Mr. Mohammed S. Kromah
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen:
During the 48th Annual Legislative Conference of the Congressional Black Caucus this year, I met with some staffers of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee I braced to solicit their thoughts regarding Africa particularly our country. “After 171 years of independence you are still awaiting handouts”. That is all I needed to hear. He went on to say, “ you know very well what I am talking about. Per capita, you have more PHDs than China, yet you have not been able to produce a single simple machine to change the quality of life of your people. You depend on China to build your University, to build your administrative complex, renovate your capitol building and built your soccer stadium with no condition attached. China with an angelic heart did all that for nothing”. You better wakeup, NEGRO”!
The answer lies with us. The people!!! We keep doing the same thing over and over and yet expect a different result. We keep electing thieves to positions of trust and vilify good people. Instead of thinking, we allow emotions, special relations and interests to determine our future. For an example, if a person comes and sings a Mandingo song or recite a Surah in the Holy Koran or a verse in the Holy Bible, that’s all we need to hear. Whether the person is real or not we elect them at our own peril.
Our country
Liberia a signatory to every important document that has to do with the WORLD PEACE and COLLABORATION: League of Nations, United Nations, OAU, AU, ECOWAS and the Manor River Union, the list goes on. Last but not the least, Liberia cast the deciding vote for the creation of the Great of State of Israel.
I know so many of my country men and women (some have gone far beyond) that got the highest grades in mathematics and the sciences and attained the highest education on the planet. They had been to Harvard, Oxford, Yale, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), only to leave us with not a single invention or discovery. We even have one who was in charged of the wealth of this great potential for twelve years and also an acclaimed to be one of the brightest, most globally connected and loved. Yet, she was not been able to meaningfully change the quality of life of the people in twelve years.
Since our independence we have failed to nurture creativity and collective orientations. We, as a nation, lack a workhorse mentality and behave like the whole nation depends on government paychecks. We believe that development is generated behind a desk wearing a tie with our degrees hanging on the wall and having other people to run errands for us.
The reality is, such a working environment does not offer the opportunity for growth, fellowship, the excitement of competition, and the spectacle of innovative rituals.
However, the intelligentsia is not solely, or even mainly, to blame. The larger failure is due to political circumstances over which they too have had little control. The past governments, particularly this last one, failed to create an environment of possibilities that foster innovation, rewards, ideas and to encourage resilience. And, the current government does not seem to know what day it is nor which side is down town. The president should be encouraged to open up for all of us to come in and help build Liberia. A fundamental transformation of our country from what is essentially non-innovative to a strategic superior plan which requires a bold vision, and risk-taking educated people with triumphalist attitudes is needed. Let us take a moment and think about our country. Our history, from 1847 till now has been marked by tears. It has been an emotionally overwhelming experience. Each one of us has lost a loved one to poverty, hunger, disease and the civil war. The number of graves exceeds the population. It’s time to change our political culture. Recruit and awaken the political consciousness of our brothers and sisters. It’s time for the Liberian intellects to cultivate an active-positive progressive movement that will change our lives forever. Don’t be afraid or dispirited, rise to the challenge and salvage the remaining few of your beloved ones. Join the value creators, producers, innovators, people with bold visions and proven leadership.
Liberia’s once prominent status as the beacon of hope for Africa; with its brilliant minds spread all around the world; with such tremendous natural wealth and rich history; has allowed itself to be called; the poorest; the most socially, economically and politically chaotic; and everything negative and every unimaginable thing on the face of the earth. We need the advice and support of all stakeholders to help us from this deep & self created mess so that we can restore hope. This is a wakeup call for all Liberians, whether you live in Liberia or outside, please get involved. This attitude of “leave the people business” is not going to fix our problem. We can begin building Liberia by starting with ourselves, our attitude. We must re-examine our own attitudes as individuals, as ethnic groups, as religious groups and as a nation, for our attitudes are essential to our ultimate goal. Liberia is 171 years and we continue to give all the negative credits to the 14 year war.
The Ebola crisis was a wakeup call not only for Liberians but the whole world and now this $16,000,000,000.00 fiasco. We have failed to develop the infrastructure of the country. We continue to rely and depend on the world for redemption.
Liberia has the population of a little over four millions. Politics has become the only innovative way to access the wealth of the country. The proliferation of political parties is a testimony. The political parties are not vision driven and do not have a referenced philosophical manifesto for one to read. It is all rhetoric, ethnically and religiously driven to sensitize and convince the ordinary people. Political Parties are used as legalized vessels or instruments to commit economic crimes.
HEAVENLY FATHER PLEASE HELP US!!!
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