An opinion by Julius Kullie Kanubah
The disruptive events of yesterday, Monday, 13th March at the Capitol Hill Campus of the University of Liberia (UL) should remind us about the deliberate attempts by certain individuals to spoil the peace of Liberia.
These peace spoilers are deeply aware about the fragility confronting postwar Liberia, nevertheless they would do all to trigger acts of violence in the name of visitation and the politics of resistance.
As an alumnus of the University of Liberia and someone with a deep interest in human capital development, it is important to suggest one possible way forward to avert further disruptions at the Campuses of the University of Liberia and/or Universities and Colleges in Liberia.
That is, in the nearest possible time, authorities at the University of Liberia should think about installing fortified electric gates with coded access cards for all students, staff, and all other authorized persons with regular engagements at the University campuses.
This should apply to all Universities and/or Colleges in Liberia given the evolving risks associated with irregular or disruptive political visitations at University campuses by individuals deeply involved in Liberia’s postwar contentious politics, but also the associated militarization of University campuses by some student groups.
In that way, irregular visitors – without access cards – would therefore be regulated and controlled and that unless the purposes of their visits are deemed beneficially relevant to the education of students or the activities of the University, they would not gain access to the facilities of the University.
This would require massive investments in the security of University campuses because security matters for all with access to the University.
It cannot be stressed that University campuses are important spaces for deep thinking and innovation, and unless access is properly regulated and controlled, there would always be disruptive political visitations by forces outside the University and resistance by force inside the University.
We live in a world of technologies. Fortified electronic gates might be one technological pathway forward to the emerging politics of visitation at University campuses. We should move beyond the condemnations or our understanding of who is right or wrong, or even invoking the constitutional provisions of freedom of movement and peaceful assembly. We must think about security as insecurity leads to conflict which can lead to violence. #UnderstandingLiberia
I had previously said 14 March, which was inaccurate, thanks to Varney Vikings Karneh and William Harmon for alerting me to the error. Tomorrow is 15th March: J. J. Roberts Day and it is not possible for Monday to have been 14. Instead, today is 14th March.
