Callind CDC's Bluff - March 13, 2010

Before disarmament began in 1994 in Liberia, the prevailing question was getting to validate the number of combatants per warring faction.  For the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), this number was in the hundreds of thousand, as expressed by its leader, Charles Taylor.  However, upon completion of the disarmament exercise, the NPFL’s count fell short of the hundreds of thousands it had boasted, not to mention the number of arms collected by UNOMIL, the UN outfit! At the end of the day, Liberians became cognizance of Taylor’s bluff.

This false perception continues today, with the notion that the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) of footballer-turn-politician George Weah has the numbers to unseat the incumbent in the coming presidential elections in 2011.  For poker players, this is a bluff! No doubt, many Liberians thronged the streets of Monrovia to see Weah during his zenith as a soccer star, and even now, just to get a glimpse of him, but have not inherently placed their confidence in this man to be their leader and for good reasons too. Most of those who come out to see Weah are not card carrying CDCers but ordinary Liberians who may have little to do but roam the streets to find their daily bread, and who find excitement in chasing after a convoy of cars carrying their football hero, since football is the most popular sport in Liberia.  

Certainly, there are those who support Weah and perhaps for good reasons. But the strength of this number cannot propel Weah to the presidency in Liberia, especially against an incumbent. Moreover, Weah’s hopes for a win relies solely on what the incumbent has done and/or was not able to accomplish, not on what he has accomplished in seeking the well-being of Liberians.  What Weah has yet to do is engage the Liberian people in a conversation about where he wants to take the society and how he is going to do that. He has neither shown the savvy nor the poise for the role he seeks in Liberia. However, he carries is a huge duffle bag full of doubt, fear and uncertainty that diminishes his electability and raises the stakes for Liberia. And so with little to show for winning the hearts of Liberians and the actual numbers, CDC’s claim to victory come 2011 is again just but a mere bluff.

Ambulai "Fat Cat" Johnson, The Researcher -February 13, 2010

It is brazenly flabbergasting and appalling to hear the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Liberia, Ambulai Johnson, state on an international media outlet that he has to do “some research” to determine whether Bridgestone/Firestone company is treating locals around its facility humanely! Yet still he asserts that his mandate is to “ensure that the people of Kpayan Town and Bridgestone/Firestone coexist.” What an irony! How in the world can this man be given such a responsibility when by every indication he is completely out of touch with reality and the well-being of the people whose “existence” he has a duty to? It is not surprising that Ambulai Johnson would need to take time to “research” how the people of this impoverished village lives are being destroyed as they battle against a giant whose pocket holds many officials of the Sirleaf government. It is clear that he benefits less from the people than he does with Bridgestone/Firestone. Oh yes, Johnson has to move gingerly to ensure that he does not wake up the giant that feeds the bunch and has turned them overnight into fat cats. This one time handler of Ellen in the US is now seated at the head table and his only concern is to fatten his pocket while the people wait for his “research” to determine if their lives are living hell or not! Liberians understand Ambulai that your assertion of “coexistence” is to ensure that the locals do not stand up to your cash cow, but if your “research” is delayed, they will and soon “the chickens shall come home to roost.”

The 2nd Term Bid Announcement:
Do Something About It!!!!!!!! - February 8, 2010