Editorial: Dissecting Difficulties in Fostering National Reconciliation in Liberia

It is an established fact that the land of our nativity-Liberia is infested with all of the tenants of disunity. Characterizing such disunity are vices such as hatred, back-biting (demonization), under-mining, marginalization, as well as corruption, among others.

These genesis vices, now permeating the public sector or national government as evidenced by President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf’s Friday, March 16, 2012 acknowledgement and warning to her cabinet ministers during a ceremony to commission them,  is the private sector-civil society and other groupings, including the Liberian Media. In most cases, which of course are the realities, our leaders/heads give too much credence and support to these factors of disunity so-much-so that “we are at each other’s throat” today, thus retarding our reconciliation efforts.

Considering all of these negatives of oneness and from our own analyses, our dear country-Liberia seems too far from reconciling itself despite public pronouncements at all level. The lack of will-power on the part of those charged with the responsibility of spear-heading such national efforts is a major attributing factor. The Liberian media sector which should be a united force, has allowed itself to be  so disintegrated that reliability on it to promote national reconciliation, is far from possible.

The fact media institutions in Liberia, including the umbrella organization, the Press Union of Liberia continue to fall prey to proxy battles of all sorts against each other; it is very easy for any conclusive analysis on our ability as a sector to foster genuine national reconciliation in Liberia.

The professional and managerial inadequacies of some Liberian media institutions which give rise to the envies, back-biting/destructive gossips and other negatives against other well-meaning institutions speak to this fact. It is no secret- viewing the pages of the newspapers and monitoring the radio airwaves in Liberia nowadays, one will find it very discouraging that media institutions in Liberia are giving un-necessary gloomy image of each other.

It is even understandable how some of these institutions/practitioners/so-called publishers who pursue proxy battles, discourage public and private institutions from advertizing or doing business with their colleagues-all because of selfishness, perceptions, envies and destructive jealousies. For us here at the New Dawn-Liberia, we anticipate all of the lashes as a result of this editorial, but will never despair in our resolve and preparedness to extensively engage this matter because of the urgent need to realize that the media has a pivotal role in process of genuine national reconciliation in Liberia.

And if there should be any success in furtherance of the foregoing, the Liberian media must first reconcile itself, totally eliminating the un-necessary bitterness, rivalries, envies, as well as back-biting among between and among media houses and journalists.