Breaking Nimba County in half will not solve nation and region’s massive problem

By Tewroh-Wehtoe Sungbeh

Like many Liberian kids during my days in the Liberian school system, I grew up learning about the original nine counties that made up the Republic of Liberia.

My teachers in both the private and public schools I attended did not only teach me about the first five counties (Cape Mount, Montserrado, Grand Bassa, Sinoe and Maryland, and what made them great in their own right, they also taught me about the other four: Nimba, Lofa, Grand Gedeh, and Bong.

Since then, Liberians and Liberian students have been introduced to an additional six counties: Bomi, Gbarpolu, Grand Kru, Margibi, River Gee, and Rivercess.

Memorizing the various counties and their appointed Superintendents and other political leaders were a ritual that came handy when it was time for ‘current event’ – that time of day or year when we students congregated and lined-up to compete against the other to show how smart and how much we knew about our history, geography and everything Liberia and the African continent. Also memorizing the names of the various African countries and their dictatorial leaders who were often overthrown and killed made that part difficult to keep up with.

Since I wasn’t a math whiz, however, I always looked up to and was interested in that part of my school day, which was about history and current events, which also exposed me to my current life as a political writer and analyst.

Anyway, what made the inhabitants in those counties so unique is the fact that they were united as a people, and withstood the tides of times that included political neglect, abject poverty, oppression, discrimination, taxation without representation, and violent erosion from the Atlantic Ocean.

Lacking jobs, a feasible and accessible road system, hospitals, bridges and vehicles to travel from one end of town to the other did not make them wanting to get away from the other, but bonded them as they struggled together and were determined to make life better for themselves, for their communities, their respective families and those around them.

That’s the Liberia I remember, a pre-war Liberia whose citizens believed in community, family, unity and faith, and was intact for over a century before it was broken up into pieces to make room for additional counties, bringing the total to 15 as of 2012.

The idea of a group breaking away to form their own county is an endeavor that has a feel-good dimension to it because it provides an avenue for bragging rights and ethnic pride.

However, creating a county out of another in a conflicted, troubled and corrupt centralized government without a strategic plan and the funds to put in place the various institutions and infrastructure can lead to political upheaval, decadence and dysfunction as we’ve seen throughout the years in Liberia.

True indeed this is about ethnic pride, a feeling of marginalization, not wanting to co-exist or share a county with a minority ethnic group (with the exception of some) than it is about progress, development and making the county livable and better for all.

The call to breakaway also has a political tone to it because for it to be successfully implemented, the petition needs the approval of the national legislature and the imperial president who is always ready to exploit the political aspirations of the people by currying this favor to cement his own questionable tenure in office.

To her credit, however, the current president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, has not had the chance as yet to put her imprints on the county-status fad brewing in some parts of Liberia, which always played conveniently into the hands of her predecessors who often jumps immediately on the bandwagon to leave their own marks on the map of Liberia.

It is not that President Sirleaf will not have her chance to impact the map of Liberia in her own image, but a matter of time when Liberians who are seeking county status for their towns and villages to lobby her to make their dream a reality.

The citizens of Nimba County – or at least the ones on the Internet daily mainly in United States, are the latest bunch to hint at such distraction without considering the negative impact that idea could have on the Liberian nation and people in the second largest county in the country in terms of population, in this post-war era.

However, with hatred, suspicion and animosity between the various ethnic groups always a threat to their own survival as a people, and the Mandingoes, historically seen as not belonging, could also feel marginalized in this polarized region, which could spell trouble.

What’s so unfortunate is the cavalier nature of these discussions; coupled with the antics that followed as if the act of breaking away is unworthy of serious discussion.

Because unity is strength and strength can be found in numbers, the right thing to do is to put forward a united front that keeps all of Nimba County intact so that Nimba will continue to be the cultural and political force it has been throughout the history of Liberia.

Category: Editorial, Featured Articles