— Pres. Weah Declares Proclamation; Commerce Minister Diggs Is Orator

IPNEWS-Monrovia: The Government of Liberia has released the official calendar of events to mark the observance of the 175^th Independence Day Celebrations of the Republic of Liberia, the Liberia News Agency has reported.

As per the schedule, on Thursday July 21, 2022, at 6: PM, the hosting of the Bicentennial Edition of the Golden Image Awards and Dinner Night was held at the Monrovia City Hall Ballroom on Tubman Boulevard which will be followed on Friday July 22, at 12: Noon by a Thanksgiving and Intercessory Prayer at the Bilal Mosque, New Georgia Junction, Monrovia.

A day of sporting events marking the dedication of the newly refurbished Samuel K. Doe Sports Complex in Paynesville City, outside Monrovia, will be hosted on Saturday July 23 while on Sunday July 24, at 10:00AM, a Thanksgiving and intercessory prayer at the First Assembly of God Church on Buchanan and Carey Streets in central Monrovia will be hosted.

Commerce Minister Mawine Diggs is named Oration for the 175th July 26 Independence Day 

On Tuesday July 26, at 6:00 AM, will be the hosting of the National Flag at the Barclay Training Center (BTC) on Clay Street, UN Drive. At the same time, on Tuesday at 7:00AM the President of the Republic of Liberia and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of Liberia, will review troops at the BTC.

Honors of the National Color, will subsequently be followed at 8:00AM at the BTC while at 9:00 AM a Parade involving the Military and paramilitary will be hosted. At 11:00AM will be the official Ceremonies for the observance of the Anniversary of the Republic of Liberia at Centennial Pavilion, Ashman Street, Monrovia.

The Government of Liberia, meanwhile will on July 29-30, climax the independence celebration with the hosting at 12:00 Noon the Children’s Socialization Day, organized by the office of the First Lady and the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection across the 15 Counties of Liberia.

The Republic of Liberia, formerly a colony of the American Colonization Society, declares its independence on July 26, 1847 at the Providence Baptist Church, Broad Street Monrovia Liberia, under pressure from Britain, the United States hesitantly accepted Liberia’s sovereignty, making the West African nation the first democratic republic in African history. A constitution modeled after the U.S Constitution was approved, and in 1848 Joseph Jenkins Roberts was elected Liberia’s first president.

The American Colonization Society was founded in 1816 by American Robert Finley to return formerly enslaved African Americans to Africa. In 1820, the first formerly enslaved people arrived at the British colony of Sierra Leone from the United States, and in 1821 the American Colonization Society founded the colony of Liberia south of Sierra Leone as a homeland for formerly enslaved people outside British jurisdiction.

The American Colonization Society came under attack from U.S. abolitionists, who charged that the removal of the formerly enslaved from the United States strengthened the institution of slavery.

In addition, most Americans of African descent were not enthusiastic to abandon their native lands in the United States for the harsh West African coast. Nevertheless, between 1822 and the American Civil War some 15,000 African Americans settled in Liberia and independence was granted by the United States in 1847, and Liberia aided Britain in its efforts to end the illegal West African slave trade.

Meanwhile, President George Weah has by proclamation declared, July 26, as National Independence Day and is to be observed throughout Liberia as a national holiday.

According to a release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Mawine Diggs, will deliver the National Independence Day Oration under the theme: “Fostering Unity, Protecting Peace for Development and Prosperity”.

The official Independence Day indoor program takes place at the Centennial Pavilion on Ashman, Broad and Buchanan Streets

The official program in observance of the day will take place at the Centennial Memorial Pavilion, on Ashmun Street, Monrovia; commencing at eleven o’clock ante meridian. The proclamation calls on all citizens and foreign residents within the territorial confines of Liberia to observe the day as a national holiday and orders government offices and business houses closed during the observance from 6:00 ante meridian to 6:00 post meridian.

“The Proclamation requests all citizens, in solemn cooperation with all Prelates, Priests, Deacons, Evangelists, Imams, Elders, and other Members of the Sacerdotal Order, regardless of religious creed, to gather together with one purpose in their respective places of worship in each city, town, village, hamlet, home, especially in the City of Monrovia,  Montserrado County, on July 22, and July 24,  and offer thanks and praises to God  for His blessings showered upon us in past and present times and beseech Him for his continuing goodness and  beneficence towards all peoples and nations of the earth, especially, the people of the Republic of Liberia.”

The proclamation, according to the release, also requests citizens of Liberia to offer thanks and praises to God for his blessings showered upon the nation in past and present times and beseech Him for his continual goodness and beneficence towards all peoples and nations of the earth, especially the people of the Republic of Liberia.

“It is in grateful recognition of the blessings and miraculous deliverances which the Almighty God has bestowed upon Liberia as a nation and states, that Liberians across the nation need to give thanks and adoration to the Almighty God for saving the state and to remember the brave and timely decision of the nation’s forebears on July 26, 1847,” the release said.

The proclamation is in consonance with the “Patriotic and Culture Observance Law” title 26, Liberia Code of Law of 1956, which set aside the 26th day of July of each year as a National Holiday to be known as Independence Day and appropriately celebrated as such.

“In His infinite goodness and mercy, the Almighty God has blessed and flourished The work of the minds, hearts, and hands of all the people of the Republic of Liberia from July 1847 when this nation was declared  a free, sovereign and independence state; and from thenceforth, through the years of our national existence, manifold and varied have been the experiences of the nation and its people, who through it all , have been able to forge their way by dint of perseverance, devotion and courage,” the release declared.