Mr. Alexander B. Cummings
An Opinion By Samuel Dweh
Which of these two Liberians can fast-track the development of Mama Liberia: a person who had stayed longer time on the ‘business field’ (where residents are taught how to transform a Country’s natural resources and equitably share it with compatriots for fast-track beautification of the Country) or a person who had stayed on the ‘football field’ (where the business of the resident/player is managed by another person called ‘Manager’)?
The ‘alternative’ in the name of Mr. Alexander B. Cummings’s political party’—Alternative National Congress (ANC)—means he should apply ‘alternative method’ as his ‘presidential bait’ to attract the ‘electoral fishes’ (votes) of (majority) of other Liberians before and during the Country’s Presidential election (2023) It also means he should ‘change’ political opportunists (those who are drawn to him only for his money and only talk) and bring on board ‘political buddies’ (those who genuinely share his presidential vision and are sharing it, even though they are being rewarded now)
Mr. Simon Freeman, Political Leader of the Movement of Progressive Change (MPC), has indirectly shown the ANC Political Leader what should be his priority as long as his (Cummings’s) mission of defeating incumbent President George Manneh Weah in the Presidential Election (2023) is concern.
“We, leaders of opposition political parties, should discuss only the issues or the problems and show how they can be solved, rather than spending our resources and energies on always only criticizing President George Weah on his failures. When we only criticize, we make George Weah more popular and this will promote his chance for his re-election,” Mr. Freeman advised during his appearance on “Spoon Talk”, a prominent politicians-focused new Radio Station named Spoon FM, on its Sunday, August 7, 2022 edition, aired from 7:00pm. He has been repeating many of his solution methods on his personal Talk Show—“The Simon Freeman Show”—aired over more than three Liberians Radio Stations.
On this ‘advice’, any politically inclined Liberian would support his being Alexander B. Cunnings’s Running Mate (Vice President) Imagine two professional businessmen leading Liberia!
After serving at the top echelon of America-born global soft drink company, Coca-Cola, his patriotic instinct pricked him to ‘Presidentially develop’ his post-war Country (Liberia) through his vast corporate knowledge’ and nation-building ideas he had acquired at Coca-Cola’s Headquarter in America.
His ancestral root in Liberia is Maryland County—the region that produced Liberia’s most historically outstanding development-oriented President (William V.S. Tubman) There is no record on Liberia’s Presidency about any Liberia’s President—prior to or after Tubman’s Presidency—who had developed the Country equal to what this Marylander (William V.S.Tubman) did.
BRIEF ‘OUTSTANDING’ DEVELOPMENT-ORIENTED PRESIDENTIAL FOOTPRINTS OF WILLIAM V.S. TUBMAN
Through his ‘International Diplomacy Skill’, Liberia got a Ship from England (through Queen Elizabeth) Through his outstanding lobbying skill, Liberia got Sixteen million United States dollars (US$16,000,000) from the United States of America (through the Office of President John Fitzgerald Kenney) in 1965. This money, a product of the two Leaders’ meeting at President Kennedy’s U.S. Oval Office in 1961, was for construction of a “modern public hospital” (later named “John F. Kennedy Memorial Medical Center”), now situated at 20th and 23rd Streets, Sinkor, Monrovia, and three “High Schools”—“William V. S. Tubman High School” (now situated on 12th Street, Sinkor, Monrovia), “G. W. Gibson High School” (now standing at Capital Bye-Pass, Monrovia), and “New Port High School” (currently standing on New Port Street, Monrovia)
Another of President Tubman’s outstanding ‘national developmental footprints’ is creation of vehicular route connecting the central part of the Nation’s Capital to Liberia’s only standardized International Airport—named Robert International Airport. This route was named in memory of the whose Government constructed it: Tubman Boulevard.
His County, Maryland, still bears the features and aura of his ‘outstanding’ development-orientation. The County is the “most developed” of Liberia’s geopolitical entities constituting “Southeastern Liberia”. Many County-based members of the other Southeastern Counties—Grand Kru (the current most under-developed among the Counties, from 1991 to 2022), Grand Gedeh, Rivercess, Rivergee and Sinoe—depend on Maryland for ‘University education’ (at William V.S. Tubman University), for ‘Vacation’ (due to Maryland’s tarred and clean Streets, the A-Class status of the County’s Hotels, Guest Houses, Entertainment Centers, and clean beaches)
From available National Archival Records, the only President who came ‘closer’ to Tubman’s Presidential footprints of development (was) Only Samuel Kanyon Doe (Presidential tenure: 1980-1990) of Grand Gedeh County. One of Doe’s outstanding Presidential footprints is Liberia’s first International Sports Pitch (named in his memory), situated in Paynesville
Anybody with knowledge of Alexander B. Cummings’ ‘success stories’ in the ‘Business World’ (with Coca-Cola) will be aware of his having the “developmental gene” in his kinsman (William V.S. Tubman)
