A Rejoinder – Changing Faces: Lewis Brown the Dean Proteus

As we yank toward the crucial phase of sustaining genuine peace and security, solidification of multi-party democracy, good governance and the rule of law; Liberia is likely to witness the emergence and reemergence of opinionated pundits hailing from different political persuasions, aiming to provide the citizenry with the solutions through literature. I’m constraint at this point to proffer these few words that is concentrated on unearthing fallacies and heresies made by one of these jaundiced critic Mr. Lewis G. Brown at the official launching of the National Democratic Coalition also known as the “Lion and Deer Union” on May 21, 2011, strewn and often replete with redundancies.

I’m disturb to see a Lewis Brown, a man who ought to know by sense of right and wrong the cheating corrupt nature of his conviction tried to point fingers at people who lives are  better example than his. I beg to jog your memory on the premise that “he who comes to equity must come with clean hands”.

It is but fair enough to query our consciences by reflecting on the past that a Lewis Brown, a once top notch and white-collar kitchen cabinet member of the world most notorious leader and former president of Liberia, Mr. Charles G. Taylor, not taking a nose dive in the National Patriotic Party but funneling through the conglomerate bloc of the National Democratic Coalition (Lion and Deer Union). Is Lewis Brown and others like Cyril Allen, T.C Gould and Jewel Howard Taylor living to fulfill the aborted 2024? Unfortunately Liberians in their numbers who are going to provide answers, realize that the likes of the above names cannot be trusted because far down their sleeves lie the unfinished task of their misdeeds, con artistry, and dubiosity.

I’m disappointingly disillusioned in the fact that Mr. Brown will speak of how politics operates- but contrastingly, can any rash political hustler stand on the side of history making, having had the opportunity to make impact and you didn’t? Comrade Brown moves about his speech bluffing of helping to build consolidated democracy in Liberia through strong coalition frontiers. How shameful, a mean charlatan like Comrade Brown would stand to drive this heresy, when his political, moral and philosophical ideals have never been directed in that line.

Mr. Brown’s foul smelling assertions of the founding fathers of Liberia came to grips with much untold interpretations of the facts that the causes for which they establish an independent nation was not genuine and profound. He asserts “what was worse, many were unsure about the impact of what had been declared- uncertainty about the future of the first independent African Republic was widespread”. Quite dishonest! History provides meaningful offers to the existing pathway to recollections. It is in this that we denounce very ruthlessly. After harshly judging the forebears of Liberia and their role to independence, I’m cheerful you quickly somersaulted by applauding their courage that you termed remarkable- how inconsistent and erratic you sound.  

To further expand on the relevance for independence that shouldn’t be clouded with “uncertainty nor the impart of what had been declared”, centuries before the return of our ancestral founding fathers, native tribal chiefs sold them in chains and bangles to European Merchants and Sailors in exchange for economic products, such as salt, tobacco, gun, mirror, etc, for the purpose of working as slaves on plantations and factories. I’m of the spirit that Lewis Brown is knowledgeable of the fact been a student of politics, that hundreds of those taken from Africa died of diseases and some based on cruel conditions. Not until the Abolition of slave trade that thousands of our indigenous brothers and sisters had the opportunity of returning to their continent of nativity. Can the issue of our founding fathers be a mistake or a mishap as he thinks? This nativity and sovereignty comrade Brown most time boast of came as a result of the very whiplash that was borne by our very brothers and sisters that were once sold. Hence, this frenzy or overzealousness about the Declaration of Liberia’s Independence by our predecessors was unfounded, evil-hearted and unjust- and should never be mentioned in succeeding articles or speeches of yours.

The NDC Lewis Brown now regard with favor is NPP in disguise. Is Lewis Brown afraid to come face to face with the excess baggage of his imprisoned ghetto pimp- or all out to sway from the evil spirits in his former big time political ghost shop, “the NPP”. We have just understood your master game plan, which is bound to fail. Ditching out some transferred bloodstain oil dollars from criminal cartels around Africa for the purpose of settling liabilities and arrears of lame duck political allies and lay back second sponsored political parties is right to the point of the NDC national defeat at the polls. It is a known fact that your Political Masquerader “a rag tag economic baron”, who you appear better than politically and intellectually, during the Doe regime sold earth moving equipments and excavators owned by the National Investment Commission, which to date are yet accounted for. Again, your under carpet and little-known flimflammer while  in  exile during the Liberian civil unrest dealt deeply in the raze of illegal oil transactions and on the hinge of piracy with Islamic separatists , Movement  for the Emancipation of a Niger Delta  (MEND) and etc: appropriately names will be revealed and facts will be fully exhibited. This is the intent of simplicity of these individuals for a rush to the presidency in 2011. This desperation will only prove a re-edited version in the currency of our transformation to have economic saboteurs stage manage our country, which is a second guess of our democratic system.

So, when did these faded gray political parties think the need for power consolidation? Is it because Madam Sirleaf has created the democratic environment that they are yet to commend her for or due to historical failures, which they all have in common (George Dweh, Joe Wallace and etc)?Who is now the real architect of these political misgivings?  Hahaha………sorry to say, this time around the Liberian people in all such wisdom are exceedingly conscious of cajoles and will not easily fall prey to these fool-hardy jokes. However, for Liberians to wheel and deal in the excessive hatching of Lewis Brown’s suggestions about a unified opposition political frontier is yet to remove from the possibility of constructive participatory democracy because his (Lewis Brown) bootless and nefarious policies instituted at the edge of his Foreign Ministry’s desk are still woefully challenged on all counts and experience of his past deeds.

In paragraph ten, he asserts “At a time when so many Liberians are hurting and are in extreme need; when many have been downsize and are being left aside; when too many are begging and finding it very hard to make it; when many who were uprooted from their homes by the war, have decided to remain encamped around Monrovia under difficult and unsanitary conditions”. When did Lewis Brown realize a poverty stricken society……when he ran the LPRC with no financial report from which he built a mansion in sixty days, something that infuriated Mr. Taylor (as corrupt as he was) and later replaced him. Isn’t Lewis Brown a former “student advocate” from the University of Liberia under obligation to tell the people of Grand Bassa County and all Bassa land how he and his cousin Cllr. Charles W. Brumskin benefited immeasurably from the Malaysian Logging Companies through special payrolls-exploited and damage the forest? Again but contrastingly these are the guys who claimed to have the people of Grand Bassa at heart, and at no time saw the need to advise Mr. Taylor to abstain from such exploitation. Has Lewis Brown also told the Liberian people and the returnees like George Dweh and others who lack that sense of political direction why civil servants took pay only on Christmas and July 26 during their regime? Who now is responsible for uprooting the lives of these Liberians and creating a poverty stricken society?

The callous chap says, “At a time when disability is likened unto and entreated as inability; when mushrooming ghettos have taken control of our communities and threaten the future of our Country by addicting the minds of our young people to dangerous narcotics; when our young girls are becoming young mothers even before their bodies are fully formed…”. Drugs!!!! How shameful it sound when addiction was longed the engine oil used from the day he and Mr. Taylor launched their strings of battles, to the day of Mr. Taylor presidential retirement. Didn’t he remember how his former political master and cabinet colleagues initiated this obnoxious act of prematurely taking teen age girls to bed and making them leave home through cash violence? How dare Lewis Brown speak of such when “Miss Liberia” became a selection ground for their  mistresses –a number of whom have kids for his your former boss. Did he also remember these words“… we are Africans and our African culture permits us to get marry to more than one wife”? Those unanswered questions are only but fair to be responded to.

He says ”This is the time to move away from narrow partisanship to employ the best mechanics in our ranks to repair our damaged car regardless of whether or not the mechanic is from our tribe , our gender, our political organization or may worship as we do”. Didn’t he reflect that there were many fights for jobs at the start of the NPP led government between the Gbarnga base boys and Monrovia base boys- back stabbing, witch -hunting and elimination was the order of the day? Now, who in here is bent on “policies of exclusion and appeals to divisions” as he suggest. Did he remembered the stage-managed Camp Johnson road “State within a State” operations September 1998, which left scores dead and several amputated and subsequently incarceration of prominent members within the Krahn community? Madam Sirleaf has since proven through her personal life and the Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) inclusion of opposing views and embracement of opposition politicians in her government.

Finally, he argues in paragraph nineteen that “As we jubilate, May we never forget that that which we confront in 2011 is not a contest of parties or even a contest of individuals. It is a contest of wills – our will versus the will of some who are doubtful and afraid of a future togetherness, peace and shared prosperity”. What will? Lewis Browne must understand that the “will” is that which permits Madam Sirleaf to maintain a reposeful and humanize environment – not scaring away political leaders like NPP regime, promoting freedom of expression and speech, improving basic social services to much part of Monrovia and rural Liberia, constructing more schools and health facilities, construction of roads and bridges, a remolding economy that is debt free, reform security sector , attracting enormous foreign direct investments, unprecedented decentralization of activities across the country, regular and elevated salary payments and etc. Liberians in their numbers will give Madam Sirleaf and the Unity Party a one shot deal at the polls comes 2011 because of the above mentioned.

It is my enthusiastic hopefulness that this rejoinder will send a strong signal to Lewis Brown, the NDC (Lion and Deer Union) and all political parties that desire to thrive on falsehood to discontinue immediately or else they will have sleepless nights, as in the case of Lewis Brown now or through surrogates, trying to defend their dirt-encrusted horse and buggy days.

Neto Zarzar Lighe
Assistant Secretary for Press and Publicity, Unity Party
netoise@yahoo.com

Editor’s Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are not that of this paper but our reader.