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Liberia: THE CHALLENGES OF CONTINUOUS GRAB ON STATE POWER BY MINORITY ELITE (CONGOES)
May 12, 2008
Michael Kpayili
 Michael Kpayili
The process of reconciliation as debated in many quarters over the date set by the Truth and Reconciliation to investigate the ugly past of Liberia’s history in a bid to make a sudden veer to the positive, needs retrospective consideration. According to the Truth Reconciliation Commission, issues arising between 1979 and 2003 are to be documented and recommendation send forth in establishing the causes of the defamatory history of Liberia between these periods.
I read an Article entitled “ARE MANDINGOES REALLY CITIZENS OR FOREIGNERS IN THIS COUNTRY, LIBERIA” with a triple question marks. The Article was cleverly written by one of the finest sons of Liberia and one time presidential hopeful, Sam Mohammed Kromah. In Kromah’s assertion, he outlined and critically evaluated two key words, simplification and generalization from the context of right to citizenship.
After critically reading the Article analytically, I realized and developed interest in the historical establishment of this country called Liberia. The alienation of some segments of the Liberian society is not limited to one tribe or culture. The built-up division currently existing in Liberia is squarely between “The Have” and “The Have Not”. If further deliberation will be made in this context, the minority elite (Congoes) and the majority outclassed (Natives) which would include Mandingoes, Kpelle, Mano, Gio, Bassa, Lorma just to name the few continue to degenerate thereby making the ongoing reconciliation in questionable venture.
The year 1979 is recorded as a time that the aggressive rule of the freed slaves (Congoes) developed to the highest reign thereby encountering harsh opposition from Natives. These harsh oppositions resulted to the death of several Liberians. The question that lies ahead of these harsh oppositions is; what precipitated these actions? In answering this question, a backward movement of the duration of the timeframe of the TRC must be ratified and address.
Let me briefly state from events in our history that decimated the nation. The STRONG, last of the four ships which transported freed American Negroes to Liberia under the auspices of the American Colonization Society, also returned to the African colony the first shipment of “recaptured slaves” (fifteen in number) taken by United States Naval Vessels off the coast of the State of Georgia. According to book entitled “ The Rise and Fall of the First Republic” written by G. E. Saigbe Boley (PhD), Jehudi Ashmun, acting in dual capacity of agent for both the American Colonization Society and the United States Government received the recaptured Africans. Ashmun immediately proceeded to arrange the living conditions and life style to be adopted by the recaptured Africans and reported as follows to the American Colonization Society’s Board of Managers:
1. They (the recaptured Africans) are to form a community by themselves, entirely unconnected, except in worship, and as hereafter stated by other colonists.
2. Their Superintendents were to control their hours of rising and sleeping, leading the family devotion, just to name a few. The colonists were provided homes for themselves and their families; the recaptured Africans were under closed supervision to the extent that the member of the colonists slept in an adjacent quarters.
Between 1826 and 1837, two new settlements, namely New Georgia and Marshall, were established by the colonial government exclusively for these recapture Africans. Officially, colonial Liberia had distinctly become a class-divided society. The settlements of New Georgia and Marshall, though as part of the Commonwealth of Liberia, did not received equal consideration for development with other settlements because these two were exclusively inhabited by the recaptured Africans. As the matter of measurement, New Georgia is situated four miles from Monrovia while Marshall is twenty miles outside Monrovia.
In 1821 after former U.S. President James Monroe provided the sum of US 100.000.00 dollars to aid the cost of the American Colonization Society, two agents of ACS, Ephraim Bacon and Reverend Joseph R. Andrus were dispatched to West African coast to negotiate “Land Treaty” with the native Africans. The Chiefs of Bassa resisted the intent of the negotiation based on several factors. Among these factors, was the protection of their inhabitant’s land. Based on many influences and other extended factors, in December of 1821, Eli Ayres and Capt. Robert F. Stockton cleverly succeeded in securing land for the freed slaves for undisclosed amount.
At the point where the black population were increasing among the white race, the fear that the American would lose its racial cultural identify if the Negroes were allowed to mix with the whites was one of the principal reason for the planned removal of black people from America under the auspices of the American Colonization Society. The colonists who were emancipated to embrace freedom basically introduce Christianity and promote civilization in Africa and came with an adopted cultural incompatible with that of the natives.
The Natives however, due to love of others accepted the freed slaves with open hearts. The freed slaves having lived in America decided to impose the Western style of life on the Natives. There were some major divisions that led to violent exchanges such as war. Other great leaders to include King Sao Bosso as mentioned in Kromah’s Article instructed the Natives to disregard confusion to let the settlers have their purchased land immediately
PRESENT DAY’S REALITY
The descendants of the settlers and the Natives are today faced with diverse difficulties in resolving the dilemma of the past. Although the descendants of the Natives have managed to reduce the wide gap between the children of the freed slaves and them, lot more needs to be done in bringing the situation to a breakeven.
The past and present governments predominantly headed by the descendants of the freed slaves have complained over numerous past dilemmas that need to be addressed at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Example, acquisition of wealth by the minority descendants of freed slaves. Some giant size buildings currently been rented by Liberian Government are owned by the children of the freed slaves and with the mandate of the TRC, it will be difficult to investigate the actualities surrounding the acquisition of these buildings. What were their income and assets at the time? Another issue is the prolong leadership of the settlers dating back from 1847. The aggressiveness towards the Natives by the freed slaves and their descendants over a long period of time needs serious consideration in arriving at a realistic and amicable approach to Liberia’s problems as it relates to social, economic and political issues. After these settlers were freed from slavery, similar indecent act of force labor meted out against them were transform to the natives. Some of these indecent acts of force labor were the recruitment of laborers (Natives) for the Fernando Poo carried out in the Sinoe and Tchien. According to the book written by G.E. Saigbe Boley entitled “ The Rise and Fall of the First Republic” , recruitment of laborers in the Tchien region, as well as the practice in other areas of the country, District Commissioners received instructions from high government officials in Monrovia to capture as many men as possible for shipment to Fernando Poo. These men were kept in a special compound for used on plantations. The force recruitment of native laborers by settlers for Fernando Poo began as early as 1924 in the Sinoe area. As many as eight hundred persons were captured by Captain Howard of the Liberia Frontier Force, escorted under armed guard and delivered to Mr. Ross, County Superintendent, for shipment to Fernando Poo.
THE NATIVES RESPONSE
Newton’s third law of motion states “For every action force, there is opposite but equal reaction force”. The force in this context seems to illustrate the argument on the seal of Liberia “The Love of Liberty Brought Us Here” . A typical native Liberian would argue “The Love of Liberty Met Us Here”. However, the loves of Liberty depicts on the seal of Liberia is generally accepted because it supports the settlers who are the framers of such statement.
The descendants of the natives have cried to ascend to the presidency since 1847 but to no avail. Due to the wide spread and tainted political terrain and the constant alienation of the descendants of settlers against the natives, the success of the 1980 coup d’etate was attained and realized. However, due to over-greed and over-zealousness of power, the descendants of natives were unable to work as a unit thereby allowing descendants of the freed slaves to infiltrate and designed what is termed as Divide and Rule Strategy against them. Although semi-educated, significant amount of the seventeen enlisted men were not thoroughly guided by the so-called educated natives.
What is therefore of paramount concern is the ability of the descendants of the natives to govern the country. Former President Samuel K. Doe forcibly captured state power in 1980 and was later elected in 1985 according to Liberian history. Doe ten years rule suffered serious challenges and opposition from the natives with handful of settlers’ children pumping fire.
The worst embarrassing events of our national history started since 1847 but the highlighted events occurred between “1990-2003”. After the descendants of the freed slaves felt that they were out of power, they developed a devastating strategy using the descendants of the natives to kill their compatriots. The only member of the descendants of the freed slaves in the defunct National patriotic Front of Liberia, Charles Taylor was declared as the head. Taylor, having a little malice under his sleeves as the result of the death of the former thirteen officials of government killed on the poles by natives during the bloody coup, cleverly revenge by ordering the death of prominent descendants of the natives. The Gios and Manos were used to killed prominent citizens of the county namely Jackson F. Doe, Stephen Daniel, Moses Duopoe, Samuel Dokie, Augustus Wright while other tribes from the native backgrounds in the NPFL were ordered to do the same.
Despite tension between the NPFL headed by Charles Taylor and GOL troop headed by Samuel Doe, the mother of Charles Taylor was protected under Doe’s territory and subsequently guarded by the Special Forces comprising of the Mano and Gio tribes when she was brought under Taylor’s control. I am not questioning why Taylor’s mother life was protected by Doe and the Gio boys but whether Doe’s mother could have been protected by Charles Taylor during that time.
There is still lot more education and awareness needed in realizing the true purpose among the descendants of the natives as far as ascending to the presidency is concerned.
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