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Editorial: Don’t blame President Weah at all

Liberians are busy upset about President George Weah’s ongoing visit abroad, spanning about one month and a half amid serious malfeasance in government that has economically crippled the administration, rendering it unable to pay monthly salary.

They are particularly disgusted about the President abandoning the governance of the country to go watch his son, Timothy Weah, plays for the United States at the 2022 World Cup taking place in Doha, Qatar.

But sincerely, they should not be crying at all. Mr. Weah is just living the kind of life that God has blessed him with as a former global football icon, who brought pride to the entire world, including Liberia, his Motherland.

That blessing has been transferred to his son, Timothy, who is not just playing for the world’s greatest power, the United States, but doing so at the world’s highest soccer festive, the World Cup. His father, President Weah never made it to the World Cup despite the global fame he attained as best footballer. But he is a proud father today, like any father would be, because his son Timothy, is playing at the World Cup stadium that he (George) did not reach. That’s remarkable achievement in his professional career! And no one should attempt to take this away from him with barrage of criticism.

Let’s take a glimpse at the life of the celebrity we have today as President, who rose to fame from a very humble beginning in the slum community of Gibraltar in Clara Town, Bushrod Island, Monrovia. He embraced football as a life’s time career at a tender age and eventually succeeded in going abroad to play professional soccer while holding loyalty to the Nation’s Pride, the Lone Star that he led thru several continental competitions.

He resigned from career football, came to Liberia and entered politics in 2005. Liberians, mainly the youthful segment of the population took his fame as former world soccer icon coming from the slum as one of them and threw their weight around him for the Presidency, which he eventually won in 2017 after two unsuccessful trials.   

But did they make a wise decision in equating successes on the playing field to very complicated tasks like governance of an entire country with multifaceted problems and huge expectations?

They were wronged in reaching such decision. Today, the hard reality has set in with multiple challenges plaguing the nation, ranging from poor health and education to gross incompetence and endemic corruption. They now look to President Weah to solve the country’s compounded economic woes and improve standard of life of the people.

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This is not happening. Who is to be blamed? Not the former soccer icon, because the decision to elect him President came from the people. They should instead, take responsibility for their decision as Liberian citizens that has led other nations to ridicule us for having a President who has placed family above country.

Liberians should be men and women enough to ask President Weah in no uncertain terms to choose between service to family or service to nation.

They have the power and right to act at the ballot box next year as to whose hands they want to entrust their destiny, rather than crying all over the place for a situation they brought on themselves thru illusion and euphoria.

How does blaming President Weah for our own mistakes and wrong choice help get out of this current disgrace? We should be ashamed of ourselves and stop blaming one man for situation that we clearly have solution to.  

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NewDawn

The New Dawn is Liberia’s Truly Independent Newspaper Published by Searchlight Communications Inc. Established on November 16, 2009, with its first hard copy publication on January 22, 2010. The office is located on UN Drive in Monrovia Liberia. The New Dawn is bilingual (both English & French).
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