SPECIAL REMARKS DELIVERED BY

HIS EXCELLENCY JOSEPH NYUMA BOAKAI

DURING PROGRAMS MARKING THE TURNING OVER OF THE CHAIRMANSHIP OF THE COLLABORATING POLITICAL PARTIES (CPP) TO THE UNITY PARTY HEADQUARTERS OF THE UNITY PARTY

CONGO TOWN, LIBERIA

OCTOBER 15, 2021

My Fellow Liberians, Political Leaders and Officials of the Constituent Parties of the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP), Partisans and Supporters of the CPP, Well-Wishers, Friends, Ladies and Gentlemen.

On these historic and sacred grounds of the Unity Party and with the guidance of God Almighty, we declare that the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) remain strong, united and unwavering.  No fleeting temptation, no distraction will steer us away from our goals. We are set to win in 2023 and redirect the course of our history.

Here, on May 19, 2020, the CPP declared to our fellow citizens and the world that we were unerringly committed and dedicated to a daring cause so achievable and patriotic. Collectively we remain poised to win in 2023 building upon the expectations, hopes and justifiable excitement of the Liberian People that an alternative is possible.

This is why I feel deeply humbled to accept the responsibility bestowed upon me today by the CPP as its Chairperson for the next 8 months.

Fellow Liberians and Partisans, the past few months have been fraught with difficulties creating anxiety in the public and a sense of implosion within the CPP. We recognize these challenges, which have occasioned internal wrangling and a distasteful impression. However, we implore you to not allow differences and internal wrangling to define the CPP, no matter how contentious they have become. This is because social, economic or political conflicts are events that can be transformed into good. We must also see the positives in our differences, as these disagreements and healthy exchanges are the labor pains of the collaboration. Just as a mother experiences discomfort in childbirth but finds joy at the sight of her newborn baby, so also will our differences be transformed into unity and a common purpose in changing our country for the good of all.

I want to assure all Liberians, wherever they are in the world that the collaboration will be strong after the storm, and we will continue to demonstrate its purpose in pursuing the path of providing alternative and responsible leadership for the people of Liberia.

Over the next 8 months of our leadership, the CPP will be institutionalized. We will entrench our feet so deep that victory will be the only option. We will not betray our country. Our people have given us their confidence, we will not disappoint them.

We come to remind you all, our partisans and all well-meaning Liberians, that what we have all set out to do places us all on the threshold of history to cast out the ghost of what is a reckless political, economic and social order that benefits only very few people and has grown increasingly stubborn to change.

We have also come to let you know that we are united and determined to move forward together as an alliance, joining with millions of other Liberians across this country and the Diaspora to break the cycle of abject poverty, impunity, illiteracy, disease, social injustice, dictatorship, corruption and other challenges that haunt the present, and most profoundly the future.

Today, our country is confronted by some of the most vexing issues of the post war years, as poor governance and failed leadership; marginalization of the majority of Liberians, inequity, and institutional failure have caused low public trust in the government and its institutions. Much of the progress made in the recent past including the execution of a reformed agenda has eroded. The economy is not healthy and not performing for the people as it should be. Productivity is at an all-time low and cost of living high; with price of food and other basic commodities going up, causing most Liberians to fall into poverty.

Majority of our people, especially the youth, are unemployed, exposed to drugs, make no income and live in poor and unacceptable conditions. Poor fiscal decisions including consistent off-budget spending on nonproductive and vanity projects are causing strain and decline in significant areas such as education and health. As much as the country is endowed with natural resources, its citizens including many in communities hosting concessions are hardly benefiting, causing unwarranted tensions and hanging on the precipice of communal conflicts and insecurity.

The security situation is dire and rapidly deteriorating. Many of our citizens and residents live in constant fear, particularly, as a result of the unresolved spate of violence and killings in the past two years. This has unraveled the state of the current security apparatus, revealing the bare threads of a security sector largely aimed at protecting only public officials and leaving millions of citizens and residents to their own devices.  All these problems are undergirded by public corruption, the scale of which is yet to be confronted by government in ways that hold public officials to account.

We must liberate our people from the bondage of failed leadership: A winning soccer icon whose Presidency sees our pitch banned by FIFA and our team as an underdog. The one success that brought you to prominence has become a national failure under your leadership. Missing persons, missing parts, armed robbery and general insecurity is now the Liberian Character. This must change and we must concentrate on a vision that will take Liberians from this bondage to new heights of progress.

It is often said: “Don’t give boys men job to do”. Leave an entertainer to entertain for “while Rome burns the Boy King entertains his guests with a musical harp”.  While Liberia burns, the Boy King encourages the building of statutes and monuments in his name while he is alive. Demands that his followers worship him. Exudes an unrealistic lifestyle while poverty consumes our people in the “dirtiest city in Africa”. Malnutrition rages while he plays music and dance to musical cheers.

Liberia burns and people die but he entertains his guests at lavish undertakings while illiteracy and drugs maim our children. He builds lavish and luxury homes in 1 year while his entire party takes the life time of his regime to finish a vocational training center on its party premises. A change betrayed!