None of us in the Unity Party regime suspected the deep rift between Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Joseph Nyumah Boakai.
Most of us who attempted to reconcile them were shocked by the list of 17 grievances that Joseph Nyumah Boakai had written down and kept in his home office.
I attempted 5 times and he read that list to me each time. Others did too and failed.
All of the issues were personal, some genuine and others frivolous to say the least.
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf too was stunned and she struggled with the discovery that her Vice P had been unhappy with her all these years.
I saw her struggle with it, and made efforts to solicit help from others who could help.
She was also depressed that he had not raised any of the issues during their regular one-on-one meetings during their 12 years of marriage, including when she selected him in 2015 as the choice to succeed her.
Also, during the Unity Party Executive Committee’s meeting that was organized by party stalwarts, the Unity Party political leader said Ellen Johnson Sirleaf had done nothing wrong to him.
Meanwhile those who had severed ties with Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, now solidly with Joseph Nyumah Boakai, saw an opportunity to attain top jobs should JNB win.
They kept throwing fuel in the fire, instead of focusing on winning. No one cared about the campaign’s slogan to put country first.
When all efforts by many people in Liberia failed, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf solicited the help of the same regional leaders from whom she had solicited moral and financial support for JNB, including Obasanjo who flew to Monrovia to broker a peace.
When JNB failed to deliver on the commitment he made at that meeting, the line was drawn.
Meanwhile, supporters of JNB didn’t care to know the truth and help close the gap.
They even refused personal contacts with and analytical support from folks who were associated with her. Meanwhile, the EJS faction panicked.
For any reconciliation of the two and their supporters to be successful, those 17 grievances must be resolved.
They were at the core of the choice that was made in 2017. Life is a competition with winners and losers.
For the losing side to win the next game, a good coach always makes his/her team to watch the video and review the plays of the game they lost.
Why? Because the prescriptions of the correct cure is dependent on a rigorous analysis of the reality.
Regrettably, I see folks in the JNB faction still pointing the fingers and not accepting any personal responsibilities.
By the way, I was never a choice to succeed EJS neither was I a choice to be JNB’s running mate as was widely speculated. – Excerpt from my memoirs.
More on the Coalition for Democratic Change, the Liberty Party and Alternative National Congress in my upcoming memoirs.
Almost there! My Uncle Joe Boakai bought me that shirt I’m wearing, . Happy weekend.
