By former TRC Commissioner, John H. T. Stewart
LIBERIA – Perhaps it may yet be too early to determine its full impact. But the fallout effects from former Vice President Joseph Boakai’s decision to jettison his close ally Nyonblee Karnga Lawrence and settle on a Prince Johnson surrogate as his running mate in the upcoming October 10 2023 elections could, according to analysts prove disastrous to his chances at the polls.
According to some local human rights activists, Boakai’s choice of Senator Jeremiah Koung a known surrogate of a notorious former warlord, yet unrepentant, Senator Prince Johnson, strongly suggests that a Boakai government will not support the establishment of a War and Economic Crimes Court for Liberia.
Further, according to them, given Boakai’s frail health and advanced age, there is a looming specter that the notorious former warlord will indeed preside over the affairs of the Republic as an unseen hand behind the throne.
Boakai has justified his action as one intended to secure the advantage of a huge Nimba vote in his favor. Recalling the 2011 elections there were two candidates from Nimba in the race, Dr. Joseph Korto and the former Warlord, Prince Johnson. Both candidates performed well although Prince Johnson scored a much higher mark.
Their combined performance underscored the significance of the Nimba vote which just about every contender is now seeking to court. The difference this time around is the fact that Nimba at this point has a sole contender in the race for the Presidency, at least officially.
Unofficially, however, Nimba has actually two contenders in the race. And they are Tiawan Gongloe and the notorious former Warlord Prince Johnson.
And so the question arises whether Nimba having already produced two(2) Vice Presidents( Enoch Dogolea & Moses Blah) will ignore the top prize and instead go for the second prize.
This appears unlikely even with the support of the mercurial and notorious former Warlord now Senator Prince Johnson going by the statement issued recently by the Association of Nimba Youths rejecting Prince Johnson’s bid for power through a surrogate Jeremiah Koung.
But October is yet months away although close it appears. Many things could happen which could ultimately shape the outcome of the October 10 results. For example, it lies within the realm of possibility that Senator Nyonblee Karnga could shift her support away from the Unity Party given her rejection by Joseph Boakai.
Throughout the hauling and pulling between Cummings and Boakai that saw the breakup of the CPP Nyonblee remained a loyal and faithful ally to Joseph Boakai perhaps in the hope she would have been considered for the second slot on the UP ticket although she belonged to another party, the Liberty Party. Instead he(Boakai) dumped her in preference for Jeremiah Koung, a Prince Johnson surrogate.
Thus it appeared somehow strange that Boakai would have announced that he decided to look outside the bounds of the CPP for a suitable running mate when in actual fact the CPP is now just a fragment of its original makeup.
According to informed sources, the UP candidate in what appears like a desperate attempt to secure a numerical advantage over the incumbent CDC pushed for the selection of the Prince Johnson surrogate in the hope that his (Johnson) choice would garner the necessary votes to propel him to victory in October.
But in so doing Boakai may have failed to take into account the fact that Prince Johnson’s support for his candidacy was by no means a guarantee of overwhelming and unqualified support from the masses of Nimba for his candidacy. Neither did he, it appears, consider the impact of losing the Bassa Vote.
It must not be forgotten that Grand Bassa is the third most populous county after Montserrado and Nimba. Additionally, it is a fact that Nyonblee Karnga enjoys wide popular support in Grand Bassa and is the de facto leader of the Liberty Party, Musa Bility’s claims to the contrary notwithstanding.
Despite this fact it is however possible, according to some observers, that Nyonblee could be swayed/persuaded to return to the Boakai fold.
Informed sources say that since making the ill-fated decision to select Koung, Boakai shortly after shuttled to Buchanan to meet Nyonblee hoping to repair what already appears as a visible and irreparable split between the pair.
Just how such efforts are going to pan out remains unclear at this moment.
According to informed sources, Jeremiah Koung is splashing around large amounts of cash in a bid to buy influence and possibly votes for the upcoming October elections.
Further, according to informed sources, Koung has sworn to spend his last dime if it comes to it, to lure Nyonblee back into to the fold. It remains to be seen however what such efforts will amount to.
Lest it be forgotten, rising star Tiawan Gongloe is a formidable opponent whose support in Nimba could serve to undercut Prince Johnson’s bid for power through Jeremiah Koung who has been openly accused of involvement in ritualistic killings for political purposes.
Moreover there are questions whether a Boakai government would not be faced with threats of US imposed sanctions given the fact that King maker, Prince Johnson had since been sanctioned under the Global Magnitsky Act, according to analysts.
More to that, according to them, any serious thinking government would be wary of linking itself so closely with sanctioned individuals in the likes of accused war criminal and notorious former Warlord, Prince Johnson.
What former Vice President Boakai apparently hopes to achieve as coined in his slogan, “Think Liberia, Love Liberia, Build Liberia” appears doomed to failure for the simple reason that Prince Johnson, rather than thinking Liberia “thinks of his own self-interests, that is to stave off demands for accountability for his crimes against humanity;
Prince Johnson rather than loving Liberia loves himself above all and money, for it is all about him, a narcissist by all accounts. For him the lives of innocent souls he took like Wata Allison, Michael Doe, Edwin Vaye countless others mean nothing.
And Prince Johnson rather than building Liberia is building his personal fortune of the backs of the blood, sweat and tears of Liberian taxpayers.
From a lowly paid AFL soldier he eventually became a vicious Warlord who plundered the Freeport of Monrovia, looted banks including the Housing Bank, the National Bank and the Banque de Commerce et Credit International (BCCI) and killed in cold blood President Doe.
Now he is a Pastor-self-acclaimed, but yet remains an unrepentant mass murderer.
Beware Vice President Boakai and be reminded of the fate of President Doe who signed a cooperation agreement with Prince Johnson and thought and believed he had formed a viable partnership with him (Prince Johnson) to rescue him from Taylor’s wrath until he found himself at his (Prince Johnson’s) feet begging for mercy which never came his way.
And now he, Prince Johnson, a former and notorious Warlord is set to have his blood stained hands place the crown on Boakai’s head. But Boakai should beware for he could find himself in “Hades”(Hell) shortly sent there by Prince Johnson following his coronation that is if he ever wins the October Polls.
Meanwhile, we must remind Vice President Boakai of the old adage, “Charity begins at home”. That means he should pay a listening ear to the cries of the people of Foya District, about the unfair and unjust 120-year Concession Agreement imposed on them by the Sirleaf Government of which he was part and parcel and second in-charge.
According to Foya Paramount Chief Momo Taylor, it was former Vice President Joseph Boakai who introduced the ADA and Ambassador Wendell Mackintosh, allegedly his close friend, to the people of Foya.
And it was he who convinced them to accept the project which committed on paper to the use of 4,200 acres of dry land for the project but instead seized their wetlands as well, forcibly displacing hundreds without compensation and not resettling them up to present.
And if he cannot rescue them how can ordinary Liberians be assured that he can rescue Liberia is the question that begs an answer.
