MONROVIA – President Joseph Nyuma Boakai on Sunday, November 23, 2025, delivered an impassioned message to young Liberian leaders, urging them to embrace responsibility, unity, and patriotism as indispensable pillars of the country’s development. Speaking at the African Student Leadership Forum held at the Best Brains University in Thinkers Village, Paynesville, the President said his unexpected availability to attend the event was a matter of providence, noting that a shift in his travel schedule allowed him to spend time “with the future of Liberia.”
Addressing students drawn from the University of Liberia, Cuttington University, the African Methodist Episcopal University, and community colleges across all fifteen counties, the President stressed that the gathering was no coincidence. “You did not come here by accident,” he told the packed auditorium. “You came because you are student leaders. You came because your peers trust you. You came because you are preparing yourselves for something bigger than today.”
The President spoke with a mix of candor and paternal warmth, saying he wanted to speak “plainly, honestly, and from the heart.” He reminded the students that no matter where life takes them, Liberia remains their only home and their ultimate responsibility. “There is only one place that God gave us to call home. There is only one nation whose destiny is tied to our own. And that nation is Liberia,” Boakai declared.
He challenged the students to demonstrate patriotism not with empty words but with deliberate actions that promote peace and growth. “Patriotism is something you live,” he said. “It is choosing not to destroy the very place you want to lead tomorrow. It is choosing unity over division. It is choosing responsibility over noise. It is choosing to lift your country up, not tear it down.”
In a pointed reflection on African politics, Boakai invoked the words of Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka, telling the audience, “Only in Africa will thieves be regrouping to loot again and the youths whose future is being stolen will be celebrating it. This scenario is so sad.” He urged young Liberians to resist becoming instruments of division or enablers of corruption, stressing that their influence must be used to build and not to destroy.
Boakai encouraged the students to engage national leadership with substance and maturity. “Hold your leaders accountable. Hold me accountable,” he said. “But do it in a way that builds, not a way that destroys. When you critique, critique with facts. When you challenge leadership, challenge us because you want Liberia to advance, not because you want Liberia to fall apart.”
Turning to the issue of education, the President underscored its importance as the foundation upon which future leadership must rest. He urged students not to squander the opportunity before them. “Your books matter. Your lectures matter. Your exams matter,” he emphasized. “You are preparing yourself for responsibilities that will come tomorrow. One day, some of you will stand where I stand.”
Boakai revisited the iconic line in Liberia’s National Anthem, “in union strong success is sure,” to reinforce his message of unity. He insisted that lasting progress is only possible when Liberians reject tribalism, political hostility, and generational division. “Unity is not weakness. Unity is strength,” he said. “You must be the generation that says enough with division. Enough with hatred. Enough with violence.”
The President then drew from his own journey to highlight the essence of true leadership. He noted that leadership is not privilege but sacrifice. “Leadership is not a title. Leadership is service. Leadership is humility. Leadership means putting the country first, even when it is difficult, even when it is unpopular,” Boakai said. He urged students to cultivate the discipline and moral character required to lead a nation.
In his closing remarks, President Boakai expressed profound confidence in the potential of Liberia’s youth. “My young people, I believe in you. I trust you,” he said. “If you prepare yourselves with integrity and love, Liberia will rise, because you will rise.” He ended with his now-famous national appeal: “In all that you do, Think Liberia, Love Liberia, and Build Liberia.”
