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Month: December 2019

So your protégé’s character was not only impacted by the values from Lofa County and the Monrovia-ghettos’ diverse culture, but also impacted by two less obvious things among the different developments in the 70s. These two things, A Song And A Pair Of Sandals, grounded in the goodness of simplicity, also added a meaningful interpretation for me to what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. meant when he said; “…they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” Tributes 

The idea of simplicity and honesty: A Tribute to Togbah Nah Tipoteh

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    It is a general knowledge that mankind is not only endowed with his/her genes, but endowed with family norms, educational developments, religious upbringings, community influences, etc.; or as Ms. Carolyn N. Kinder of Yale University puts it: “The genes you are born with influence your behavior. Your social environment including your family, school and neighborhood also influence your behavior.” So your protégé’s character was not only impacted by the values from Lofa County and the Monrovia-ghettos’ diverse culture, but also impacted by two less obvious things among the…

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Ngũgĩ wa Thiongio will succeed Vinton Cerf, known for being one of the fathers of the Internet. Cerf was the first technologist to receive the prize, with other awarded figures including the philosopher Karl Popper, oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau, politician Václav Havel, writer Doris Lessing, and activist Malala Yousafzai. The prize will be awarded to the Kenyan author during the first quarter of 2020 at a ceremony chaired by Catalan president Quim Torra.  Artists & Reviews 

Kenyan writer and activist Ngugi wa Thiong’o wins Catalonia International Prize

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    The Kenyan writer and activist Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o has been awarded the 31st Catalonia International Prize given by the Catalan government, “for his distinguished and courageous literary work and his defense of African languages, based on the notion of language as culture and collective memory.” “Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o is one of the most prolific and renowned African writers,” reads the jury’s communiqué. “In all the genres he cultivates – novels, essays, memoirs, theatre – he combines the most profound African traditions with a sensitive yet merciless description of the social…

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CoP also referred to the intervention of Liberia’s international partners at this 11th hour as “an intrusion” into the internal affairs of the state. “We do not object to intervention or intrusion, as much as we feel they are getting too much involved in our domestic affairs — that’s not necessarily a bad thing. But we hope that same level of intrusion will be made when it comes to the US$25 million [infusion]; that same level of intrusion will be made when it comes to other bread-and-butter issues like the L$16 billion; that same level of intrusion will be made when it comes to the attacks on Honorable Yekeh Kolubah, Senator Dillon, or Henry Costa or Mo Ali…” Public Policy 

CoP chides foreign intrusion in Liberia’s internal affairs, will not assemble in stadium

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    Monrovia, Liberian Observer—In response to the 11th hour intervention by the Liberia’s foreign partners, calling for a change of date and venue for the protest that was scheduled for today, December 30, 2019, the Council of Patriots (CoP) has announced their provisional compliance with the postponement of the protest. However, the organizers have emphatically stated that the Government of Liberia’s proposed new date and venue — Sunday, January 5, 2020 at the Antoinette Tubman Stadium — are unacceptable. Below are highlights of the CoP press conference, held today…

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Sources say Representatives Mariamu Fofana of Lofa County, Samuel Enders of Montserrado County and George Boley of Grand Gedeh County have already received their checks. One lawmaker, who asked not to be named, said the money was taken from the House of Representatives’ annual budget and used as leverage against them to sign the resolution. “This money is not from the Executive budget; it is our own money. But the Executive decided to hold on to our just benefits until the resolution was signed,” the lawmaker said. “It was intended to hold us under duress until the resolution was signed.” Public Policy 

Liberian Lawmakers get US$5K Each As bribe signing Fee to Print L$4 Billion Notes

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    Monrovia – Unimpeachable sources have told FrontPageAfrica that each lawmaker, who signed the resolution for the printing of new banknotes, is set to receive US$5,000 as lobby fees. With over 60 representatives already signed the document that gives the Executive through the Central Bank of Liberia the mandate to mint additional L$4 billion, over US$300,000 of tax payers money will be ditch out to them as signature fees. This means members of the House are technically being paid for making laws, a Constitutional duty already bestowed upon them…

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Governments hit by unrest are presented with a similar dilemma: Use the opportunity of mass protest to accelerate social transformation to solve the underlying cause of unrest, or violently repress the people and suffer a decline in the new form of power. Occupy’s repression under former U.S. president Barack Obama arguably contributed to disillusionment, and the weakening of the progressive establishment, that fuelled Donald Trump’s victory. Mr. Obama failed to understand Occupy’s emergence as a symptom of the millennial generation’s existential anxiety about the future. What we craved was dramatic change, in any direction. The new wave of protest is an opportunity to chart a new course for humanity. Let’s not squander it. first published in the Globe and Mail December 2019, this piece was originally titled: Protests are everywhere. The world is rising up. So can humanity Editor's Desk 

The new understanding of the global protest movements

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  It’s happening again: Revolutionary fever is infecting the social body. The people of Hong Kong, Lebanon, Chile, Liberia, Iran, Iraq and beyond are mobbing the streets in massive numbers. These movements are achieving a level of militancy not seen in a decade. Spectacular street violence has toppled Bolivia’s former president, Evo Morales, while elsewhere governments hang on, deploying riot police in Iraq, closing the border in Colombia, disabling the internet in Iran. The frenzy of protest appears contagious. Elites and activists in stable countries are rightly wondering if the…

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These are the same young people who saw Mr. Weah as the “Country Giant.” Even though then-candidate Weah never had a debate with any of his opponents during the presidential campaign to know his local and world views of the issues, and he never held a press conference, and never put forward his governing platform and ideas, Liberians foolishly voted for George Manneh Weah. Editor's Desk 

The numbers that help explain why protests are rocking countries around the world

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    From Hong Kong [Gambia, Liberia] to Iraq to Chile, protesters around the world have taken to the streets to rally against their governments in recent months. On the surface, some protests have appeared to be spontaneous outbursts of anger over seemingly minor concerns. But almost all of this year’s major protests have deep roots and are the result of years of mounting frustration over environmental inaction, economic troubles, mismanagement, corruption or governmental repression. Protesters were only lacking a final spark. With protests roiling the globe, we explain the…

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The two authoritative sources that I have just given do not make competence or integrity of relatives an exception to the definition. Therefore, those who are saying that the appointment of relatives who are competent and have integrity falls outside the definition of nepotism are wrong. Unless they write their own dictionaries, they have to accept the current definition of nepotism. Except for monarchies, like Kingdoms and empires, where countries are ruled by families, nepotism is wrong everywhere, especially in democratic countries such as ours. Nepotism is wrong because it is an abuse of power. It provides a situation where the best jobs in a country are occupied by relatives of public officials. It deprives better qualified citizens who are not relatives of public officials of opportunities for employment. A nepotistic leader promotes patronage, opportunism and sycophancy as avenues for employment. In an atmosphere where nepotism prevails, honest patriots and nationalists are deprived of opportunities for employment because they are not prepared to stoop so low. Nepotism therefore is a dangerous and very serious corrupt practice because it has the tendency to promote corruption and mass unemployment. Op-ed 

MOJA Calls on the Government and Organizers of Protest to Maintain Respect for Human Rights and the Rule of Law

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A Press Release Issued by The Movement of Justice in Africa (MOJA) MONROVIA, LIBERIA—- The Movement of Justice in Africa (MOJA) calls on both the government and the organizers of the December 30, 2019 protest to maintain respect for human rights and the rule of law, in the same manner as they did during the Bring Back Our Money Campaign last year September. The Bring Back Our Money Campaign manifested an unprecedented display of maturity and self-restraint by the protesters and the government. The subsequent protest on June 7, 2019,…

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Speaking about democratic governance – one of the major challenges facing member States, President Bio took the moral high ground, though he himself is under pressure from the country’s main opposition APC, calling on him to respect the democratic right of the people to elect their representatives in parliament, after the High Court annulled last year’s election results in over a dozen constituencies won by the opposition APC. Public Policy 

“We must not babysit or seek to protect corrupt ECOWAS leaders,” President Bio

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  Last weekend, President Dr Julius Maada Bio was at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) end-of-year Summit in Abuja, Nigeria where he addressed fellow Heads of States about the successes of and challenges facing ECOWAS. Addressing ECOWAS Heads of States, President Bio welcomed the findings and recommendations of the Forensic Audit Report of the ECOWAS institutions. Commenting on the report, he said: “The revelations are an indictment of our individual national commitments to fighting graft and our collective sense of dignity and integrity as a community. “We…

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Faux Pas, Fairy-tale, Farce, and Fantasy – An Antithesis to President George M. Weah’s Incoherent Interview Op-ed 

Faux Pas, Fairy-tale, Farce, and Fantasy – An Antithesis to Pres. Weah’s Incoherent Interview

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  The Editor,   Lured into populist rhetoric, bewitched by political pageantry, and robbed through hardcore electoral maneuverings, the Liberian people missed out on yet another chance in 2017 to choose REAL CHANGE over FALSE HOPE. It seems like they are gradually waking up from the scars of fantasy and ecstasy. As though the Liberian people were spellbound or entrapped into enchantment, they made a risky choice to have experimented with a clueless and extravagant footballer who has zero knowledge in governance, leadership and diplomacy. The election of ex-Soccer Star…

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The political consciousness of the masses, like every phenomenon in the development of nature is not stagnant but in constant flux and is subject to change as they interact with the material world. The forces in tension initially created molecular changes below the surface of the Liberian farce. These changes were not seen with the naked eyes. But now the contradictions have reached a nodal point. They have pierced through the surface and created a seismic shift in the consciousness of the people, producing a qualitative change out of quantitative change. Before the outcome of the by-elections in Montserrado County, this change first expressed itself in the June 7 Protest when thousands of Liberians took to the streets to protest against the economic hardship and unbridled incompetence and corruption of the Weah government. The masses who about two years ago sang as a battle hymn “move on the road the country giant coming again” are now lamenting “George Weah da rogue, we will talk it.” A man once called a “darling black President” is now referred to as a “Generational Traitor”. Things have turn into the opposite. To paraphrase the words of Alan Woods, the illusion in George Weah has evaporated like a drop of water on hot stove. Op-ed 

United States Congressman Brands Monrovia’s Mayor Koigee “Thuggish”

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  The Editor,   The Real Narrative (“The Thuggish Mayor Jefferson T. Koijee)”. In Defense of Its stray Mayor, the Government of Liberia Response to Congressman Smith is Scapegoating. The GOL response to Congressman Smith’s Statement on the state of affairs in Liberia is extremely embarrassing, marked with fallacies and represent boldface lies from the pit of hell and belly of Satan. The letter from the government lacks tangible specifics and to a great deal confirms the accusations made against the government by the Congressman. Looking critically at the regime’s…

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