Liberia @170: Congratulations home of glorious liberty

On July 26, Liberians at home and abroad celebrated with pomp and circumstance the 170th anniversary of the West African country’s independence.
In Uganda, the honorary consul general of Liberia, Dr Thelma Awori, hosted a reception at her official residence in Kampala on Saturday, July 29, to mark the historic occasion. The reception was attended by senior government officials, members of the diplomatic corps and guests from the private sector.
Liberia was a founding member, in 1963, of the Organisation of African Unity. Ethiopia and Liberia were the only African states among 50 countries which signed the Charter of the United Nations on June 26, 1945, at San Francisco in the USA. Liberian ambassador Angie Brooks was elected president of the 24th session of the UN General Assembly in 1969.
Liberia was founded in the 19th Century by freed slaves from USA. The American Colonization Society bought land in West Africa in 1816 and 1817 for resettlement of freed slaves. The first group of freed slaves arrived in West Africa in 1822. Twenty five years later on July 26, 1847, they declared independence and the Republic of Liberia was born and the country is not surprisingly modelled on the USA. The national flag resembles that of the US; Liberia’s capital city, Monrovia, is named after US president James Monroe and the national anthem proclaims Liberia as home of glorious liberty by God’s command.
Joseph Jenkins Roberts, a freed slave from the US state of Virginia, was the first president of Liberia and the current president, Ms Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, is the first democratically elected female president in Africa. From 1847 – 1980, a total of 133 years, Liberia was ruled by descendants of freed slaves whose political party, True Whig Party, has dominated Liberian politics since independence.
In 1980, an indigenous Liberian, Samuel Doe, from the Krahn tribe grabbed power in a bloody military coup in which president William Tolbert was brutally assassinated. Like most African dictators, Doe ruled by the gun and terrorised as well as plundered Liberia thoroughly by force. He eventually paid a dear price for the heinous crimes he committed against humanity.
Samuel Doe’s tragic death in 1989, at the hands of another equally bloodthirsty gunman, Charles Taylor, was a classic fulfilment of what is written in Scripture: a man will reap what he sows and secondly, all who live by the sword will perish by the sword.
It is a pertinent and timeless lesson for all African dictators and the merciless mercenaries who keep them in power. A bitter and bloody civil war followed Doe’s death and the ensuing internal conflict raged for 14 years until 2003. I am told Liberia has not yet recovered fully from the negative consequences of the civil war.
Liberia is a small country with a population of about four million people which is slightly more than the population of West Nile sub-region and covers an area of 111,369 square kilometres or 43,000 square miles.
Ms Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was elected president of Liberia on January 6, 2004. She promised to break the vicious cycle of violence which plagued Liberia since Doe grabbed power by force like some people in our neck of the woods.
Prior to her election as president, Sirleaf was UNDP’s regional director for Africa based in New York and in that capacity she visited Uganda in 1996. As head of the Ugandan Foreign Ministry’s department of multilateral affairs, I had the honour to accompany her to Rwakitura for an important meeting with President Museveni.
In October 2011, president Sirleaf was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize which she shared with Liberian political activist Leymah Gbowe, and Yemeni human rights activist Tawakkul Karman. They were honoured for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and the right of women to participate fully in peace-building efforts.
In November 2011, Ms Sirleaf was re-elected president of Liberia. She defeated a former UN official, Winston Tubman, who was a fellow parishioner in 1970s and 1980s of St Thomas Anglican Church located on New York’s elegant 5th Avenue and 53rd Street. I believe Tubman would have been a worthy leader of Liberia like his competitor who won race.

President Sirleaf’s legacy
After almost 10 years in office, president Sirleaf delivered her last annual message to Liberia’s parliament on January 23. She plans to hand over power gracefully, peacefully and voluntarily in January 2018 after elections for her successor take place in October 2017.
I hope some leaders in the Great Lakes region who are shamelessly plotting and scheming to amend national constitutions in order to cling tenaciously onto power learn a lesson or two from the shining example president Sirleaf has set and not wilfully embarrass Africa.
President Sirleaf has left an enviable and powerful legacy for Liberia, Africa and the world. May the Lord bless and reward her and her family abundantly.
On Tuesday, August 8, Kenyans go to the polls. My crystal ball tells me that Mr Raila Odinga of NASA will at last realise his dream and become president of Kenya this year. May the sovereign will of the wananchi of Kenya prevail.

Mr Acemah is a political scientist, consultant and a retired career diplomat. [email protected]