Many times we conceptualized that the Liberian state will be better in the future than what it is. This statement seems to be illusive, because those who are to manage the state of affairs are jumping all over the place thus making Liberia Government Issue to be the breeding ground for chopping. How can you have internal party democracy and there can be no loser? Almost all the losers preferred jumping to another party to force opportunity. The political parties are so many and there are no institutional frameworks that can control the parties’ activities, thereby making losers to come from anywhere to jump in another party. Does that also mean that the parties do not have capable people to feel those slots? Why would a political party exist in the dictionary of NEC when it cannot field viable aspirants for elections?
Let me give you some practical cases: Charles Bennie of Congress of Democratic Change (CDC) left his party to join the Liberty Party (LP) to be represented in one of the Margibi districts; incumbent Samuel Bono, has left the Unity Party (UP), and he is on his way to join another political party; incumbents Gabriel Smith and Vinicious Hodges were defeated in the Liberty Party (LP) primaries, and they have left the party. This scenario is not with only personalities but it is also with institutions that have organized themselves into alliances or coalitions. The National Patriotic Party (NPP) has severe ties with the National Democratic Coalition (NDC), and Cyril Allen, now representing the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) in one of Margibi districts.
How can you have personalities or institutions that are to represent the people or the masses they claimed to protect behaving in a manner that is not good in the sight of mankind? Where in the world will you have an election and there will be no loser? How can a party join a coalition and jump out of it in the last minute without genuine reason? How would politicians learn the rudiments of politics and build strong political culture that would engender robust institutional base that outlasts the partisans? There is an integrity problem with those who are jumping from one institution to another. Everybody who wants to represent a group of people must stand for integrity, not against. The behavior of the “would be” legislators must be clear, because it also the sign of greed for power. The expectation for them to become better Legislators will not exist. How can we build our integrity system when those who are to set the pace in the society are jumping around from one party to another? How do they condemn an election that is not free, fair and transparent?
The internal democracy in the political parties is fragile and there is no control mechanism to protect the image of the parties. How can these parties manage the affairs of the country when they cannot build an integrity system? The formation of every political party is to nurture and train men and women who would manage government’s affairs. But how can a weak political party manage the affair of the state when they are allowing unacceptable behavioral pattern amongst the partisans? The unwholesome attitude of the “would be” legislators reminds me of the Liberian state and the hustlers. Those who are engaging in this unwholesome practice, by jumping from one party to another are the hustlers in the Liberian State. Their uncontrollable quest for power is not to make any significant change that will improve the lives of the people, but to grab ‘something’ for their pocket, and left the state depleted and wretched.
The Liberian state is fragile, recuperating from a bloody civil conflict. Political actors must not allow it to slip into a failed state. It needs people with integrity to manage it. When we don’t ensure the right governance processes are respected, we sometime tend to blame the WEST for our underdevelopment. Many politicians in Africa have always thought that the problem of underdevelopment can surely rest on the shoulder of the WEST which is completely wrong. Liberia is Africa’s oldest independent country, but what do we have to show for that toga? Paul Kigame’s Rwanda experience similar conflict as Liberia, but can’t compare Rwanda with Liberia in any wise? With this kind of unstable and unpredictable politicians, how can we take Liberia to the Promise Land we are clamoring for?
I want to think now that the struggle for independence by some of the countries on the continent is just a waste of time and the loss of valuable lives. For our part in Liberia, the death of so many Liberians as the result of the civil conflict in the name of poor governance is regrettable, because nothing significant has change. Every time in our political lives, the worst is being implemented. Politics is not about intense greed for power, but rather the ability to manage a group of people in a well organized way for the overall good of the society. The Liberian State might be in trouble if this kind of political attitude cannot change, because this crop of politicians would find it difficult to accept election results as they are not gallant in defeat. Democracy can only be deepened when winning and losing are incorporated in the body polity for balanced development.
