By Varney M. Kamara
Source: allAfrica.com
Former Bomi County representative Sando Johnson says the reported merger of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) of Ambassador George M. Weah and Counselor Charles Walker Brumskin of the Liberty Party is a failure.
The NPP stalwart appearing on a local talk show “50-50” on Wednesday, November 3, 2010 said Ambassador Weah must submit to the democratic process if he chooses to become standard bearer of the merger and that Mr. Weah or counselor Brumkin should not be single handedly hand-picked, terming the Weah-Brumskin’s merger recent communiqué as a bogus instrument.
“This is not a football game that we are playing. If Weah wants to be standard bearer he should come to convention where that decision will be rendered by electorates. We will not allow him to dribble us because this is not a football match we are playing where he made every important decision as captain of the Lone Star of Liberia” Mr. Johnson said.
Speaking further on the political merger as to the chances of the opposition winning the 2011 general presidential elections, the former Bomi lawmaker acknowledged that the Unity party was well ahead of other opposition political parties inters of preparation, and called on the opposition to hasten their feet to come together before it is too late.
“Look T-Max! I must admit that the UP will be a formidable force come 2011. In fact, what the opposition needs to do now is to quickly come together to begging mending their forces or else I can assure you that the Unity Party will win the 2011 elections. The CDC, NPP, LP, LINU, NDPL and other opposition political parties need to come together as soon as possible because time is not in all of us favor.”
Asked about the fate of the NPP, he said the former ruling party was still a well established political institution in the country that could still pull the tracker come 2011, but however cautioned that such possibility would only exist if the opposition holds together and come up with a single candidate that would pose serious challenge to Madam Ellen Johnson Sir leaf.
Still leafing through the opposition political closets, many callers phoning in on the talk show observed that Senator Prince Johnson and the National Union for Democratic Progress (NUDP) party was amongst several opposition political parties in the country who is taking the campaign to remove Ellen in 2011 very serious and commended the NUDP and its standard bearer for the level of progress made so far.
Though the callers did not give any reason for their comments, but indicated that the senator and his NUDP partisans appear to be very serious about their campaign to remove Madam Sirleaf during the 2011 general polls.
Also, some callers expressed similar concern raised by Mr. Sando Johnson. Most of the callers who took part on the talk show said opposition political parties in the country have been divided for too long, and suggested that the only way they can win the 2011 general and presidential elections is to come up with a single presidential candidate that all of them could rally around to remove the current leadership. In the absence of that, the callers intoned, it will be extremely difficult to remove a Unity Party led government that is already seated and well grounded.
It may be recalled that the two opposition political parties, Congress for Democratic Change(CDC) and the Liberty Party lately met in Ghana to finalize a united opposition bloc in which a communiqué was signed between the two groups to continue the process of collaboration and continuous consultation. What the communiqué did not however address is the issue of who to lead the merger, a question that is still lingering the lips of many persons in the country, thus sparking huge debates in many quarters of the country, especially among partisans of the CDC, LP, UP and other opposition camps.
Ambassador George Weah won the first round of the 2005 general and presidential elections but was defeated by Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf during the run-off elections. Since then, the CDC has remained a major opposition political institution in the country, a factor observers say is creating increasing demand and pressure on other opposition camps to chase Mr. Weah and the CDC.
Everyone is a genius
Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. – A Einstein
Drawing the line in Liberia
Crimes sponsored, committed, or masterminded by handful of individuals cannot be blamed upon an entire nationality. In this case, Liberians! The need for post-war justice is a step toward lasting peace, stability and prosperity for Liberia. Liberia needs a war crimes tribunal or some credible legal forum that is capable of dealing with atrocities perpetrated against defenseless men, women and children during the country's brutal war. Without justice, peace shall remain elusive and investment in Liberia will not produce the intended results. - Bernard Gbayee Goah
Men with unhealthy characters should not champion any noble cause
They pretend to advocate the cause of the people when their deeds in the dark mirror nothing else but EVIL!!
When evil and corrupt men try to champion a cause that is so noble … such cause, how noble it may be, becomes meaningless in the eyes of the people - Bernard Gbayee Goah.
If Liberia must move forward ...
If Liberia must move forward in order to claim its place as a civilized nation amongst world community of nations, come 2017 elections, Liberians must critically review the events of the past with honesty and objectivity. They must make a new commitment to seek lasting solutions. The track records of those who are presenting themselves as candidates for the position of "President of the Republic of Liberia" must be well examined. Liberians must be fair to themselves because results from the 2011 elections will determine the future of Liberia’s unborn generations to come - Bernard Gbayee Goah
What do I think should be done?
The situation in Liberia is Compound Complex and cannot be fixed unless the entire system of government is reinvented.
Liberia needs a workable but uncompromising system that will make the country an asylum free from abuse, and other forms of corruption.
Any attempt to institute the system mentioned above in the absence of rule of law is meaningless, and more detrimental to Liberia as a whole - Bernard Gbayee Goah
Liberia's Natural Resources
Besides land water and few other resources, most of Liberia’s dependable natural resources are not infinite, they are finite and therefore can be depleted.
Liberia’s gold, diamond, and other natural resources will not always be an available source of revenue generation for its people and its government. The need to invent a system in government that focuses on an alternative income generation method cannot be over emphasized at this point - Bernard Gbayee Goah
Liberia needs a proper system
If Liberians refuse to erect a proper system in place that promotes the minimization of corruption and mismanagement of public funds by government institutions, and individuals, there will come a time when the value of the entire country will be seen as a large valueless land suited on the west coast of Africa with some polluted bodies of waters and nothing else. To have no system in place in any country is to have no respect for rule of law. To have no respect for rule of law is to believe in lawlessness. And where there is lawlessness, there is always corruption - Bernard Gbayee Goah
Solving problems in the absence of war talks
As political instability continues to increase in Africa, it has become abundantly clear that military intervention as a primary remedy to peace is not a durable solution. Such intervention only increases insecurity and massive economic hardship. An existing example which could be a valuable lesson for Liberia is Great Britain, and the US war on terror for the purpose of global security. The use of arms whether in peace keeping, occupation, or invasion as a primary means of solving problem has yield only little results. Military intervention by any country as the only solution to problem solving will result into massive military spending, economic hardship, more fear, and animosity as well as increase insecurity. The alternative is learning how to solve problems in the absence of war talks. The objective of such alternative must be to provide real sustainable human security which cannot be achieved through military arm intervention, or aggression. In order to achieve results that will make the peaceful coexistence of all mankind possible, there must be a common ground for the stories of all sides to be heard. I believe there are always three sides to every story: Their side of the story, Our side of the story, and The truth – Bernard Gbayee Goah
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