I laid my life down for you-PYJ tells Nimbains, seeks 3rd term

In what seems clearly psychological intimidation, Senator Prince Yormie Johnson (PYJ) asks his kinsmen in Nimba county to give him a third term in the Liberian Senate, reminding them that he stood in the gap and laid down his life for them when they were declared enemies of the state and earmarked for elimination, in reference to the tyrannical regime of slain President Samuel Kanyon Doe.

“The people of Nimba”, Sen. Johnson continues, “let me say this to you. When I stood in the gap for you with a group of men and women of the revolution in 1990, when you were declared enemies of the state, earmarked for elimination. We stood in the gap; At that time, I was 40 years old and very tactical. I have followed you; I laid my life down for you.” pleads with voters.

This is a campaign tactic that he has used over the years to get elected to senate, reminding the people of Nimba that he defended them so they should pay back.

Speaking during groundbreaking recently for a modern guest house in Gbor Whyeplay Town, electoral district#4 and Bahn City, District#7, respectively for the inauguration of a cross border electrification project being undertaken by Jungle Energy Power (JEP) he also asked his kinsmen to re-elect President George Manneh Weah for second term, saying “As you elect me, I want you to elect my son, President George Weah, for the second time.”

Sen. Johnson, who ends his second nine-year term in office next year, prides himself as Moses in the Holy Bible, who led the Israelites from captivity in Egypt.

“I ask all of you to stand by me; elect me for the third time so that we can look for the Josuah who will replace the Moses”, the warlord-turned evangelist and politician continues.

Sen. Johnson argues that he can’t retire now because there is no one to replace him in the Senate, noting “this is not a young boy thing; we need someone who will replace us to serve well.”

PYJ says since his birth, he has never seen a Liberian President, like President George Manneh Weah who is development-oriented.

“When I brought President Weah to you, people didn’t believe to see what they see now. Since I was born, I’ve never seen a President embark on the road from Sanniquellie to Tappita, from Tappita to Zwedru; They promised and they didn’t. We have it now”, he adds.   

 The leader of the Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction (MDR) party who turns 70 in July this year, pleads with Nimbaians not to vote him out because the Senate, he argues, is not for young people.

However, he supported a young candidate, now Senator Jeremiah Koung, against Madam Edith Gongloe-Wehyee during the December 8, 2021, Senatorial Election.

A former warlord and leader of the disbanded Independent National Patriotic Front (INPFL) rebels during the Liberian Civil War, PYJ captured and slain President Samuel Kanyon Doe in 1990 inside the Freeport of Monrovia, mutilating the ears of the sitting President before his death.

The Doe regime had hunted the Nimba people and PYJ prides himself as a liberator of his kinsmen, a position that he uses during elections to get their votes. Story by Jonathan Browne