2024 New Year Message To The People of Liberia

By Togba-Nah Tipoteh

This New Year Message is about the avoidance of making the same mistakes. This Message is important because when we repeat the same mistakes, we run the risk of continuing the prevailing violence that is destroying the Nation. The longstanding and widespread poverty in Liberia has become the pretext for violence that has taken on the forms of coup d’etat and civil war in Liberia and elsewhere. In Liberia, these forms of violence have taken the lives of at least 300,000 people and injured many more people.

In the face of the foregoing reality, people are hoping that the same mistakes would not be made. The history of Liberia and other countries shows that ruling and non-ruling political leaders make a lot of promises which are not carried out. At election times, these leaders make plenty promises about getting on the ground running to correct the mistakes and make conditions better but these promises are not implemented and conditions get worse, leading to the continuation of violence.

In Liberia, the continuation of the same mistakes is the experience because the powers that be do not accept criticism. In fact, the powers that be consider the critic to be the “devil in human form”, meaning that criticism is not appreciated. Ironically, the leadership of the non-ruling political party to become the ruling party shortly insists that it is prepared to sleep with the devil to gain State power. What a contradiction! What should one expect from the non-ruling political party that is about to become the ruling political party on January 22, 2024?

It is impossible to correct mistakes without accepting criticism!  The people who love Liberia are informed about these ironies and inconsistencies and remain motivated to work together raise awareness among the people of Liberia, It is due to this awareness raising that people witnessed locally and globally the minimization of the unfair practices of the National Elections Commission (NEC) of Liberia, the minimization of the violence and the maximization of voting on the basis of the good records of candidates during the voting at the election of October 10th. It is on account of this awareness raising that that the election results were accepted and the powers that be received commendations from local and global sources.

Now, we know that the only way to make conditions better is through non-violent action within the Rule of Law. We know the Truth because we are experiencing the workings of the Truth. Witness the results from elections in Liberia during the 52nd, 53rd and 54th National Legislatures. Most of the Legislators who wanted to be re-elected were not re-elected because of their bad records. They were not re-elected because they repeated the same mistakes. They were not re-elected because of the continuous awareness raising. It is only when persons with good records are elected that they can bring in the system of Justice, the indispensable ingredient for Peace and Progress in Liberia and in any other Country.

HAPPY NEW YEAR