President Weah: Do You Know Why Doe and Tolbert Died?

Most African presidents organize their early demised because they blatantly bid farewell to the relevance of their nation’s history especially what led to the sudden deaths of past presidents. It is believed that presidents who willfully forget their historical past are condemned to repeat the same inaccuracies during their tenures. The magnitude of history cannot be overemphasized. It is that part of human life and the foundation of society’s activities that constitute the beauty of history. Some may have negative or positive connotations, depending on the specific geographical relation of their nations and citizens.

In the case of the Liberian presidency, it should be a moment of deep reflections on reasons that led to the brutal killing of the late president Doe and Tolbert. But it seems President Weah has abruptly forgotten the painful history of the late Tolbert and the late Doe. President Weah needs to be reminded that William Richard Tolbert Jr. was the 20th president of the Republic of Liberia. He served from 1971 to 1980. He and 17 others were brutally murdered by Doe in a 1980 military coup d’état for three reasons: Marginalization, segregation, and self-aggrandizement.

The True Whig party led by the late Tolbert built a formidable political and economic fence around a one-party system that gave rapid rise to a systemic marginalization, deep segregation and endless self-aggrandizement in a nation where its citizens lived below $1USD a day. It is obvious that under a one-party system, citizens will be marginalized, segregated and denied. They were inevitably denied better jobs, better facilities, better housing conditions, better education, no safe drinking water, no education, no good health posts, no transportation system, no road network, no infrastructures, and the list went on and on for over 133-years of total suppressions and a huge denial. Such marginalization resulted into intolerance, impatience tendencies, discontentment, frustrations, and diseases and poverty among the so-called indigenous and the helpless people across Liberia.

The True Whig party introduced a spirit of “take all” to the U.S. and lived a better thereafter. The system was also characterized by growing selfness and individualistic concepts. Members of the True Whig Party were called: “Cong people or Americo” Liberians purposely to promote their own personal aggrandizement agenda. They view themselves as superior class citizens and the indigenous were regarded as lesser humans in their own country. They introduced segregation in schools, at work as well as in living condition. They were highly aggrandized, meaning, they were imbued with the spirit of selfishness and politically ingratitude.

The “Americo Liberians” currently have the best of properties and good lands in Liberia followed by the so-called foreigners who are currently in complete control of Liberia. All goodies and pageantries were just for them and their children. The “Americo Liberians”, made their own laws in their own interests. They traded huge resources of the nation among themselves in the name of Liberia. They are considered selfish and reserved people in Liberia. They introduced a Western lavish lifestyle in Liberia, with Western names and lived in certain localities called the Congo settlement. They took Liberia as their farm spots and plantation where they come and reaped and returned to the U.S. to harvest all their smuggled resources from Liberia, that is why Tolbert was murdered, President Weah.

In the same breath, Doe was also killed by Prince Johnson, who repeated the same things he killed Tolbert for. Doe lifted his Krahn tribes above all other tribes in Liberia. He gave them the best jobs, best land, best businesses and good opportunities than other tribes. He used his NDPL party to keep himself in power by rigging the 185 general and presidential elections. He created a class system. He ignored the cries of the people and decided not to listen to anyone but his tribal men and women. He fostered rampant corruption, with no transparency, nor accountability in his government. Doe stole the wealth of the nation, by building homes across Liberia and most importantly he refused to relinquish political power be because “absolute power corrupts absolutely”.

Today, it seems President Weah had forgotten some of the very fundamental flaws that lead to the sudden demise of both the late Liberian presidents Doe and Tolbert. Is President Weah putting his CEDEC party above the interest of Liberia? Is president Weah employing Cedicians to higher places of influence and a prestigious job opening in the CDC’s coalition government as it was done under the late President Doe?

Is president Weah using the formula of marginalization and segregation to destroy or push other Liberians away, because it is his CDC’s coalition party time? Is President Weah spending so much money traveling at the expense of the tax-payers when the very people who voted for him do not have safe drinking water and good health hospital to treat their illness, especially when the nation has no money according to him? Has president Weah failed to be accountable and transparent, as it was in the days of Doe? Is president Weah singing up for more and more loans which do not have any trekker down effects on the lives of Liberians? Is president Weah building houses around, as it was done by the later Does, thus depriving poor Liberians of a better life like low-cost housing?

Is president Weah practicing segregation by putting zinc on a certain group of Liberians home and forgetting the majority who also need zinc on their roofs in Liberia? Has president Weah failed to disclose his assets as it was done in the case of the late Doe and Tolbert? Is president Weah employing Liberians who are not qualified, but because they are partisans, three have to be well placed in government, even when they are not qualified?

Is president Weah engaged in promoting self-aggrandizements rather than engaged in a project that is good for the entire nation? Is president Weah encouraging the influx of foreigners who are creating hardship for ordinary Liberians? Something that did happen in the days of the late Doe regime era? Is President Weah paying more and more attention to personal agenda rather than paying attention to the plight of Liberians? It is hoped that story is not repeating itself as it was done in the days of the late Doe and Tolbert who died ruthlessness at the hand of their own deeds.