By Moncio Robert Kpadeh (Sage)
With almost two centuries of independence and self-determination, it is shamefully disheartening that politics in Liberia has not matured but unfortunately nosedive to dissonance and infamy.
Instead of being premised on national purpose with emphasis on socio-economic transformation and accentuating the country to nobler heights, our politics continue to be saturated with excesses and anomalies depicting us in the eyes of the world as people without mental growth: Economist Robert Clower once described the Liberian economy as “Growth Without Development”, now it seems the new description will focus on the people themselves as “Aging without mental growth”.
We are not growing in terms of our mentality and approaches to national politics and governance. Decadence.Triviality. Naivety. Gaslighting. Filibustering. Grandstanding. Foolery. Bereft. Defamation. Sycophancy. Shenanigans. Mendacity. Taunting. Gunblazing. Illogical Bantering. Noisemaking. These are the characteristics of the Liberian mindset and thus their politics. Unfortunate and disappointing!
Politics is no longer about insightful and intriguing intellectual exchanges and inspiring competition of ideas in Liberia. The citizens are no longer treated to sound and ideological political debates between politicians and political parties. It is about ill wishes and the spewing of incentives.
It marvels me how some folks find the temerity to wish death upon a political leader only because they find him to be a potential threat to their political interest. Chills run through my spine to see that people in Liberia want a man to die only because he poses threat to them from retaining power while others want him dead because he is blocking them from obtaining power.
Throwing tantrums, diatribes, inflammatory at each other, and demonstrating vicious hatred for each other is the new normal of politics in Liberia. It is also about regurgitating mendacious and combustible commentaries against a powerful candidate with the vicious aim of blemishing his character and diminishing his chances in the eyes of the people. Where is our sense of decency and decorum?
Have we become a country bereft of a value, traditions, and culture? And yet claim to be a Godly nation with thousands of Churches and Mosques spread across the length and breadth of the country? Is this the hateful, divided, and wicked kind of country we intend to turn over to the next generation, where people insult and hate and want others who disagree with them to die?
Why have we made our Politics a spectacle of blistering raves and rants, and most times the bantering of shouts, or you may call it a shouting contest…barking at each other like stray dogs. It baffles me to see the President of the nation goes to the Church, mounts the CHURCH PULPIT, and wage skiving and damning attacks on opposition figures instead of fostering reconciliation and unity. Wow, God have mercy on my Homeland!
Rather than intelligent and insightful debates, politics has become a game of Insults trading, vulgarity, and noise-making. Rather than telling the people what makes your candidate better than the others and the agenda he/she with which he intends to govern the country, politicians and supporters alike on opposing sides dabble and fumble into utter absurdity and frivolity.
Rather than the opposition uniting and fiercely tackling the hawkish kleptocracy, kakistocracy, and plutocracy currently looting and misgoverning the country, depraving and subjecting the citizenry to unbearable economic hardship and despair, they are firing the cannon at each other in no small way and wishing death upon the person with a better chance to democratically oust the nefarious regime out.
If this is not vacuity, I know no other way to describe such hilarious nonesense. Does the opposition know their real enemy? Hahaha… Here, I am compelled to ask the question, What is the idea and aim of our politics? Where are our conscience and sense of nationalism? Do we have ethos? By the way, are practicing politics or politricks?
Political disagreements should not be lowered to animosity or personal hatred. No matter how harsh our disagreements can be, we can still be compassionate, kind, courteous, and humane to each other, because above all else we are human first. How can insulting and taunting or bewitching death upon a presidential candidate enhance your candidate’s chances to win the 2023 presidential election? And how will that bring to an end the grinding debauchery the country is enduring at the moment?
To the ruling CDC and its exuberant adherents, rather than celebrating the illness of your main opponent and craving his demise, you should redirect your energy, if you have any, to convincing the Liberian people why you are worthy of reelection. The Ruling establishment must run on its record. You have been tried and tested with power, the Liberian people, and only the Liberian people whom you have governed over the last six years can decide whether you are worthy of their valuable votes for a second six-year term.
If you have governed the country well, fulfilled your promises, provided the thousands of jobs you promised the people, and lifted the poor people from the abyss of wanton poverty and misery, as promised in your famous ‘Pro-poor Agenda’, considerably minimized corruption or corruption has become extreme, is the country more united or more divided? And over your tenure, have the citizens experienced good governance? If you have done well with governance and people are pleased with your rule, you should have no reason to fear or worry about your main opponent to the extent you wickedly wish illness exterminates him. This is abhorrent and savagery, to say the least!
The incumbent must run on its record, not the health of its opponent. You must be prepared and willing to debate your opponents on why you are fit to continue ruling over the country and not seek an easy path to victory on the back of someone’s misfortune or condition.
At the end of the day, it is the Liberian people whose choice it is to decide who will lead them beyond 2023, and their choice all of us must respect in the spirit of democracy. The redundant and daft arguments about age, short, tall, fat, young, fine, ugly, and the rest may not suffice or have zero bearing on the 2023 presidential election. The Liberian people as we know them to be will vote for who they have decided upon no matter what you say.
So rather than the personal and frivolous attacks and ill wishes, let’s debate on the issues, facts, and records. There is life after the election, so let’s take it easy. You never know what happens tomorrow, the man you say the worst things about could possibly emerge as the winner and what would you do? Go under the ground? Regret for the next six years?
Now on the issue of health, folks, it is normal and human to get sick. More young people are terminally sick and dying in Liberia these days. So, how is someone falling sick for a few days, recovering, and resuming his normal duties a big issue? And on the issue of age, age is a blessing, not a curse.
All of us want to live long but resent old age. None of us want to die today or tomorrow but conversely, mortify an elderly person. How disingenuous and preposterous can we be? Life is given by God and God only. He ruleth over life and death, so no amount of ill-wishes against a person can cause them to die. That fate is in God’s hands. So stop the foolery of yourself and face reality as the clock ticks and your fate nears. May we raise the bar of our politics, folks.
Enough said!
