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Weah for
President? I couldn’t agree more. When
I read the article in the Inquirer on allafrica.com, captioned
"Citizens Want Oppong To Redeem Liberia", I was really
moved and had a very deep reflection. Over the last few months, I
have been internalizing Liberia’s current political situation and
in my imagination there is no solution in sight especially when you
look at the current political playing field. With
over forty aspirants declaring for the presidency, none appears to
have a popular appeal with almost everyone I talk to. Furthermore,
with no clear distinctions or ideological differences between and
amongst the parties, Liberia’s problems seem almost unresolved. This
situation is true if and only if one believes that the only solution
to Liberia’s political or leadership problems lies within the old
order of political leaders. If only we believe that we should try
each and every member of the old generation before we draw the
inevitable conclusion that they have failed, then it will be right
to believe that Liberia’s problems are hopelessly irresolvable. This
kind of thinking and belief that we have to settle for the lesser of
two evils will continue to drive our country into backwardness and
underdevelopment. It is time for us to change the way we look at
things. There has to be a paradigm shift. Sure they may be the same
old problems but we have to look at them differently. I am not
suggesting that it is easy but it has to be done because it is the
only and surest way for us to address the problems of Liberia and
provide meaningful solutions. I
have been reading articles written by various authors including Sam
Jackson, Albert Andrews and Banabas Kofa. After thorough reviews of
their works, I sensed one common state of being: they are all in
denial. When
Jackson suggested that Samuel Tweah was wrong for indicating that
there is a groundswell of support for ambassador Weah, it only
proved one fact. Even though Mr. Jackson knows this to be true, he
didn’t want it to be so. Hence, by suggesting that this support
didn’t exist, he hopes to serve his desire. He is wrong and should
wake up to the reality of the day. I
also looked at Mr. Albert Andrews’ view of the world and felt
saddened at the lack of basic understanding of leadership. It
appears they subscribe to only one way, one school of thought. In
his article: "Liberia is not a football field", he failed
to bring home his point in a very clear manner. But when he
indicated that he told his friend that "Weah is politically
immaterial", and should therefore not be taken seriously, he
entered the same state of being with Jackson. I don’t know what
their understanding of politics is, but I think the worse state that
anybody can assume is to see the fact and pretend it doesn’t
exist. This is the mentality that has driven our country down the
drain, and it appears the Albert Andrews’ of the world are heading
down that path again. I
sensed deep frustration in the writings of Banabas Kofa. When
Banabas refused to accept Mr. Yuoh’s assertion that politics or
democracy (by the people) is all about votes, Mr. Kofa was denying a
fact that everyone knows. He attempts to use the beauty pageant
analogy to make Yuoh’s point seem simplistic. Regrettably he
missed the boat because Mr. Yuoh is right. It all comes down to the
numbers on Election Day. It is impossible for a candidate to get the
numbers and be denied office by some election judge because he or
she didn’t meet some other criteria. Unlike the beauty pageant
where a decision is made by some selected panel of judges, and not
the cheering crowd, it is the crowd that decides the outcome of a
political contest. If the majority of the people believe that you
can do the job for them, you are the one. Now,
the major reason why I couldn’t agree more with a George Weah
presidency is because of the benefits that Liberians, I mean the
common people, stand ready to gain. In these trying times of our
national history, several things are important to us as a people but
very few stand out clearly. It should not be mistaken to think that
a George Weah presidency ends Liberia’s long sufferings that we
have endured for over a 157 years. It only signals the beginning of
the end of deceits, excuses, abuse, misuse and selfishness. A George
Weah presidency will provide a beacon of hope for the deprived of
our society. It
is my belief that Liberia currently stands in need of a leader who
has his people’s interest at heart; a leader who is sincere and
honest; and a leader who can stand up and fight the vices
(corruption, injustice, inequalities, etc) of our society. Liberians
need someone who possesses the ability to unify a people divided on
so many fronts that families living in the same house could fall in
different sections of the divide. Everyone supporting or opposing
George Weah agrees that fighting corruption, unifying the country
and making Liberia respected again in the world are the major
priorities of the next Liberian president and government. Now,
we need to be careful here because we are discussing in context. No
one should believe that Christ would come down from Heaven and do
this for us so we have to select people amongst us who can do the
job. If we are sincere and honest and look amongst ourselves, whom
do we think possess these qualities and have the better chance of
being elected to do the job? Being able to do the job is important,
which George Weah has proven through several endeavors that he can
do. Furthermore, having the ability to appeal to the Liberian people
to give you a chance to bring the change they so desire is also
important. This is because it is futile to have the desire and
capability to do the job but never getting the opportunity to do it.
This is where I believe again that George Weah comes in. George
Weah is the dynamic around which people of all persuasions can unite
and bring about the change that has eluded Liberians for so long.
This is one of the greatest opportunities of our generation to take
center stage and play a meaningful part in the running of our
country. At
this point I want to address an issue of concern to some Liberians.
Many would want to argue that Amb. Weah is a high school dropout.
This is one of the greatest fallacies out there. Because Amb. Weah
has not been in the business of publicizing his achievement like
many politicians; few people think that he made no significant
improvement in his life since he left Liberia in 1987. If you follow
some international media who do investigative reporting, you would
be surprised to know that George Weah has a BA in Sports Management.
Is this not education? Oh, when we talk about education are we only
talking about MBA, MA and PhD. But then, where do we draw the line
in terms of education? Why do we bring such a subjective matter into
the political lamplight as though formal education has any
correlation with leadership abilities? Look, once you can make
informed and sincere judgments and you can decipher right from
wrong, you are educated. In fact what matters most in political and
presidential leadership is LOVE for your country and people. Once
you love your people, you will always be inclined to make selfless
decisions that will benefit them. That is all the Liberia people
want and deserve right now and that is what we must give them. |
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