Editorial: Liberia seems to be gradually detouring from the path of political tolerance and democratic cohesion to a culture of intolerance and violence that threatens to push this country back to total collapse. Such posture led us to unimaginable consequences in the past where our citizenry particularly, women and children, suffered the brunt of a state in chaos.
Sponsored violence is creeping into the country’s body politics so much so that if not checked now, it could plunge this country into another round of turmoil and self-destruction.
In a joint statement issued Tuesday, August 2, 2022, on the July 26 violence in Monrovia, the international community (United Nations, European Union, America and the United Kingdom) noted that Liberia has a record of free, fair, and transparent elections from the last two decades that have made the country an example of stability and democracy in West Africa, which should not be replaced by violence.
The International Community cautioned that violence is not the right way to resolve disputes; rather, political differences should be resolved by dialogue.
“We, therefore, encourage all actors to act responsibly and embrace the principles of tolerance, democracy, and constitutionalism for an inclusive, transparent and peaceful election process in Liberia 2022-2023”, the statement said.
Working towards a peaceful democratic election process in 2023 should be the agenda of all peace-loving Liberians. The pending polls will be a turning point in determining whether we Liberians are ready to continue on the road to peace and political stability.
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We should do so because it is in our best interest and interest of our unborn generations that we maintain a socio-economic-political environment where each citizen can strive to nurture his or her God-given potentials, which cannot be achieved in chaos and hate for one another.
We Liberians should be the last group of people in the subregion wanting to act in ways that could return us to our ugly past that subjected our dear country to war, poverty, disease and misery. Haven’t we learnt our lessons?
Do we need the international community to remind us where we came from in the last decade and half that has put us below our neighbors? We should be ashamed of ourselves for always wanting to be the problem child in West Africa.
Time is running out. We need to get our acts together as Liberians and move our country forward with peace, diversity, tolerance, unity and economic development and prosperity. The crab mentality should have no place in our politics and nation-building process.
