown in the Lion's den.  

The destruction of more than 14 years cannot be built in 12 years.

Under her leadership, Liberia has done amazingly in many areas and will do more with JNB at the helm. The last 12 years was a transition from our bitter past to a more sustained and prosperous nation. 

Looking ahead, we must own up to our challenges of reconciliation and corruption and JNB has promised to do just that. 

When he said and emphasized ROAD, ROAD, ROAD as a necessity for development, I couldn't help but nod in agreement. In 2010 as a research assistant on a project to study Liberian schools with the American Research Institute, we traveled across the country and saw how deplorable roads were. Again in 2012, as Co-Chairperson on Liberia's Vision 2030, I had the opportunity to travel to majority of the counties and saw how access to market was impeding growth and development. In 2009, on my way to Grand Bassa for a project, we had to sleep in our truck because the roads were damaged and impassable. I partly grew up in Caldwell. For the longest i could remember, Caldwell Road was a messy stretch. It took us hours from Samukai Camp to Caldwell Junction. When the road was paved, my elder sister decided to pay a visit to relatives in Samukai Camp. She drove less than 20 minutes and was in Lousiana very far from Samukai Camp. She had to be reminded by passersbys that she has passed the Camp and was redirected. Today, many of those stories have changed and others would change with JNB. 

Opportunity squandered and parked Race Car Anology

Many people like to make a mountain out of a molehill. When VP Boakai talked about squandering opportunity, he meant collectively as a government- including the legislature- there were many missed opportunities. Squandered may have been a harsh choice of word but the legislature and judiciary had a role as well in the governance.  His reference to a race car was not to blame in any way H.E Madam President but to state the limation within our constitution for the role of the VP.

He has been a loyal, down to earth, and humble Vice President with integrity and I believe his Presidency will do more and make Liberia work for us all in continuation of Madam President's legacy.

Think Liberia, Love Liberia, Build Liberia

Vote Wisely! 

Colleagues have asked why do I hate Senator Taylor this Much? No, I don’t and here’s why I’m critical of her. Kula V. Fofana, a Liberian Activist kvf2007@yahoo.com

Well, I do not hate Sen. Taylor and do not hate anyone for that matter. As a matter of fact, I love humanity and humankind hence my advocacy role throughout these many years. Madam Taylor and I are members of a network and at some point, we both worked briefly on the “Affirmative Action for Political Representation Bill of 2016”. Our relationship has been cordial and respectful. She is a beautiful woman with admirable eloquence.

However, my love for Liberia supersedes everything else. I began closely following Mrs. Taylor a few years ago when she publically supported a divisive call by few Liberians to “Christianize” Liberia. As a senator of a religiously and tribally diverse county such as Bong, she has stated on many occasions that she is “going to work for the Kpelleh people”.[1] This piece intends to summarize why my critical stance is nothing “personal” or hateful. However, my love for Liberia is personal.

In 2012 during an interview with the Voice of America (VOA),[2]  Madam Taylor craved the indulgence of the Liberian people to see her for who she is as an individual and not align her with her ex-husband Charles Taylor and that she was not responsible for crimes he committed. Ironically in the same interview, she said she is proud to associate herself with the name and is honored to carry it. "But I am just happy to say that that name also carries a lot of positivity because I work for the people of my country and that has enabled me to be the senator you see today. So, some people might look at the negatives, but I’d like to look at the positive”.[3] Madam Taylor intoned. Many politicians today associate themselves with the successes at the same time distance themselves from the failures of their associates.

Critics of Madam Taylor often question her role during the crisis her ex-husband led. During a town hall meeting in Philadelphia[4], quizzed about her role in the crisis as her ex-husband reined terror in Liberia, Madam Taylor said she provided relief items to victims.

Marriage to Mr. Taylor, sudden rise to the Bong Legislature and women’s rights advocacy

The two were joined in holy matrimony in 1997 few months before he would be sworn in as Liberia’s 22nd President. A wedding that was televised by the national broadcaster. Before their marriage, the two dated for many years while he was married to Mrs. Enid Tupee Taylor and had their son [first and only for Madam. Taylor-one of 14 children for Mr. Taylor].[5]  In December of 1989, he launched the revolution that displaced, killed and raped many as well as using young children as members of his Small Boys Unit (SBU). During Mrs. Taylor reigned as the first lady of Liberia, many Liberians were in exile in neighboring countries and some in displaced and refugee camps in Liberia. Under their rulership, Liberians lived in fear and intimidation. While she does not want to be associated with Mr. Taylor’s crimes, she believes that he did nothing and that he is and was being misunderstood. In a video interview with the Guardian News Agency, she defended her ex-husband that he shouldn’t be held liable for crimes committed in Sierra Leone as he was in Liberia and could not have been actively involved.[6] Mrs. Taylor returned to Liberia in 2004 after spending some nine months with him while in exile in Nigeria. She filed for divorce in 2005 and was grated in 2006 the same year Mr. Taylor was arrested for crimes he committed in Sierra Leone. 

Jan 1996. Mr. & Mrs. Taylor Photo Credit: BBC

 

Madam Taylor is aware of the benefits of the Taylor name that she enjoys today. Bong County was Taylor “Country” where he settled and had his military base. Madam Taylor herself is from Zorzor, Lofa County. Citizens of Bong County are sympathetic to Taylor and see him as their “godfather” or their protector. By herself, she couldn’t have won the Senatorial seat of that county. Before 2005, Mrs. Taylor wasn’t an active politician. The 2005 election was a special one and special rules were adopted by the National Elections Commission as an outcome of the Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement.  The National Elections commission encouraged political parties to ensure that their final listing must include at least 30% women candidates. That call enabled the NPP to bring on board Mrs. Taylor and CDC submitted the name of the late Hannah Brant. Many parties followed. Women occupied 14% of the Legislature in 2005[7].  2014 senatorial election came rather quickly. This time the contending parties were many and Madam Taylor saw that she was losing the county. In the eleventh hour of the campaign, she allegedly used a voice recording believed to be Mr. Taylor’s calling on his loyalist to support his former wife. It can be argued that that was a game changer for Mrs. Taylor. She became senator for the second time. Madam Taylor was never a women’s rights advocate but only became a beneficiary as the result of the 30% representation call in 2005.  

Christianization Campaign 

Liberia being a Christian nation is a faulty assumption but widely spread by divisive religious clerics. Prior to 2008 when the most recent census was conducted, about 40% of Liberians practice Christianity while 40 percent were believed to practice Traditional African Religion and 20% Muslims with the remaining distributed among Bahai’, Hindu etc.[8]  The 2008 census placed Christianity at 85.5% while Islam was at 12.2%. Many Islamic clergymen contested this but there wasn’t any empirical evidence to prove otherwise due to resource -financial & technical- challenges. They believed the census report was an attempt to marginalize a certain group of people.

Madam Taylor joined[9] the call to make Liberia a Christian nation in order to put Liberia into chaos as if the mayhem her ex-husband did wasn’t enough.

Religious identities and other lineages have led to the destruction of people and places. And for a fragile country like Liberia and someone who wants to serve as Vice President to join such a call only shows how divisive and intolerant they are. 

In retrospect, 2004 an alleged land dispute between two people metamorphosed into religious violence and landed the city and its surrounding in total chaos with the burning of mosque, churches, schools, and businesses. There was also a spillover impact in other counties.[10] 

The Resuscitation of Charles Taylor’s NPP Agenda    

Charles Taylor came to power with guns. His rebel group the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) was transformed to the National Patriotic Party and the leaders of NPFL were all active players in the Taylors administration that came to power in 1997.  What is the NPP’s agenda that Madam Taylor is using the Congress for Democratic Change platform to resuscitate? [11]

Mrs. Taylor Comforting her then-husband.video Photo: CNN

In his six years rule, Liberians lived in fear. His military groups, the Anti-Terrorist Unit (ATU) and Special Operations Division (SOD) of the Police instilled fear in peaceful citizens. For the most part of his presidency, we lived in the Sierra Leonean Refugee camp in Caldwell and later fled to neighboring Sierra Leone as a result of constant harassment from his boys. During his presidency, the economy was at its lowest. He was a tyrant and dealt with everything in similar form. For instance, he dealt with issues of price control with a radio announcement. “All foreign exchange bureaus and businesses must reduce their rates now or else their businesses will remain closed”. He warned. Without studying the economic implications, he would make those decisions and the after effect would be devastating. Freedom of speech and of expression was none existent. Critical journalists were intimidated, abused, harassed, imprisoned and their establishment shutdown and some were forced to leave the country.[12] The widows of the Armed Forces of Liberia and any pressure group couldn’t dare come on the streets to protest or they would meet Taylor’s ATU and SOD well-armed. As if that wasn’t enough, Mr. Taylor himself would use the radio to warn citizens not to take the streets else, they would bear the consequences. Is that the NPP agenda Madam Taylor wants to revive?[13]   Fear, intimidation, suppression, violence, rape, etc. During all of this, Mrs. Taylor was the First Lady of the Republic of Liberia. Liberians must think! 

Salary increment and financial autonomy

In April of this year, Madam Taylor spoke to an audience in the United States at a Town Hall meeting. In her meeting with a cross session of Liberians, Senator Taylor justified the necessity to increase lawmakers salaries because as she put it, “they cater to their constituents who come to their offices daily for assistance and in some cases they pay tuition, underwrite burial cost and make other expenditure for their constituents”[14]  and that they complain about the huge salaries they are making. She further stated that while their constituents lived in so much poverty which “is demeaning” so their salaries need to be increased because it is not “enough”. She says the ten thousand monthly salary excluding benefits is insufficient. In 2016, Madam Taylor was a key proponent of the Financial Autonomy Bill[15] that intended to give the Legislation full leverage over the decision of the finances they receive. Since its formation, the National Legislature has not been audited. They approved the final budget. How can you be the referee and the player at the same time? Where is the accountability?

Conclusion

Many would ask with all these views you hold of Mrs. Taylor why now and why only George Weah and Madam Taylor and not the other candidates? Is it because of job protection (as is often insinuated)? Well, to simply put it, there is a place and time for everything and they are the closest opposition to the Presidency with the most divisive agenda.  Prior to entering mainstream government, I was actively involved with advocacy and activism and was satisfied with the impact and inroads I was making through the several organizations I served. In 2012 I applied for a job vacancy (Adolescent Girls Unit Coordinator) at the then Ministry of Gender and Development and was interviewed, assessed and given the job. I later became the Director when the Unit was elevated to a division.  In March of 2016, I was appointed by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as Assistant Minister for Youth Development a position that I am honored to serve. (Thankful to Madam President) I began work in May of 2016 after confirmation hearing and it has been less than two years. If the argument of job protection is valid, all those who worked with Madam Sirleaf in 2005 and supported her should have still been around. This is for the greater good of the Liberian people and I owe it to my conscience and love for country. Additionally, my advocacy for religious tolerance dates back as far as 2006 when I joined the National Muslim Students Association of Liberia to advocate for Muslims holiday and remove the teaching of Bible from the National Curriculum to replace it with General Religious knowledge among many things the organization did.

As someone who wants to serve the country at that higher level, Madam Taylor needs to understand she cannot use the “divide and rule” theory. Liberia’s path to sustained peace has been long and challenging. Many of our compatriots shared their tears, blood, sweat, and life for this great nation. She must understand that the Vice Presidency is a powerful space that can be used to unite instead of divide. The thought of reigniting the Taylor’s NPP agenda scares me terribly with nightmares too. With all that has happened and all that she continues to portray is as if she is a selfish, divisive, and intolerant senator. Liberia needs a unifier; certainly not Madam Jewel H. Taylor. 

As she is intending to reinstitute Taylor’s agenda, George Weah, on the other hand, doesn’t understand simple rudimentary of governance. It makes it even scarier.

For me, this election is about sustaining the gains, strengthening the peace and making Liberia work for all Liberians. I will hope that Vice President Joseph N. Boakai wins. However, I wouldn’t mind if Liberians decide Mills Jones, Alexander Cummings or Charles Brumskine but certainly not a Weah Howard-Taylor Presidency. If Weah and Howard-Taylor take on the leadership the motherland, I pray a million times not, I will join the intellectual and armless revolution to save the motherland.

For me, Liberia before anything else!

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men (and women) to do nothing"- Edmond Burke

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[1] https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=716256281864574&set=pb.100004406254932.- 2207520000.1507341352.&type=3&theater

[2] https://www.voanews.com/a/liberian-former-first-lady-on-first-us-visit-after-nine-years-of-sactions/1519310.html

[3] https://www.voanews.com/a/liberian-former-first-lady-on-first-us-visit-after-nine-years-of-sactions/1519310.html

[4] https://thenewdispensation.com/2017/04/10/liberia-for-me-usd10000-00-salary-not-enough-says-vice-standard-bearer-of-opposition-party-senator-jewel-howard-taylor-

[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Taylor_(Liberian_politician)

[6] https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2012/apr/25/charles-taylor-wife-war-crimes-video

[7] http://www.necliberia.org/others.php?&7d5f44532cbfc489b8db9e12e44eb820=NTk3

[8] https://2001-2009.state.gov/p/af/rls/24149.htm

[9] http://www.theperspective.org/2012/0301201202.html

[10] https://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2005/51480.htm

[11] http://frontpageafricaonline.com/index.php/politics/5474-liberia-taylor-s-agenda-back-on-the-table-ex-wife-deals-weah-cdc-a-major-conundrum

[12] https://www.ijmonitor.org/2010/02/charles-taylor-did-not-encourage-press-freedom-in-liberia-prosecutors-say/

[13] http://www.frontpageafricaonline.com/index.php/politics/5406-coalition-for-democratic-change-echoes-fulfillment-of-charles-taylor-return

[14] https://thenewdispensation.com/2017/04/10/liberia-for-me-usd10000-00-salary-not-enough-says-vice-standard-bearer-of-opposition-party-senator-jewel-howard-taylor-

[15] https://www.liberianobserver.com/news/legislature-wants-financial-autonomy/