The day I went into hiding

March 8, 2021March 8, 2021 admin20 comment

By Mae Azango Nine years ago on March 8, International Women’s Day, it was the day my life took a complete U-turn. That day in 2012, I went into hiding for simply writing on female circumcision, as part of my journalistic duties. When I took on the topic, I didn’t do it to condemn the culture and traditions of our People as people have suggested, but I did to educate Liberians about the health risks involving the practice that was harming young women and girls in rural Liberia. Why…

Tributes

Archbishop Michael Kpakala Francis, How We Wish You Were Here—A Tribute

March 7, 2021March 7, 2021 admin2Bishop Michael Francis, Liberia, Tribute0 comment

By Robert Moncio Kpadeh In turbulent times like these, men of conscience and avid readers of history reminiscence on special and telling eras, watershed moments, and the great people who blazed the trail and performed wonders etched in the pages of history books. For over one week now, I have been reflecting on your impactful life, extraordinary works, and unmatched heroism, our venerated Hero Archbishop Michael Kpakala Francis. You were a revolutionary extraordinaire, a prelate of moral ethos and conscience, and a fearless bulwark of social justice who defied…

Op-ed

An urgent call for women’s participation in political leadership as we celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD)

March 6, 2021March 6, 2021 admin2Africa, International Women's Day, Liberia0 comment

By Fahnie S. Kollie On March 8 of every year, the world usually gathers to reflect and celebrate women’s achievements. People around the globe dress in purple, green, and white to celebrate how far women have come in society and how they’ve accomplished so much in different spheres of life including politics, business, health, science, education, technology, etc. Liberia will on Monday join the rest of the world to celebrate this year’s IWD under the theme: “Choose To Challenge”. I have seen several posts on social media in commemoration…

Public Policy

Land and Fragility of Peace in Postwar Liberia: Concessions and Conflicts in the Midst of Poverty

March 5, 2021March 5, 2021 admin2Land, Peacebuilding, Rights0 comment

By Thembela Kepe, Nyanquoi Suah On June 7, 2019, crowds of about 10, 000 people filled the streets of Monrovia, the capital city of Liberia, to protest against alleged corruption, injustice, and other failures of the government (Agence France-Presse News, 2019). These protests struck fear among Liberians, who had seen about 2 decades of civil war during the 1990s and early 2000s that left hundreds of thousands of people dead, million others internally displaced or exiled into neighbouring countries, infrastructure destroyed, and the quality of life severely diminished. While…

Politics

With Supreme Court Ruling Samukai May Not be Seated as Lofa Senator

March 4, 2021March 5, 2021 admin2Brownie Samukai, corruption, Supreme Court0 comment

By Socrates S. Saywon, Sr. Monrovia – Former Defense Minister Brownie Samukai is having a string of challenges to have his certification ceremony as the winner of the December 8, 2020, midterm senatorial election conducted by the National Elections Commission in Lofa County that is mixed with politics and legality, the debates are everywhere in the country and on social media: what should have or what should not. Before his participation in the senatorial election, the government of Liberia through the Ministry of Justice charged Samukai with the crime of corruption…

Tributes

Askia The Great: The Man Who Transformed Songhai Into An African Power

March 3, 2021March 3, 2021 admin20 comment

The 15th and 16th centuries have been called the Age of Empires. We are taught in western public schools about how Spain and Portugal explored the world’s seas and colonized large parts of Africa and the New World. We are taught about the Mughal Emperor Akbar who extended the power of his empire across the Indian sub continent. And we are even taught about the rise of China was a world superpower during the Ming Dynasty. But we are rarely told of the far more powerful and influential…

“2. Interview: “Dr. Patricia Wesley & Comrade Cherbo Geeplay”. Liberian Listener. August 14, 2019 https://www.liberianlistener.com/2019/08/14/interview-dr-patricia-wesley-comrade-cherbo-geeplay/ “3 Wen Wryte, “Dismantling the cancel culture.” American Thinker. July 6, 2020. https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/07/dismantling_the_cancel_culture.html “4. Trudier Harris, “African American Protest Poetry.” National Humanistic Center, 1917 http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/freedom/1917beyond/essays/aaprotestpoetry.html

Interviews

Cherbo Geeplay: ‘an age when poets’ voices are ever-needed to speak truth to power’

March 2, 2021March 2, 2021 admin2Cherbo Geeplay, Interview, poet0 comment

By Mae Azango Who is Cherbo Geeplay and where was he born? I am an African who takes pride in his origins. I consider myself as a pan-Africanist, a Garveyite in that respect, and a great admirer of Edward Wilmot Blyden. I come from humble beginnings, like most of my fellow citizens. I was born in Pleebo, Liberia, where my dad worked for the Firestone Rubber Company as a teacher. Both of my parents hailed from River Gee. Most of my time growing up was lived in the southeastern part…

News

Frustrations mount against George Weah led government as hard-times grip citizens amidst high level corruption

March 2, 2021March 3, 2021 admin2corruption, Liberia, Weah0 comment

By Socrates S. Saywon The CDC led Weah government has placed zero efforts in the fight against corruption, according to various reports this writer has seen. The administration of George Weah has been in power for over three years since taking over from Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in 2017, yet Liberians and the nation have not felt the economic impact or any improvements in their lives, and with three years in his regime, the country has less to celebrate. According to reports, the economic situation has worsened beyond imagination,…

Public Policy

Bleak future for East Africa’s opposition as ruling parties ignore constitution uses violence

March 1, 2021March 1, 2021 admin2East Africa, Election, Opposition, Violence0 comment

The East African—-Violence against the opposition during presidential elections is not new in East Africa. And so it was not surprising that National Unity Party presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine became the latest victim of what many saw as state-sponsored violence. At the time of going to press, Mr Kyagulanyi was still not allowed to leave his house; a decision enforced by a cordon of police and military officers thrown around his home in Kampala. Similar tactics against the opposition were witnessed in October 2020 Tanzania’s…

Op-ed

Former United States poet laureate Dove honored as trailblazer

February 28, 2021February 28, 2021 admin2Honored, poet, Rita Dove0 comment

The U.S. State Department has named Rita Dove, one of America’s and the University of Virginia’s most celebrated poets, as one of five Black women “trailblazers.” In honor of Black History Month, the State Department’s “ShareAmerica” platform is featuring Dove, Henry Hoyns Professor of Creative Writing, alongside artist Amy Sherald, sculptor Simone Leigh, the late singer Ella Fitzgerald and the late author Toni Morrison. They are recognized as female African American trailblazers who “transformed and elevated American culture, leaving their mark on the national – and international –…