By Mustapha N. Kanneh

Chairman of the Vanguard Student Unification Party (SUP)

Courtesy: The Perspective; Atlanta, Georgia; August 24, 2022

“When the CDC establishment rose to the pinnacle of national leadership after the country’s erstwhile president, Ellen Johnson reportedly imposed on the Liberian people Mr. George Weah, we knew that the country had been submerged in a sordid pool of corruption, grinding poverty, and grotesque ineffectiveness. 

While a few of our compatriots saw Mr. Weah and the CDC as the answer to the Liberian development quagmire, we saw this presidential newcomer as nothing more than a newcomer, a populist opportunist who, after reportedly squandering his footballing wealth on his pleasure-seeking inclinations and extravagant lifestyle, saw the nation’s highest office as a shortcut to primitive accumulation, racketeering, and debauchery. The aspirations of the Liberian people have been thrown into the valley of indifference as the dishonest, kleptocratic, and cliquish Weah bootlickers along with their leader plunder the national treasury, kick the future of the young people into obscurity, and compromise the progressive agenda of posterity. Mr. Weah and his apparatchiks of white-collar cronies like Samuel Tweah, Nathaniel McGill, and Jefferson Koijee continue to preside over the state in the most incompetent style, placing their personal interests ahead of the popular welfare of the people. 

The CDC brags about being a pro-poor government and a central authority that represents the general well-being of the residents of Logan Town, New Kru Town, Soniwen, and other similarly backward shantytowns, but on the contrary, this neocolonial regime stands in diametric contradiction to the fundamental philosophy and practice associated with a revolutionary government. Liberia under this catastrophic establishment is a banana republic and a zombie nation that distributes poverty, anger, and despondency to the people. It is a useless entity composed of human trashcans. 

Mr. Weah and his cabal of thickheaded jokers and rascals have defaulted on what the Genevan writer and philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau referred to as the social contract theory, which asserts that the people surrender their individual sovereignty to the state by virtue of the electoral process and in reciprocation of this, the state provides for the needs of the people. Unfortunately for the Liberian masses, what they have is not the social contract theory, but the “social stealing theory,” by which the marauding band of government looters sucks dry the coffers of the Republic. In the Liberia of the CDC, democracy has a new definition: government of Mr. Weah, by Mr. Weah, and for Mr. Weah. No wonder why top officials including Nathaniel McGill, Minister of State for Presidential Affairs, Bill Twehway, National Port Authority Boss, and Syrenius Cephus, Solicitor General of Liberia, all of Weah’s Administration have been sanctioned by the United States Government through the Magnitsky Act. 

In the last five years, this is how the President has bastardized the presidency, debased the honor of the fatherland, and transmogrified the Liberian state into a petty-bourgeois enterprise where he is the lord of every reprehensible deal. After five years of the Weah presidency, our fatherland remains a colossal and monumental disappointment in several categories, including education, the economy, and the welfare of the Liberian public. May we share here the fifty-one (51) counts of the Vanguard Student Unification Party, an organization that’s leading change through its popular Fix-The-Country Campaign? 

Exigently, here are SUP’s fifty-one (51) counts to the Liberia people which are the bedrock and epicenter of the consistent FIXTHECOUNTRY mass protest actions that are slated for, today August 24 2022 which are sufficient and legit reasons for President Weah and the CDC regime to pack and leave: 

1. The misapplication of over US$24.8 million from the National Road Fund by Min. Samuel Tweah 

2. The stealing of the National Census Fund by Francis Wreh, Lawrence George, and Wilmot F. Smith Jr. as indicted by the LACC June 2022 report 

3. The criminal maneuvering of Min. Jennie Cooper at the Agriculture Ministry as indicted by the LACC June 2022 report 

4. Address the problem of the economic failure of the state, high cost of living, and harsh social conditions imposed on the Liberian people by the regime 

5. Failure of the government to publish all financial records of the government from 2018 to the present as well as domestic debt records
6. Stop the flagrant violation of the constitution by the president and his followers 

7. Compromised and Kangaroo Justice System where justice has been placed on the market 

8. Stealing of elections and undermining the democratic gains of the state by the compromised National Elections Commission Boss Davidetta Brown Lassanah 

9. Address the issue of massive corruption and graft in government 

10. Address the issue of deplorable conditions of all government schools in the country 

11. Lack of vital drugs in government facilities and the underpaying of Healthcare workers, nurses, and doctors 

12. Justice for the mysterious death of Princess Cooper, Emmanuel Cooper, the three (3) missing boys involved in the St. Moses saga, as well as secret killings of more than three (3) auditors and all other victims without proper investigation by the police and justice by the state 

13. Address the issue of deplorable learning conditions at the University of Liberia 

14. Address the deplorable state of government Secondary Institutions of learning like Tubman High, D. Tweh Memorial, G. W. Gibson, etc 

15. Swelling unemployment, lack of opportunities, and social insecurities 

16. Lack of clean water and sanitation for almost all Liberians; and the immediate dismissal of LWSC Boss for corruption and poor management 

17. Lack of reliable electricity for all Liberians; the immediate dismissal of LEC Boss for poor leadership and massive corruption 

18. Poor disaster management plans as floods continue to carry the homes of Liberians in West Point, New Kru Town, Doe Community, et al. 

19. Eradicate the institutionalized Criminal act of each Legislator taking 30k in the name of constituents’ engagement 

20. The two-face dealing between ArcelorMittal and HPX 

21. Wasting 900k for Washington lobby annually 

22. The failure of the government to conduct the planned 2022 National Population and housing census 

23. The proliferation of Drugs and the criminal gang in Liberia causing the rise in the numbers of disadvantaged youths in the country 

24. The continuous attack on Press Freedom and muzzling of the media 

25. The unprecedented rise in sexual and gender-based violence in Liberia; particularly rape and sodomy of young girls and boys 

26. The rise in the prices of basic commodities on the Liberian market such as gas price, food, transportation, red palm oil, charcoal, etc. 

27. The rise in infant mortality and maternal mortality in the country 

28. The lack of basic childcare and childhood vaccines in the country such as the vaccine for diseases like measles, polio et al 

29. The deliberate neglect of public infrastructures such as the road from Duala to Broad Street, the Jallah Town Corridor et al, and the dirtiness of the City of Monrovia 

30. Address the rise in tuition in private secondary schools as well the government through the Ministry of Education provide subsidies for private schools 

31. Stop the continuous wave of organized violence and institutionalization of gangsterism by the CDC regime 

32. The failure of President Weah to fulfill his promises to the Liberian people, particularly by not implementing the TRC REPORT by establishing the War and Economic Crimes Court in Liberia 

33. The failure to dismiss government officials with “fake degrees” or academic credentials 

34. Failure to address the issues of Rape, Domestic Violence and SGBV 

35. Failure to address the issues of skyrocketing inflation, mutilated money, and shortage in banknotes on the Liberian market 

36. The Formulation of an independent investigative panel to investigate the July 26 Violence and to ensure all the perpetrators are brought to Justice 

37. The Reforming of the Judiciary 

38. The immediate dismissal of NEC Boss Davidetta Brown Lassanah for corruption 

39. The immediate dismissal of Justice Minister Musa Dean 

40. The reshuffling of the entire government cabinet 

41. The creation of a student loan system for both private and public school students 

42. The institutionalization of pregnancy leave and sick leave in both public and private sectors 

43. The reformation of the current pension system to ensure safe retirement for civil servants and workers in both public and private sectors 

44. The availability of affordable mortgage services for public and private workers in Liberia 

45. The formulation of the technological research center to drive research and innovation in science and technology 

46. The availability of micro and macro loans to local Liberian farmers to ensure food security 

47. The construction of food banks in all major regions of the country 

48. The thorough reform of the National Elections to ensure electoral transparency and fairness 

49. The President must appoint the Ombudsman to receive complaints of public officials’ behavior and also to interpret legal issues enshrined in the code of conduct 

50. The dismissal of Police Spokesman Moses Carter and his Boss Patrick Sudue for negligence, misinformation, and the continuous wave of brutality meted out against peaceful citizens, and lack of security 

51. The suspension and subsequent dismissal of the Mayor of Monrovia, Jefferson Koijee for his consistent involvement and orchestration of violence against peaceful citizens in the name of defending the quasi -CDC Blue Revolution. 

Moving forward, we can say that the Liberian people are gradually gaining consciousness and are tired of this corrupt Weah regime. Indeed, it was Malcolm Little, who after gaining the consciousness of the black race and not wanting to carry the nomenclatural identity of the oppressor changed his surname to X in order to represent the lost name of his family. Malcolm X would say that education is the passport to the future. And to this, Nelson Mandela, that South African freedom fighter resting in the martyrdom of whom Professor Wole Soyinka gave a festooning sobriquet, Avatar, offered his imprimatur when he said that education is the only tool, we can use to change the world. 

Under Mr. Weah, however, education is sitting in a wheelchair. The literacy rate remains low and school facilities remain poor. The University of Liberia, a state-run institution of higher education, is heavily underfunded due to the unjustified reduction in the school’s budget. Because of Mr. Weah’s callous disposition to education, thousands of students witnessed an extremely long and intermittent semester, which had to be addressed by the spontaneous protest actions of revolutionary students led by the Vanguard Student Unification Party, the biggest political student movement in the country. 

Under Mr. Weah, students at the University of Liberia learn under some of the most unhygienic conditions on the planet. Nondescript and filthy buildings. Leaking classrooms. Dirty bathrooms.

All across the country, there are public schools with similar poor facilities. Students sit on the floor in congested classrooms with an inadequate number of qualified instructors. We witness all these under Mr. Weah’s watch because he pretends to love education, but in reality, he has no interest in it. 

The musical President extends his apathy to the people from education to the economy. For five years, the Liberian economy remains a failure and a tragedy. After five years, Liberians remain poor, hungry, and angry. Like cannon fodders, they have been used and abused and all their hopes have been buried in the Gehenna of history. The people’s lives are mired in inexorable poverty and squalor. Every day, they live on less than a dollar. Their bodies are emaciated. They have become beggars. Their appearance signifies battered people, a whole nation dining on the table of starvation. 

For the working class, that is, the peasant hustlers toiling in the mines of the foreign multinational corporations, there’s nothing but agony – agonizing agony. Our natural resources have become the plaything of Bea Mountain and other corporations that repatriate the surplus value of the exploitation of our gold and diamonds. These companies take a huge chunk of the proceeds and give a pittance to the workers. When the workers agitate against unfair labor practices meted out against them, the bosses of these leeching companies bribe Mr. Weah and his government to muffle the voice of protest and perpetuate their exploitation of Liberian workers. 

Dear compatriots, Mr. Weah is the commander-in-chief of the neoliberal system that values bribes and paltry royalties over the welfare of the people. Mr. Weah of the discredited CDC is the doyen of bad governance, nonchalance, and corruption. 

Fellow Liberians, George Weah is a presidential unknown who dabbles in joking while the masses remain on the edge of existence. He is another president of the highest character who does not deserve another term in our glorified office. 

Therefore, we are going to rally the young people and the students throughout the territorial boundaries of the Republic under the banner of the Fix-The-Country Campaign to give Mr. Weah and the CDC an unsavory remaining months in office. We will rally and direct the radical enthusiasm of the people’s children and fight to ensure that Mr. Weah does not come anywhere near the presidency of our country after next year’s elections. From the ghettos to the slumps and the towns and villages of the Republic, we will blow the trumpet of the revolution, and together with the youths and students, we will orchestrate the vanguard against the reckless CDC government, a product of historical accident. 

About the Author:

Mustapha N. Kanneh is a senior student at the University of Liberia studying Economics. He is the current Chairman of the Vanguard Student Unification Party (SUP). He can be reached at mustaphanuchkanneh@gmail.com/+231770179193”