“Cow pupu coalition”

An official of Liberia’s main opposition political Congress for Democratic Change or CDC, Mr. Mulbah Morlu described the Ganta mass gathering of opposition parties to form a coalition against the ruling Unity Party as a “cow pupu” coalition. According to Vice Chairman Morlu of the CDC, the issues at the Ganta gathering were not extensively dealt with before inviting the media.

“So, they had press issues that should have been dealt with and setting the stage for … to a coalition block, were never dealt with. So because of that it was like, excuse me, to say cow pupu. Alright, you see it, over it is dry and under is a lot of liquid. You put your foot there, you’re going to see,” he told a local radio talk show recently in Monrovia.

Mr. Morlu, who serves in the CDC of Liberia’s former international soccer icon George M. Weah, persistently argued that the first thing he realized in Ganta was a town hall forum where they had microphones and cameras opened, while politicians were being asked to make statements.

He contended that at such gathering, political leaders would make comments that will resonate with their bases. “The first thing is that you needed a serious behind- the- door conversation with these political leaders as to the realistic projection and anticipation of the voters and their own strength and weaknesses in regards to their closeness in the coalition if at all it would be,” he suggested.

According to Mr. Morlu, he was giving his personal opinion surrounding the Ganta, Nimba County opposition party coalition forum that gathered several parties. While the so- called Ganta “rainbow coalition” still remains in the shadows of unfolding political events here, the CDC of Sen. Weah recently entered another partnership with former ruling National Patriotic Party or NPP and newly certificated Liberian People Democratic Party or LPDP of dethroned Speaker Alex Tyler for a single ticket in the 2017 elections.

Mr. Morlu argued recently on Prime 105.5 FM that at forums of such nature, the first thing that should have been done prior to appearing before microphones and making statements “was a serious policy meeting void of public presence; void of the presence of the media.”

He contended that political leaders needed to “iron out differences” that they could not successfully do before cameras and microphones. He remained persistently critical of the way things were, particularly on the fact that the media were seated and microphones opened, while political leaders were being asked to make statements about the process.

He wondered what could have been achieved from such forum wherein the process began publicly with microphones opened, cameras clicking and political leaders asked to make statements.
He expressed the belief that all that one could get out of political leaders at that forum could be political.

By Winston W. Parley