According to the 2023 statistics, why is my country, Liberia rated as the 10th poorest country in the world?
The answer to this question is not far-fetched as 99% of Liberians believe that politics is the only way to a better life. But this is not true, as could be seen from my brief research.
Liberia, a country lying situated on the coast of West Africa, has been identified as the world’s tenth poorest nation, despite being blessed with abundant natural resources such as timber, diamond, and gold. But in the midst of all these huge natural resources as God’s blessings upon the land, why is a vast majority of Liberians still living in abject poverty?
The reason is that her citizens have resorted to politics as the only option, and therefore neglecting business, industrialization and many other developmental endeavors, a situation which in spite of her age as the oldest African Nation of 200 years old, has further plunged this country into the devastating position it is today, and making it one of the most political nation in the world at present.
So, Liberia has become more of a political nation, rather than an industrialized one. This is because the number of those who are fighting to take over the country’s political power come October 10, 2023, according to the country’s National Electrical Commission NEC, is unimaginable.
NEC’s Final Number of Qualified Candidates For The Various Positions In The 2023 General Elections.
1). President- 20 candidates.
2). Vice President – 20 candidates.
3). 15 Senatorial Positions – 100 candidates.
4). 73 House of Rep’s Position -, 890 candidates.
(This means a total of 1, 030 candidates jostling for 90 seats, of which, at the end of the process, a total of 940 of them will be frustrated.
Then, why all this waste of time, energy, money, and other useful resources?).
The funny thing about this whole dilemma is that, amongst all of these contestants, no one has a private farm, NGO, Company, or any form of industry or self-employment project to empower themselves or members of their families, instead, their only key area of interest is politics.
The idea of engaging in business, industrialization, and other forms of self-employment projects for creative engagements that will benefit the masses and help position the country among the League of Nations has been sacrificed at the altar of politics, thereby causing so many unnecessary challenges, such as being faced in the country today.
In Liberia, the children, the average youths, adults and the aged are all in politics.
Conclusion:
Only a very minute percentage of the country’s population is into business and other forms of self-employment projects, while a gross percentage of the people are investing all their talents and resources in politics. And this is mainly because, since, 1882, the people have been disappointed, discouraged and frustrated, seeing their leaders swimming in wealth and enjoying themselves in the seat of power, thereby leaving politics as the best example for the people to follow and key into as the only means of livelihood.
Recommendation:
In order for our great country Liberia to enjoy the many blessings it has from God, her people should have a reorientation – not see politics as the only option. Politics has done more harm in the country than good, including the 14 years of unnecessary bloodshed, heavily politicized catastrophic protests of various kinds and on different occasions that have led to colossal destruction of lives and properties among other ugly remarkable events.
