Ibrahim Al-bakri Nyei |
The former football star talks a good game when it comes to speaking to Liberia’s poor. But Weah faces the challenge of showing that he is still as connected, and can deliver, to the Liberia of his underprivileged childhood.
George Weah, the international footballing icon and Ballon d’Or winner, finally took over the leadership of his country 12 years after launching an ambitious political career.
After failing in 2005 and 2011 (then as running mate) Weah was overwhelmingly elected by what seemed to be a national consensus in December 2017 gaining 60 percent of the popular vote in a run-off election against the incumbent Vice President Joseph Boakai.
The football star turned politician also carried the youth vote yet his premiership will be judged in a markedly different way to the way he was judged by fans on the pitch.
As a footballer he was expected to score goals, win games and keep his fans cheering. Yet for many Liberians, success during his tenure will be a matter of life and death. Unlike the football pitch, a failure to score goals will affect people’s livelihoods, security, and the stability of the country he once fled from.
Source: News Now | TRT World
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