Friday, September 9, 2011

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Asked Nigeria for more troops ...

E. J. Nathaniel Daygbor

Source: allAfrica.com

Former INPFL rebel leader now Standard Bearer of the opposition National Union for Democratic Progress or NUDP, Senator Prince Johnson, is upset by recent disclosure by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of plans to bring in more troops from Nigeria for the pending general and presidential elections, alarming that the president's decision indicates threatening signals of an impending danger, ahead of the polls.

President Sirleaf, who returned from Abuja, Federal Republic of Nigeria Tuesday, told her Unity Party partisans recently prior to leaving the country that she was on her way to Nigeria to ask her counterpart Jonathan Goodluck for additional troops to be deployed here to avoid violence during the upcoming elections.

"You already know that Nigerian soldiers don't joke; right, I am going to Nigeria to negotiate for Nigerian soldiers to come here for the elections", the President told her UP partisans. But Johnson has maintained that the decision of the President without consulting the National Legislature clearly violates the Liberian Constitution, adding that those troops will be considered as mercenaries.
He said though it is within the President's preview to drive the Foreign Policy of Liberia, but the Constitution calls for consultation with the Legislature, and failure to do so threatens the peace and stability of the country.

Speaking recently in Monrovia, Johnson stressed that it beats the imagination of every Liberian for President Sirleaf to move in that direction outside of the United Nations, ECOWAS and other international partners.
He said the President and her governing Unity Party are bringing in the Nigerians to provide her protection during the electoral process and subsequently impose her on the Liberian people if she loses the presidency.
"We understand these tactics; the President knows that she will not win a free, fair and transparent election, so she's bringing those soldiers to protect her and dictate to us in our elections. These are troubling and threatening signals for us, the opposition", said the NUDP Standard Bearer.

According to him, Liberia presently enjoys the presence of 7,000 UNMIL military personnel and 3,000 UN police, assisted by the newly trained Liberian National Police and the Armed Forces of Liberia, including other security apparatus.

"So, it makes no sense to bring another troop outside UNMIL arraignment because these officers will only be loyal to the President and we will not be able to prosecute them under our law because the law is not aware of their presence here", he added.

According to the leader of the defunct Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia (INPFL), President Sirleaf has already noticed the sound of defeat, and was now planning and designing strategies to impose herself on the Liberian people, saying "The plans will be fully implemented with support from the imported Nigerian troops on the ground."

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Inside Liberia with Bernard Gbayee Goah

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

Liberia's greatest problem!

While it is true that an individual may be held responsible for corruption and mismanagement of funds in government, the lack of proper system to work with may as well impede the process of ethical, managerial, and financial accountability - 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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