Archive for September, 2014

Ebola debate evoked personal attacks from some corners of the political spectrum

By Tewroh-Wehtoe Sungbeh

Before a Liberian who perhaps doesn’t like my politics told me to keep politics out of the Ebola crisis in Liberia, another Liberian attacked this web site for publishing an article about a recent meeting former interim president Amos Sawyer had in the US with his supporters.

According to the article’s author, attorney Fredrick Jayweh, Mr. Sawyer met with his followers on August 30, 2014 to form an interim government, which he believe is a treasonous act and a violation of the Liberian constitution, since the planning is being carried out on a foreign soil.

Interestingly, this is the same 1986 constitution Mr. Sawyer helped to draft when he chaired the National Constitution Commission during the administration of Samuel Kanyon Doe.

The shocking revelation that Mr. Sawyer met with his supporters to discuss the forming of an interim government drew swift reaction from his supporters who admitted that the meeting did occurred, but denied that it was about forming an interim government to replace Madam Sirleaf.

What followed next were insults and putdowns from a Sawyer follower regarding my alleged “role” in the article, which I did not write but published. I was insulted and ridiculed for publishing an article I had nothing to do with.

Of course, I fought back vigorously, which I am glad I was able to do to get the cyber bully off my back.

The other incident occurred when I questioned the silence of the anointed 2017 presidential candidates and opposition politicians, who seemed to be in hibernation since the Ebola virus hit Liberia.

Why shouldn’t I inject politics into the Ebola discussion when politics is the driving force behind the decisions Sirleaf has made since the deadly virus entered the country?

Even as we debate the politics of Ebola and the president’s weakness in fighting the virus, Sirleaf made a political decision when she once again told government workers to stay home another month, to avoid the spread of the disease.

So when an elected president struggles to contain or eradicate a deadly virus, and those who aspires to be President of Liberia sits at home or in foreign countries and not helping to find solution to this national dilemma; do we just smile, leave them alone, and pretend that everything is OK in Liberia?

“Where is the opposition leadership in Liberia right now?” I asked.

“Sungbeh, what do you expect the opposition leadership to do? There is no need to politicize the Ebola crisis, let us rally behind this administration collectively to fight and defeat this Ebola virus.”

“Why not politicize it?” I again asked.

“Who’s making the decisions, not the politicians? In times of national crisis, do you expect potential presidential candidates and opposition leaders to sit by supinely in foreign countries and don’t have a say? Oh, OK, as usual, we Liberians always expect our foreign-based seasonal politicians – the ones who wants to be president and run for that singular position only when it’s election time. We don’t expect them to show leadership in times like these. Again, sad!” I responded to the guy.

When a forum participant added that certain members of the national legislature even suggests that Ebola be outsourced, I wrote back.

“If those senators are brave enough to suggest that Ebola be outsourced because the government is incapable of handling the virus, are they brave enough to come out and ask Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to resign or risk impeachment? By suggesting that Ebola be outsourced also suggests a lack of confidence in the president’s leadership. How long can the suffering continue to uproot and destabilize the lives of the Liberian people? Where are the seasonal – paper-pushing out-of-country opposition leaders? Are they preparing press releases and awaiting 2017 to get out of their foreign comfort zones? Sad!”

The individuals’ narrow sentiments do not surprise me, and I cannot get them out of the way they think, either.

Even as I write this column, the guy who admonished me for politicizing Ebola is in the chat room daily politicizing Ebola – the same thing he advised me not to do.

I guess he and his colleagues can inject politics into the Ebola crisis in Liberia, but are having problem with me writing about the confusion and incompetence of their “old ma” Sirleaf, who has proven to be tired and worn out.

I understand. Attacks come with the territory of opinion writing.

It is not that I am constantly politicizing Ebola and not doing my part to help fight the Ebola virus. I have done my part in helping family and friends back home, which is a private matter I will not go further into.

I also joined others recently and invited experts during an Ebola Awareness part of a program I chaired in our metro Atlanta community, that shed light on the deadly virus.

However, in times of national crisis such as the Ebola crisis, we expect our leaders to lead, to have clarity, vision, and take charge by showing competence and compassion, and projecting a sense of confidence that the Liberian people are OK and safe in their hands.

We also expect our presidential candidates and opposition leaders to show strength, courage, leadership and competence during national crisis.

These individuals cannot continue to play ‘wait and see’ and hope that Ebola will go away, before they can join the president and others to help combat the threat that is killing our people and destabilizing our country.

This is not leadership. It is cowardice!

If the presidential candidates and the opposition leaders don’t want to join the president as a unified team to combat the Ebola threat, at least, they can present a practical and sensible plan – a way forward that they think can solve the problem that threatens our nation’s security.

In our Liberian case with the Ebola crisis, I personally have not heard a word or seen a plan from those prospective presidential candidates and opposition leaders, as to how they want to address the Ebola crisis.

As usual, these individuals who hardly have any practical plans for Liberia except that they want to be president, are awaiting 2017 and other election seasons to spring out of their foreign and domestic comfort zones to shamelessly run for the Liberian presidency, which they think is an entitlement.

When these Liberian politicians believe the presidency is an entitlement and are awaiting national elections to function and prove their worthiness to Liberia and the Liberian people, it is the duty of Liberians who are disappointed with their lack of courage and leadership to inject politics into the debate by questioning their hearts and their patriotism.

Let’s do everything in our power to fight the Ebola virus the way each and everyone of us can.

Thinking outside the box

By Siahyonkron Nyanseor

Why the complete takeover of our country, land and resources by foreigners? Is this the 21st century way of re-colonization? What is going on here? Is Liberia for sale? Do you mean foreigners have more concern and passion for our country than those of us who own the country?

Check this out!

Currently, there are nine banks in Liberia, seven of them are owned by Nigerians. Of the 15 blocks of oil wells, it is said that a single Nigerian owns 3 of them. Other Nigerians may even own some more. Nigerians are planting rubber in other parts of the country. Who did they acquire the land from? Former Nigerian President, General Olusegun Obasanjo owns a big poultry farm in Liberia. The Liberian Army was once run by the Nigerians. I am not saying we should not allow our fellow Africans to invest in our country but the complete takeover of our economy and national security is beyond imagination. I thank God; I am only a Temple University grad. The Owl is too smart to engage in such ‘Colonized Mentality.’ My education taught me to think outside the box.

A colleague once wrote: “Mrs. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf took over since 2005. Critics and supporters in contemporary Liberian politics have been analyzing her presidency. As there is no secret as to what is obtaining in her administration, I will humbly reserve and defer my comments to posterity.” Unlike my colleague, I will do mine now; no disrespect. Too many damages are being done now, and I won’t be obeying God if I defer my critique. God commands us to speak truth to power. And being a journalist - who seeks to report the truth, it is a responsibility I do not take lightly.

Too many things happened to me because of my belief and advocacy. For example, my father and mother died and I couldn’t go to Liberia to have them buried. When my mother was sick she instructed my sister Jugbeh Menia Nyanseor that should the Lord call her to Glory, I should send my junior brother Sarkpah F. Nyanseor instead of coming to Liberia for her funeral - all due to my activism in the US against the ills of the Liberian society.

It is every child’s dream to be present when his or her parents are sick to care for them, and when they are dead, to be there to bury them. I was cheated of all of this because I chose to speak truth to power. Oh, how I wish I had been home to bury my parents! Since 1981, I have not been to Liberia. My father died in 1981 right after I flew from Liberia when the Doe regime pursuedTipoteh and his associates. My mother died in 1989. For this and many reasons, I am in the struggle till the end. This struggle has many facets including understanding and appreciating who we are as Liberians and Africans, and not always looking elsewhere for answers to our problems.

Decolonization of the Mind

Africans are so fascinated with education. They become intoxicated appearing educated, and they copied everything American and European; even the worst things too. A classic example is the British tradition of writing their position statement as “White Paper.” At one time, I served on a committee responsible to draft the final position statement after everyone has submitted their written contribution to me.

One of the members sent me his contribution titled: “A White Paper: Our Position Statement Regarding the Justice System in Liberia.” His contribution was great, but I had problem with the title, so I suggested we change the title to read: “A Brown or Color Paper: Our Position Statement Regarding the Justice System in Liberia.” When he got my suggestion, he was furious and his initial reaction was “Where did you get the idea of ‘Brown or Color Paper?’ It has never been done.” I responded to his question with the statement - because it was never done, that’s all the reason we should do it and start our own tradition. It did not register!

Like I always do in situation like this, I went on say to him “have you ever thought about why the British named their position statement White Paper? What is their skin color?” Since they are white, don’t you think that’s the reason they named their statement “White Paper? Don’t you think is about time we start our own tradition? Since we are not white, I don’t see why we should practice a tradition that we are not a part of. This is my point! We do not value our own culture because our minds are contaminated with the belief that ours is not valuable. And because we are brainwashed to believe we are from the so-called Dark Continent, we buy into their LIES. The position statement was written with neither topic. But whenever I write my position statement, I will title it: “A Brown/Color Paper: Decolonization the Mind of My Liberian Brethren.”

I have never heard nor seen anything like what is going on in Liberia where a president takes pleasure in mortgaging her country to foreigners, with no regrets whatsoever. I have never seen anything like the way the Unity Party government of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is giving away our country to foreign interests with no consideration for Liberians, and is doing so with the blessings of the Legislature. Even the True Whig Party (TWP) where she served as understudy never did such a thing! Yet, the Legislature pose no challenge, instead, they are only concern with the amount of money appropriated in the National budget for their offices. How foolish can they be? Selling your birthright for mere “chicken feed” (thousands’ of dollars) is something I cannot imagine. Even President Tubman was not that bad off! Dr. Zumo’s reaction is appropriate here: “We are in for a fix if we do not think outside the box and begin to do something concrete about our plight in that country.”

But then I realize how difficult it would be due to our colonial divide, the artificial boundaries that divide us into camps - Anglo-phone, Franco-phone countries – with no consideration for our linguistic groups (tribes). Due to this divide, Africans see themselves through these foreign cultural lenses, at the expense and disadvantage of their own rich African cultures. With ‘flag independence’, we still behave like Kofi Appiah in the classic Ghanaian movie, “Love Brewed in the African Pot” (1981).

This belief is best explained in the book by the Tunisian- born prolific writer, Albert Memmi, titled: ‘The Colonizer and the Colonized.’ The book was written in 1965. It explained the role European churches and their partners – the colonizers played in imposing European culture and religious hegemony on Africans, and designated our cultures and way of life as inferior. We bought into it like Kofi Appiah in “Love Brewed in the African Pot.” This story reminds me of the novel, “Things Fall Apart” by the late Prof. Chinua Achebe.

In “Love Brewed in the African Pot”, the Appiah family is typical of the new Ghanaian middle class, whose members are living well, exhibit the behavior traditions of their departed white colonial masters. While in Memmi’s book, The Colonizer and the Colonized, the chapter titled: “Mythical portrait of the colonized”, Memmi talked about similar experience. According to him, he said:

“…Let us imagine, for the sake of this portrait and accusation, the often-cited trait of laziness. It seems to receive unanimous approval of colonizers from Liberia (emphasis is mine) to Laos, via the Maghreb. It is easy to see to what extent this description is useful. It occupies an important place in the dialectics exalting the colonizer and humbling the colonized. Furthermore, it is economically fruitful.

“Nothing could better justify the colonizer’s privileged position than his industry, and nothing could justify the colonized’s destitution than his indolence. The mythical portrait of the colonized therefore includes an unbelievable laziness, and that of the colonizer, a virtuous taste for action. At the same time the colonizer suggests that employing colonized is not very profitable, thereby authorizing his unreasonable wages.” (p. 79)

The European Christian Church

On the other hand, he added, “…The relations between the church (Catholic or Protestant) and colonialism are more complex than is heard among thinkers of the left. To be sure, the church has greatly assisted the colonialist; backing his ventures, helping his conscience, contributing to the acceptance of colonization-even by the colonized… But when colonialism proved to be deadly, damaging scheme, the church washed its hands of it everywhere. …The colonialist rewarded the church for its assistance by granting it substantial privileges-land, subsidies and adequate place for its role in the colony”. (p. 72)

Today, the church plays a similar role between the ruler and the ruled. For example, the ‘Christian Church’ in Liberia has remained too silent these 8 years – allowing the ruler (government) to mortgage the people’s minerals, natural resources and land to foreign companies for chicken feed; engages in corrupt practices, violates the constitution, human and civil rights of the ruled with impunity. Instead of leading the way to speak and fight against the government’s policies, the church adhered to the practice of – ‘separation of church and state’ and looks to the West for redemption, when the West itself is badly in need of both moral and spiritual redemption. Yet, we Africans continue to take our cues from them, whether they are good, bad or ugly.

While it will not be fair to blame one individual or group, it is fair to say many of us played some role or the other in the destruction of our country. We did so through active or inactive participation. The active participants are those that made all sorts of excuses for the leaders and failure of the government, and played it safe – sit by and did not speak truth to power; whereas, the inactive participants consisted of individuals or groups that considered those of us that write and speak truth to power as “Troublemakers” and ask us to leave the “People’s thing alone.” Either way, many of us had some part to play in what happened and is happening right this moment in our country like the Ebola crisis.

For God’s sake, wake up Liberians, speak up and do something. The settlers came from North America, took possession of the land God ordained for us to share; they illegally drafted a fiasco land sale deed, and now President Sirleaf is completing the scheme - giving the people’s land away like it is nobody’s business, and the legislature, majority of them are fighting over who gets

what for their office in the national budget. This is the same group who yesterday was criticizing the TWP leaders. How naive can they be?

Greed and Stupidity

This reminds me of another story that involved a humble lady and her mean and greedy husband. He was so mean and greedy; he had his wife to enter into an agreement with him so that when he dies, the wife would bury ALL of his money with him in the grave. The humble wife was practically forced to sign the agreement; they had it notarized. It reads: “When I die, you (the wife) agreed to bury ALL of my money with me in my grave.” After she entered the contract with her husband, she told her friends and relatives about the agreement she signed with her sick husband. Upon hearing it, her friends and relatives called her all sorts of names - naïve, silly and downright STUPID.

Two and a half years after the agreement was executed, Mr. Charlie S. Buggar, Sr. died. Once again, the friends and relatives told Mrs. Buggar not to follow through with the agreement since he had died. She refused, and said to them that it was an agreement done with her husband in “good faith” when he was alive; and that she could not go back on her words. “My words are my bond”, she said. You can imagine what they (her friends and relatives) must have said behind her back!

On the day of the funeral, Mrs. Buggar got her husband’s “BIGGIEST Suitcase”; she marked it with the inscription that reads: “My Husband’s Earthly Possession for the life Beyond”. She placed his money inside the BIG Suitcase to be buried along with him. And they did just that; buried him with ALL of his money!

After the funeral, the press described the incident as wonderful. “A wife buried her husband in the fashion of an Egyptian Pharaoh.” On that day, it was the lead story in ALL of the newspapers in that town. The newspaper sold out! But at the repass, the wife told her friends and relatives that she buried her husband with ALL of his money. “I wrote him a CHECK that reads, pay to the order of Charlie Stupid Buggar, Sr.; signed, Mary Wise Buggar. She added, “The reason I placed the CHECK in the BIG Suitcase was to throw the people at the funeral off, include you (friends and relatives)”. At this point, her friends and relatives burst into jubilation and laughter. They laughed so hard, they shared tears.

The moral of the story is, never tell all of your plans to friends and relatives, because they might likely mislead you. But there is one person in whom you can TRUST that will NOT mislead you, and that person is the Almighty God!

Liberian people, there is a parable that says, if the townspeople are happy, look for the chief; if they are not happy, look for the chief. In short, since “God can’t sleep” as we say in Liberia, God is ready to deal with the President, the Unity Party officials, all those that have been participating in rampant corruption; their DAY OF JUDGMENT IS AT HAND!

Source

Memmi, Albert (1967). The Colonizer and the Colonized. Boston: Beacon Press.

About The Author: Siahyonkron Nyanseor is the Chair of the ULAA Council of Eminent Persons (UCEP), Inc. He is a poet, Griot, journalist, and a cultural and political activist. In

2012, he Co-authored Djogbachiachuwa: The Liberian Literature Anthology; his book of poems: TIPOSAH: Message from the Palava Hut is now on the market. Nyanseor can be reach at: [email protected].