31.8 C
Monrovia
Tuesday, November 5, 2024

Liberia: A Real Lofanomic

Must read

By Max Zaimoh

This research is about the 80 percent presidential appointees (Lofan) atop level positions of public trust of Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s Liberia. This was spoken about or against by the General Service Agency (GSA’s) Director General, Galakpai Kortimai.

It neither targets Lofans nor does it suggest that they are not qualified to serve in positions of public trust, the answer is NO. But what we are saying is that for a single county to dominate a regime speaks volume and calls for national concern because this has not happened in the body politics of this country.

However, there are reasons why Lofa is dominating the present regime which should not be strange to the older generation rather than the young ones.

Unity Party’s founder, Edward Beyan Kesselly (1937-1993) hailed from Nyama-Kamadu Town, Quardu Gboni Chiefdom and was a member of the Mandingo speaking ethnic group in Lofa County.

He was one of those remnants of the Grand Old True Whig Party (TWP) who founded a political party called the Unity Party in 1984 when the ban on politicking was lifted following the coup of the People’s Redemption Council (PRC) and contested or participated in the Tuesday, 15 October, 1985, Presidential and Legislative Elections.

Buried in Monrovia after his 1993 death. He was re-buried eighteen (18) years later at his hometown in Nyama-Kamadu Town, Quardu Gboni Chiefdom, Lofa County. Before his demise, Kesselly was a Minister in the cabinet of the later President William Richard Tolbert administration. During the late 1970s, he was Minister of Post and Telecommunications.

President Tolbert appointed him in February 1978. He succeeded J. Jenkins Peal, who had resigned that office to become the Minister of Information, where Kesselly previously served as an Administrator for five years.

Kesselly was one of those few members of Tolbert’s cabinet who survived the Saturday, 12 April, military coup d’etate that overthrew Tolbert’s regime in 1980. During the Interim ship of the late Amos Claudius Sawyer’s Interim Government of National Unity (IGNU-1990-94), he served as Minister of National Defense. He was a father of eight (8) children.

One county dominance of a regime has never happened in this country (Liberia) body politics during the regimes of President William V. S. Tubman who hailed from Maryland County and ruled from 1944-1971; William Richard Tolbert who hailed from Montserrado County and ruled from 1971-1980; Samuel Kanyan Doe who hailed from Grand Gedeh County and ruled from 1980-1990; Charles Ghankay Taylor who hailed from Montserrado County and ruled 1997-2003; Ellen Johnson who from Bomi County and ruled from 2006-2017; and George Maneh Weah who hailed Grand Kru County and ruled from 2018-2023.

However, what is surprising is the continue silence of so-called state’s actors and their civil society organizations, namely the Liberia Council of Churches (LCC), Inter-Religious Council of Liberia (IRCL), National Muslims Council of Liberia (NMCL), Elections Coordinating Committee (ECC), Liberia National Bar Association (LNBA), and the Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia (AFELL).

Others are Female Journalists Association of Liberia (FeJAL), National Civil Society Council of Liberia (NCSCL), Press Union of Liberia (PUL) among others.

These bodies and their leaderships were torn in the throat or flesh of President George Manneh Weah and his regime, speaking to perceived ills or wrongdoing in the society and claiming to be the heroes or heroines have all gone silent likewise the opposition bloc besides the Coalition or Congress for Democratic Change.

Unlike the former standard-bearer of the Liberian People’s Party (LPP), Taiwan Saye Gongloe who many times have spoken against Boakai missteps or violations of the laws, corruption, human rights abuses, appointment mainly of people from his native Lofa there has been nobody else.

This is an indication that Boakai is a tribalist, treachery and vindictive. Until the 2005 Presidential and Legislative Elections, at which time Boakai was brought to the lifeline of contemporary Liberian politics by Ellen Johnson-Johnson, a founding member of the Liberia Action Party (LAP), Boakai was a member or partisan of the United People’s Party (UPP) then led by the late Gabriel Baccus Matthews.

In the UPP, an offspring of the Progressives Alliance of Liberia (PAL), Boakai was never a prominent figurehead besides Baccus.

When Ellen switched allegiance to the Unity Party having fallen out with LAP and its Executives before the 19 July, 1997, Proportional Representation Elections in which 13 Political Parties took part, she selected the late Peter Bemah of Bong County as running mate.

In 2005, she chose Boakai for two reasons. Her relationship with UP’s founder (Kesselly) and her later husband, Sirleaf’s relationship with Boakai.

She earlier banked on one of the stalwarts of the Liberian People’s Party (LPP) and MOJA (Movement for Justice in Africa), Togba-Nah Tipoteh but he turned it down on ground that unless he heads the ticket following years of negotiations or meetings held in Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana and the United States to formed an alliance against Charles Taylor and his NPP before next scheduled elections in October of 2003 then. This research continues.

    No. Name Position Tribe County
01. Augustine K. Ngafuan Minister, Finance and Development Planning Gbandi Lofa
02. Richard Ngafuan Director, Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Service (LISGIS) Gbandi Lofa
03. James M. Fromayan Director, Liberia National Commission on Small Arms (LNCSA) Lorma Lofa
04. James Dorbor Jallah Director, Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) Lorma Lofa
05. Galakpai Kortimai Director, General Service Agency (GSA) Lorma Lofa
06. Stephen “Steve” Zargo Commissioner, Liberia Immigration Service (LIS) Lorma Lofa
07. Augustine Fayiah Solicitor General, Justice Ministry Kissi Lofa
08. Jackson Wolobah Deputy Minister for Statistics, Labor Ministry Lorma Lofa
09. Elijah Rufus Deputy Commissioner, Liberia Immigration Service (LIS) Lorma Lofa
10. Nyuma Dixon Tamba Deputy Commissioner, Liberia Immigration Service (LIS) Kissi Lofa
11. Jeror Cole Bangalu Minister, Youth and Sports Gbandi Lofa
12. Ciapha Saah Gbollie Director, National Lottery Authority (NLA) Kissi Lofa
13. Juluis K. Sele Director, Liberia Agency for Community Empowerment (LACE) Lorma Lofa
14. Arthur Massaquoi Director, Bureau of State Enterprises Lorma Lofa
15. Francis Siakala Nyumalin Minister, Internal Affairs Kissi Lofa
16. Gabriel Selee Deputy Minister for Administration, Foreign Ministry Lorma Lofa
17. Jeddi Armah Deputy Minister for Legal Affairs, Foreign Ministry Gbandi Lofa
18. Davidson Fayiah Forleh Chief of Staff, Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) Kissi Lofa
19. John-Charuk Siafi Lord Mayor, Monrovia City Corporation (MCC) Kissi Lofa
20. Patrick Honnah Commissioner, Liberia Telecommunication Authority (LTA) Gbandi Lofa
21. Emmanuel Azango Commissioner, National Oil Corporation of Liberia (NOCAL) Lorma Lofa
22 Henry Saamoi Acting Governor, Central Bank of Liberia Lorma Lofa
23. Robert Wilmot Kpadeh Liberia Representative, International Maritime Organization (IMO) Lorma Lofa
24 Edward Liberty National Identification Registry (NIR) Lorma Lofa
25. Jarso Jallah Saygbe Minister, Education Ministry Lorma Lofa
26. Sekou Kromah Minister, Post Affairs Ministry Mandingo Lofa
27. Amin Modad Minister, Commerce and Industry Ministry   Lofa
28. Tarnue Z. Morlu Comptroller, Youth and Sports Ministry Lorma Lofa
29. Prince D. Tambah Assistant Minister for Technical Services, Public Works Ministry Kissi Lofa
30. Malayan Tamba-Cheiyo Deputy Minister of Health, Planning and Policy Kissi Lofa
31. Pewee Baysah Public Relations Officer, Freeport of Monrovia Lorma Lofa
32. Patrick Worzie Director, Liberia Refugee Repatriation and Resettlement Commission (LRRRC) Lorma Lofa
33. Patrick Sandiki Deputy Managing Director for Technical Services, Liberia Water & Sewer Corporation (LWSC) Kissi Lofa
34. Jacob “Jake” Kabakollie National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL) Lorma Lofa
35. Anthony V. Kesselly Deputy Minister for Public Affairs, State for Presidential Affairs Ministry Mandingo Lofa
36. Steve Saah Kolubah Deputy Managing Director for Administration, National Housing Authority Lorma Lofa
37. Richardson N’Dorbor Chief Executive Office, Liberia Telecommunications Corporation Lorma Lofa
38. Garmai Koboi Director, Liberia Intellectual Property Office Lorma Lofa
39. William Jallah Assistant Minister for Cultural Affairs, Internal Affairs Lorma Lofa
40. David Akoi Deputy Minister for Planning and Development, Agriculture Ministry Lorma Lofa
41. Zogbo Luther Assistant Minister for Technical Services, Agriculture Ministry Lorma Lofa
42. Daniel Koikoi Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs, Foreign Ministry Lorma Lofa
43. Clarence Kortu Massaquoi Commissioner, Liberia Telecommunication Authority Lorma Lofa
44. Armah Kanneh Deputy/Acting Director, LRRRC Gbandi Lofa
45. Lorpu Kandakai Registrar General, Cooperative Development Agency (CDA) Lorma Lofa
46. Charles Saah N’tow Chief of Office Staff, Office of the First Lady Kissi Lofa
47. Steve Kolubah Deputy Minister of Planning and Manpower, Labor Ministry Lorma Lofa
48. Josiah Joekai Director General, Civil Service Agency/Commission Lorma Lofa
49. Jeff Gongoer Dowana Liberia Ambassador, United States of America Lorma Lofa
50. Samuel Zaza Chairman, Civil Service Agency/Commission Board of Directors Lorma Lofa

Latest article