Liberia-Finding the Base for Nation Building

I have spent enough moments both good and bad listening, reading and seeing happenings re-counting in Liberia in a manner that seems unprecedented. I am not sure whether I am getting all the meaning. However, I remain focus. My urge sometimes makes me argue some of the events with friends. Two things drive the urge in me for such arguments. First, I may be curious and deeply driven by my past growing up as a debate giant during my school days. Secondly, it seems obvious that I learn especially when I argue with people who are educated, informed and very smart. Notwithstanding, the fundamental reason for me is to gain an insight into this great land once protected by fierce warriors and later claimed by freed slaves believed to have discovered it. The country continues to enjoy poverty, corruption and backwardness even though it has some of the most talented sons and daughters who have made history beyond its borders.

The days are going without any reverse and life seems confusing. At some points it looks complex. In the eyes of many, things look deteriorating or static. For a few, I guess things are slowly progressing. This means while few are hopeful, many have lost it all. This might not be from my judgment alone I guess. For my personal observation, I am not sure whether everything is fine. Liberia is at a crossroad. Daily, we have arguments and blames and then counter blames. This has continued for years if not more than a century anyway. How long should we continue these blames? It is time to find a way out. I am convinced, it is time to make this nation as grand as the victories of its sons and daughters. This is the cause I am committed to and will never give up.

I am reflecting. Suddenly, I felt like taking some time out. The topic of making Liberia great keeps me thinking. I too, I have at some point judged this conundrum only to realize that even me, I have possibly wrongly judged the situation from time to time. Yet still, I have kept wondering why should a beautiful nation like Liberia be such poor? Why should Liberia, a friend to America, the most powerful country in the world be so behind? Why when certain citizens behave rightly, the majority of the Liberian public see them as being stupid? All of these questions have been in the loop and we all have at one point answer them in our own ways. Nevertheless, I keep asking one single question to myself; why should Liberia always be wrong in its programs and decisions? Why are the final outputs always not merging what is planned?

In this series, I am trying to answer questions that I have answered before. Questions that might be familiar to us all. I mean questions we have tried to answer before. What I am not sure is whether the answers were right. My new insight might explain a new meaning to them. I am on the quest to challenge a situation that many may not bother to challenge. I guess it is for the common good of us all.  In time past, I have once being questioned by some colleagues who am I and whether will I be the one solving this nation’s problem? I am not sure but I am convinced that I can contribute my quota. I am committed to this without end. But if it is for this that I will short lived on earth, so it be. I am confident that God will stand by me.

I wrote and published an article on November 3, 2017. In the article, I proposed that the Success of the individual is not built on what you achieve for yourself but rather, how many lives you have practically impacted by your education, talents and selfless contributions. These contributions help to lay clear demarcations and permit people to know their national destiny. In fact, this demarcation becomes so clear that with or without an education, citizens are able to decide where they belong. For instance, in nation building, citizens are politically motivated to know whom to vote for, why and when to decide what to do in terms of career. We might have a drama acted by westernization and poor performance of the elites. However, the trend of modern democracy is also playing its part. Modern democracy does not seem to deal with substance. Little credence is given to what is true, real and correct as social media and false news is gradually taking over. People and systems have established modern democracy in popularity and this is why Africa faces its numerous challenges especially in Liberia. Not that I am blaming democracy, but for a country that has no base, it democratic values will never hold and seemingly, many will blame democracy. I want to be clear, while I cherish democracy, for Liberia, there is a need for additional support incentives through programs that educate and inform citizens on choices. This country needs an active action to build a base for its democratic values to prosper and to endure the test of time. It is this base that I am searching for.

Before this time, I have also written series of articles some unedited about this very issues pertaining to problems Liberia is incrusted with. Well, as a young boy, my grandmother has narrated her ordeal when she then took me around for medical reasons and a coup d’état failed against President Samuel K. Doe. Then my mother narrated hers when she sold on Broad Street. All these events remind me how this country has suffered in the hands of the colonial masters whom themselves were freed slaves brought to Africa with a huge support based from their own colonial master; the United States of America. I captioned this as ‘’ The Plight of Liberia’’. In this article, I further propounded on the arrival of the settlers who are believed to be founders of modern Liberia. I wrote that when the settlers came, they established their own settlements which they later turned into countries. Montserrado, Edina, Bassa cove, Cape Mount. All these territories are settlements that could not have turned into any country, had they recognized those who welcome them and helped them to settle. By turning these territories into a country, they created a class called the children of the Pioneers. Today, we have the natives who call themselves as sons of the soil. Then we have a third class considered as the children of the aliens. These three distinct, free and liberty hungry groups continue to fight each other for power, resources, and respect. The struggle continues without any recognition of the fact that only true unity can make these children live and develop together. The aliens are those who settled around the same time the settlers came from surrounding countries. Since the settlers have always felt unsecured, they have played a divide and rule politics that will see the aliens (so-called) and the original natives at logger's heads.

On June 3, 2014, I wrote another article captioned ‘’How Liberia Can Build Middle Class and Vibrant, Small and Medium Size Businesses’’? This was part of my conviction then that Liberia is capable of building a vibrant economy. I least thought of other factors that influence healthy business and an environment of peace and unity. Few years down the line, today is May 25, 2018, I have a change of mind not for my ambition and hope for Liberia. Not my conviction on building a vibrant economy. I have changed my mind on the process itself with a base that holds things sustainably. I am concerned about those issues I have observed over the years. Today, I think I have more than 10 years of observation and working and talking with all class of Liberians. While there is something I still hold dear to my heart, the fact that I want this nation to rise, I must continue to find the real problem and suggest the real remedy. If I failed to find it, I think this could be one of my failures. Even if I cannot solve the problem, I want to be part of the team that recognizes the problem and I must be a contributor finding the solutions.

Concluding on the challenges, I have said time and again in my article that the Liberian society will continue to struggle with the high number of unemployed youth. The numbers will continue to bulge day and night. One simple fact is that the political class promises too much to its citizens. No matter how much effort is applied, there will always be trouble and the promises will always remain unfulfilled. There is no government on earth that will say they are able to provide their citizens with jobs without shifting the burden to the private sector. Government is a policy maker and policy executor, not a job provider. By regulating the system, a responsible and responsive government will be able to provide the platform, the paths and the connections that will see the development of businesses and those employed will be able to pay taxes to the government and the government will, in turn, use such taxes for development. It should be noted that Liberia cannot afford to give jobs that are not productive and revenue driven. What the government needs to address is the issue of banking, agriculture and other industries like construction and mining. Liberia and Liberians need to know that the government should not be an implementer of any projects directly.

Conclusively, by promoting agriculture, one currency, and fair banking system, Liberia can rise. It is also important to note other flaws - ‘For example, most of the country’s sons and daughters steal the nation’s money, or even take their own salaries and savings to unknown countries for safe keeping in the West. When they die, there is no one to claim the money, then the West use the money to support the country in the form of aids. In doing so the Western nations also advocate for their companies to come and gain our mining contracts. This is a sickness I guess. Liberia and Liberians need to stop all these mistakes and foster a new beginning. Today’s generation can win this fight. Today’s generation can unite and build a better African society- a better Liberia. The younger generation needs to stand up for the betterment of their countries. I am lending my voice because I am convinced that we can make a change.

All of the above ideas in some sense maybe good, but I failed then to realize that nation-building needs a base. Does Liberia have the solid base to uphold its development agenda? I want to discuss what this base means and how we can first begin to talk about it. The base or foundation of any structure is thought through because the base determines the durability and the sustainability of a building or an establishment. After thinking through the dilemma and the conundrum that Liberia is facing in the past, I sat down and also wrote a piece labeled ‘’The Anger in Me’’. In this piece, I stated that life is not all about me as a person. It’s about those around me and those who have seen me through this journey. Our region is blemished with hunger, deprivation, and suppression by our own brothers and sisters who have taken politics as the only means of wealth accumulation. They pride themselves on an education gained through the efforts of the very people they suppressed and amused themselves with riches meant to improve the lives of their own people.

This is what creates an anger in me. But this anger cannot be vented out by violence. Only through hard work, patience, and well-planned strategies. I must first stand the test of time and contribute to a world where our people can gain the needed dignity, respect, and place they need in the world. We all need to work together as a team, build a society that is focused and create needed agencies for us to thrive and live in harmony with ourselves. We need a society that is responsive as it once was and work to create wealth through labour’’.

This is the truth, a country like Liberia cannot reconcile with itself without a self-consciousness built through a pattern of systematic approaches. There must be an institution, with an institutionalized framework that guarantees and uphold the transfer of knowledge from one generation to another, this nation can rise.

The best institution suited and firmly tested over years is the FAMILY. The Family is the bedrock of every society and its role must be emphasized and no other alternative can be truly fabricated to replace it.

In my discussions and research verbally with colleagues, mentors and other professionals around, I have identified Liberia’s lost heritage and all other accumulated problems. The most damaging problem of this nation must be attributed to its dysfunctional family structure. I want us to please review few case studies and then, I will come back to the issue at hand.

Case Study # I: Tina and Her Mother

Ma Tenneh is a single parent, a young woman living in Monrovia. Ma Tenneh was once in the street seeking greener pastures and built a thinking that by having a beautiful daughter with a white man, she can raise the daughter and her daughter can later get married to a rich man to help take them from poverty. She then loved to a Lebanese man and got a girl child. Tina, the name of the girl begotten by the Lebanese man is now 21. She is in a relationship with a working man who fends for them. This man has bought her a car and now pay her schools fees. However, they are not married and there is no prospect for one, the man visits her regularly in her mother’s house. In the house, the mother also has a relationship with a man who pays a regular visit. Tenneh and her daughter jointly entertain these men together and are living this life for years.

Case study # II: Grandma Tewah

Grandma Tewa lives in one of the slums in Monrovia. She is now more than seventy-five years old and has three grandchildren left by her late daughter Finda. Finda got these children with three different fathers and none of them took responsibility. The eldest, now 18, sells in Red Light and supports the family. She brings men home but grandma does not question these men. The second child, a boy is about 16, he also has a girlfriend of similar age. This family lived their normal life and Finda is the head of the family.

Case study # III: James and The Wife

James lived with his wife in Buchanan for the past thirty years. They have about four kids. James often comes home drunk and since they got married, Sabah has always suspected him of loving around. They regularly have frequent quarrels in the presence of the children. Sabah, tired of the situation decided to move in a one-room apartment with all the grown-up children. On several occasion, Sabah has brought another man in the presence of the children. After few months, Sabah moved in a three-room apartment. In this house, everyone brings their partner and things in the house are interesting. Sabah’s boyfriends visit one after the other and so are the partners of her children.

If you observe the social life in Monrovia and most of the county capitals, you will see one of these scenes. Yes, one of them. Interestingly, life seems normal and very pleasing to many. This is a practical manifestation of a country with dysfunctional family structures. When one gives a careful look at the Liberian family system as it appears in homes, it is evident that moral, ethical and conscious understanding of true family values seems non-existent. However, on the surface, it is very difficult to detect. The symptoms can explain to anyone conscious to know that something is wrong with the family structure in the country. The Liberian family system is totally dysfunctional. Liberia has lost its family identity and values. The country has lost all values associated with family existence. However, it is difficult to openly challenge these incongruities. Almost half of the population is living this life and an open challenge to it means, the population will rise against you. Interesting though, most of these families are Christian. The remaining numbers are distributed to other religions in the country. Let us take some time and discuss Dysfunctional family and its implication.

A dysfunctional family according to the online medical dictionary is defined as ‘’one in which the adult caregivers are unable to consistently fulfill their family responsibilities’’. This is evident in the above-mentioned case studies above. For instance, Ma Tenneh should have worked harder, married to a man of her choice and get kids who are brought up under the comfort of their father and mother, schooled and then get job based on the morals and ethics instilled in them in the home including the moral of hard work, merit system and service for the common good. However, Ma Tenneh prefers to use her daughter. This can even be termed as institutionalized prostitution.

In case Study number two, Ma Tewa regardless of her age should be able to advise the kids, question their relationship and make them realize that as orphans, they could seek another path to success. Early responsibility limits people’s potentials and as such, she should have supported them to build a life of self-restraint. I am afraid, I don’t want to bring government into this discussions. I want to deal with the individual first.

The number three case study is even more interesting. How on earth will a mother compete with her kids on nothing good but how many suitors they can each bring home per week? Why should parents accept that girls who are not married bring home any suitor of their choice with no checks, no questions, no advice, and no caution? How on earth that men will impregnate women and abandoned them. I have even listened to men boasting how they abandoned women with pregnancies to suffer. This is the worst evil that any man can commit, to abandoned your unborn child with the mother and see yourself a hero? I am sorry, but you are a coward, my dear. Interestingly, even foreigners and aliens living in this country do the same with no regret. Recently, I saw an Asian boy of about six years, the exact age of my son and I was like, ‘’ this could be a rich man’s child born into a poor family’’.

Liberia’s bedrock problem is the persistent dysfunctional family that has become the norm and no one dare question it. Churches are filled with these dysfunctional families, while mosques are crowded with the same. Little is being done about it after all. This is why corruption is rampant, drinking is now a sport and chastity is even worse than one can imagine. Recently I jokingly said that if we want to end corruption, limit the drinking and the womanizing amongst the working class. Trust me, about fifty percent of corruption will be gone. All the money being stolen, more than half goes to buying cars for inamoratas and taking them to the best clubs.

It does not matter who becomes president of this country, things will hardly change as long as we have a majority of our homes dysfunctional. It is in the home that we learn how not to steal, it is in the home that we learn how to respect women, it is in the home that we learn charity, solidarity, fraternity, service and the common good of all. When we lost this opportunity in the home, there is no school to get it. Schools complement character building, they don’t build character.

In fact, if the teacher is from a dysfunctional home, how do you expect that teacher to impact the student’s life? A corrupt teacher could have been a victim of many vices created by dysfunctional homes. This is why Liberia needs to start building a base for its nation-building. Without functional homes, No country can have a vibrant school system. In homes, we build the character of hard work, merit system, and service. For instance, in functional homes, children are not allowed to get lower grades. They are told to study regularly and they are trained to never spy in school. When they shall have grown old, they would have already known that corruption is bad and so, they may not need any awareness on that. The conscience of good and evil is built in the home and sharpened in schools.

Liberia has lost for too long. Liberia has lost so much more, and it continues to lose. It is time to stand up. Parents should reinstitute family values in the homes. Religious bodies must mount a crusade that built behaviours. The implication for Liberia with dysfunctional homes is continuous poverty and this has led to too much evil already including war.

Before the 1990 to 2003 wars that crimpled the country, Liberia enjoys the true meaning of homes. During the war years, Liberia got enough to accept that the country was going to exist for years with the repercussions. After the war, this country needed actual healing and more programs that would have seen national reconciliation and active citizens’ empowerment. Instead, the system became more corrupt, victims abandoned and the entire system became messy and complexed. Liberia needs to reestablish it past by building from scratch and coming to terms with the neglect of the past.

This national healing must be spearheaded by religious bodies since most of the citizens are religious and active in religious bodies. To avoid this and make this country a heaven on earth, potentially already it can be, Liberians need to reinstitute family values in the home.

Liberia Is All There Is For All Liberians. Only Liberians Can Build Liberia.