Speaker Tyler wants checkpoint erected

House Speaker Alex Tyler is calling for the erection of a political checkpoint to stop those Diasporas-based Liberians who usually come home to harvest what they did not plant. 

“They see Liberia as a farm where they come to harvest, but they do not even plant what they come to harvest. A checkpoint will be erected to stop such a practice. I hope that the LPDP will rise up to the occasion”, Speaker Tyler says.

Tyler says he does not believe in the perception of Natives and Americo Liberians divides, but notes that there are two new classes or groups of Liberians. He says one group of Liberians is interested in having a developed Liberia, while another takes the country to be a farm where they come only to harvest and go without planting anything on the ground, meaning investing in the country.

“I see two groups of Liberians; one group wants to make Liberia a better place for all of us. We invest the little that we have, that we struggle to get right here in Liberia to make Liberia better, while there is still another group that thinks Liberia is a farm where they come and harvest to go but we are saying Liberia is not a farm.”

The Speaker made these comments over the weekend in Kakata, Margibi County at the first national convention of the newly formed Liberian People Democratic Party or LPDP.
He says even the group that comes to harvest in Liberia does not care to plant what it harvests, vowing to erect a checkpoint to halt such practice in the country’s political history.

His comments point to the continuous struggle between Liberians in the Diasporas, particularly in the United States and those at home for political power where both sides seem to distrust each other in the management of the national cake.

Speaker Tyler had told a gathering of jubilant and battle cry supporters chanting pro-Tyler slogans in Kakata, Margibi County that he will become the next President of Liberia.

“Your leave us; it is Tyler we want”, Speaker Tyler’s supporters sang and jubilated as he addressed the opening ceremony of the first national convention last Friday, 11 December in Kakata.

According to him, Liberians are not happy about how the country’s resources are being distributed, promising that the LPDP has come to conduct the governing process differently.

He says people continue to question or criticize the proliferation of political parties in Liberia like the current LPDP, but stresses that this is due to disenchantment among Liberians because of poor services from the government.

“Somebody asked why the proliferation of political parties. We say when people are disenchanted and feel that the government needs to do more, these things come about.” 

Tyler announced his resignation from the governing Unity Party of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in September, citing lack of consultation and neglect, among others. But critics say his decision to jump the boat is a mark of betrayal and lack of leadership.

He hopes the LPDP will take Liberia to a new direction of hope and justice for all Liberians. “What we have to say is that we hope that this new direction will be a direction of peace and justice for all, a direction of equal justice for all. It is direction of equal distribution of wealth; I hope it is not going to be direction of amassing resources for a few privileged. I hope it is going to be a new direction of sustainable development.”

He says development should cut across Liberia to the length and breadth of the country, saying Monrovia is not Liberia. “I hope this will be a new direction of excellent services to the people, a direction of good governance and direction of equal opportunities for all; I hope it will be a direction of making Liberia better for all Liberians”.

By Lewis S. Teh-Edited by Jonathan Browne