Cllr. Tiawan Saye Gongloe has been troubled by a recent incident in which authorities impounded three unauthorized trucks loaded with rice and arrested several suspects linked to the consignment’s exit from the Freeport of Monrovia.
By Lincoln G. Peters
Monrovia, Liberia, March 18, 2024: Renowned Liberian human rights lawyer Cllr. Tiawan Saye Gongloe has squarely blamed ignorance as the root cause of corruption and bad governance across Liberia.
The former presidential candidate’s statement was in response to a recent incident in which authorities impounded three unauthorized trucks loaded with rice and arrested several suspects linked to the consignment’s exit from the Freeport of Monrovia.
The National Port Authorities (NPA) on Monday, 11 March 2024, informed the public that it had arrested seven of its employees and had them charged for collusion and facilitation of the unauthorized exit from the port of three trucks loaded with rice.
The trucks allegedly exited the Freeport of Monrovia through the Bravo gate at about 3:22 a.m. on March 6, 2024.
At a packed news conference held at its national headquarters on Bushrod Island, the NPA said it will leave no stone unturned in implementing President Joseph Nyumah Boakai’s ARREST Agenda.
NPA Corporate Communication Manager Malcolm W. Scott named the suspects charged as Robert Yeah, Shift Commander, Charles Weah, Deputy Commander, and Ezekiel Kollie, Duty Officer.
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Other suspects charged are Zwannah Haines, Duty Officer; George Boakai, Gate Commander; Michael Johnson, Gate Drop Officer; and Abraham Z. Tulue, Recording Officer.
But in a brief remark over the weekend at a program in Monrovia, Cllr. Gongloe said he agreed with former President Williams R. Tolbert’s description of Liberia’s three major enemies: poverty, disease, and ignorance.
According to the former Liberian People’s Party (LPP) political leader, if Liberians can kill a president because of bad governance largely rooted in corruption, Liberians should have no reason to engage in corruption.
“President Tolbert said Liberia’s three enemies are poverty, ignorance, and disease. But, he concluded by saying the worst is ignorance. Because Liberians are ignorant, that’s why they repeat the things …,” said Cllr. Gongloe.
“If a whole President was killed and 13 others executed and many more because of corruption, why should any Liberian engage in corruption?” Cllr. Gongloe wondered.
The former LPP political leader further asked why Liberians should engage in corruption if the country’s civil war killed thousands of people because of bad governance largely rooted in corruption.
“What was wrong yesterday is still wrong today, irrespective of status, time, and actors. If we don’t know our history, we will keep doing the wrong things, and ignorance does that,” he concluded.
