By Lewis S Teh
Presidential Candidate and former U.N. resident coordinator to South Sudan Madam Sara Beysolow Nyanti, who cannot speak her native dialect Via, has told the people of Mardina, Grand Cape Mount County that her love for Liberia is far deeper than the language that will come out of her mouth.
“Please forgive me because I never learned Vai, but the love in my heart is deeper than the language we speak every day’’, Madam Nyanti says.
Speaking Friday, July 14, 2023, in Mardina, while on a tour to solicit support for her candidacy in the pending October election, she called on residents of the entire Grand Cape Mount to elect people they can trust, saying “I have come to ask for your support to become President of Liberia because I am the most qualified of the 20 presidential candidates.”
Madam Nyanti, who is contesting on the ticket of the African Liberation League (ALL), a new grassroots political party, addressed residents of Madina, a community represented by 42 towns of Monibah Clan.
Tonieh Manobah, Elder of Soe Town, presented the female presidential candidate to the community, linking the roots of her paternal grandfather’s to Soe.
She told the crowd that she is prepared to lead Liberia in solving the challenges facing the nation and its citizens, saying “I have come to greet you as your daughter.”
“They say, if you do not know where you come from, you will not know where you are going. I am proud to know where I come from.
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Please forgive me because I never learned Vai, but the love in my heart is deeper than the language we speak every day.”
Madam Nyanti was accompanied to the county by her running mate, who is male, Simeon Moriba, an economist that also retired from the United Nations.
She told the citizens that she is prepared to transform Liberia through education, development, and empowering women through business if elected President.
“The Cape Mount you see today is supposed to be better than what it is,’’ she said, and added, “The Liberia you see today is supposed to be better than this.”
She continued that Liberia has potential to become a great and prosperous nation if the country maximizes its resources to benefit all of her citizens to reduce poverty instead enriching a few.
Leadership will not be addressed by who comes from the largest county or the largest tribe, but it should be about who is able to lead the nation and help all of Liberia reach its development potential, she underscored.
The former UN diplomat said it requires collective effort of all Liberians including Cape Mountaineers. “I am depending on you. We want the whole of Cape Mount to come on our side.”
Edwin Fahnbulleh, an elder of Manobah Clan in Madina, welcomed Madam Beysolow Nyanti and pledged the clan’s support to her candidacy.
“When I see women contesting for the presidency, I will always be happy,’’ he said. “When I started working in the Ellen government, I was making the highest salary, but that is not the case today”, Fahnbulleh said.
“If I see this lady contesting, I will support her. I will carry this message to my people in the clan’’, John Senwah, a youth advisor in Madina, said.
According to her, Beysolow Nyanti’s 20-plus years of experience in the United Nations and around the world is an asset to Liberia.
“I believe if she is given the opportunity to serve this country, we are going to be the best nation,” he said.
Ma Manobalh of Manobah Clan gave Beysolow Nyanti her blessing, while Sando Fahnbulleh, a representative aspirant for Cape Mount District Two, urged citizens to seize the moment by voting for Beysolow Nyanti for the betterment of Liberia.
“My people, even if you have something in your mouth today that you’re holding tight, you need to drop it now and hold this woman very strongly, so that we can see her ascend to the presidency,’’ she said. Editing by Jonathan Browne
