By: Wremongar Joe
TAPPITA, NIMBA COUNTY – Emotions are flaring up across Tappita City as asphalt pavement reaches major lower Nimba city for the first time, igniting waves of celebration among residents who say the day marks the end of years of neglect and the beginning of long-awaited development.
Jubilant citizens lined the streets in disbelief and excitement as road-laying machines entered the city center, laying down smooth asphalt, a sight never before witnessed in the history of Tappita. For many, it was a moment of joy, validation, and prayer.
A video posted on Facebook showed citizens moving towards a set of earth-moving equipment, laying bare the asphalt.
Shadrach G David a resident of Tappita is quoted as saying, “ I am so glad to be seeing such a beautiful development, and I am so happy about it he said, adding “First of all I would like to comment our government for doing this for the people and I am asking them to do more of this.”
“I feel very comfortable, and I thank the government so much,” said Precious Kpao who sells in the street of Tappita told reports.
Back in Monrovia, the man who represents Nimba County District #6 where Tappita is situated, Representative Dorwohn Twain Gleekia, described the milestone as the fulfillment of a decades-long struggle by the people of Lower Nimba to have their fair share of national development.
“For decades, we the citizens of Lower Nimba, at the end, have prayed for the asphalt payment, quote-unquote the pavement, to reach to that part of the country,” Gleekia said. “We fought, we have prayed, but we haven’t had an opportunity until today.”
Gleekia recounted how citizens had resorted to protests and persistent advocacy, crying out to the central government in frustration, but their calls went unheeded for years. That changed when he took office in 2018 and he and others made the road project a top priority.
“When we took office in 2018, we saw it as a priority to work along with the central government in ensuring that the dream and the quest of our people are met,” he said.
He explained that the road, particularly the corridor between the second pier and Tappita, was embraced by his office as a personal mission. His team worked through the legislative process to secure ratification of the concession and loan agreement that would fund the project.
“We took documents from office to office ensuring our colleagues signed the loan agreement akin to our ratification. We did that. The road started,” he recalled.
Although the project faced delays due to the 2023 election cycle, Gleekia praised the new administration of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai for prioritizing the project and pushing it forward with urgency. He described the government’s action as a clear sign of responsible leadership.
“The true meaning of government is continuity when they took on that project,” he said. “Today, as we speak, the other pavement [has] reached the city of Tappita. This is something that we want the world to know our joy and our thanks and appreciation to the government of Liberia, whether past or present.”
Gleekia also addressed earlier criticisms surrounding the location of the Jackson F. Doe Memorial Hospital in Tappita, which was once dismissed as a waste of resources.
“I remember when the Jackson Fairdale Hospital was placed in Tappita, people booed it up. People said things about it that it was a million-dollar investment that would have gone to other urban areas, it would have just been taken and dropped in the middle of a forest,” he said.
“But today, the story has changed. Because of the road, people could not have access to the hospital. Because of the bad road that we had, our citizens at this time of the year, for decades, they can say, experienced high economic hardship.”
He highlighted how bad roads once drove up prices of goods and made transportation unbearable for locals, especially during the rainy season. But now, he said, the narrative is different.
“Today, it’s a different story. We just want to join the emotional joy of all those who are celebrating, who are jubilating today in Tappita,” he said.
The representative closed his remarks with a message of unity, thanking all Liberians who supported the project through prayer, advocacy, and pressure on the government.
“This is not one man’s glory. It’s every one of us, you, our citizens, who put the pressure on us; in fact, you deserve this,” he said. “We say bravo to everybody. God bless you.”
As the paving machines continue their work, the people of Tappita are not only celebrating a road but a long-denied sense of inclusion, progress, and pride.
The Unity Party-led government has prioritized connecting the southeast of Liberia through modern road infrastructure, recognizing it as key to national integration and economic growth. According to the government, this renewed push for connectivity begins with the historic pavement now reaching Tappita in Nimba County.
From there, the corridor will extend to Zwedru in Grand Gedeh, and eventually link to Fish Town in River Gee, which is already connected to Harper City in Maryland County by paved roads. The administration says this effort will end the long-standing isolation of the southeast and open new opportunities for trade, healthcare, and mobility.
