By Gabriel I.H. Williams
There is a wise old saying which goes: “Little drops of water make a mighty ocean.” This proverb summarizes a universal truth about accumulation: Many small, seemingly insignificant developments add up over time to produce something vast and powerful that goes beyond human control, sometimes leading to tragic outcomes.
This wise old saying is very timely in the wake of prevailing developments in Liberia, a fragile post-war country. Since the government of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai came to power in 2024, Liberians are beginning to see vestiges of the “old evil political order,” characterized by incompetence and bad governance.
Due to poor leadership by incumbent President George Manneh Weah, the Liberian people voted Weah from power and elected Mr. Boakai, former Vice President to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberia and Africa’s first democratically elected female president. Liberians elected Mr. Boakai as president after he convinced them that he would use his 40 years of experience in government or public service to “RESCUE” the country from misrule.
Since coming to power, the Boakai administration deserves commendation for progress in infrastructural development like road and electricity expansion in the country, including Liberia’s election as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). As a journalist, I have written a number of articles complimentary of President Boakai and his government for the efforts made to put Liberia back on the right national and international trajectories.
However, much is left to be desired in terms of the fight against corruption and inefficiency in government, not to talk about limited budgetary support to seriously improve health and education in the war-ravaged country, especially for the overwhelming majority of the population who do not have the means to seek advanced medical treatment and education abroad.
Examples of Poor Leadership
A quick example of how inefficiency can seriously affect the government and the country as a whole is the brouhaha surrounding the January 26, 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA) delivered by President Boakai. The SONA, which is the President’s annual report to the Liberian people on the state of the nation, has been publicly declared to be very poorly prepared, amid questionable statistics on job creation and other claims made by the government.
Amid the avalanche of public criticism of the SONA, the government later announced that the SONA was criminally leaked to the public before the President’s delivery. Who leaked such a very sensitive presidential address, and why they are still holding sensitive government positions without an investigation, reflect the nature of Boakai’s nonchalant leadership style.
The unprecedented public outcry the poorly-prepared SONA generated was followed by more condemnation of the government for the demolition of dozens of homes in a densely populated community in Monrovia, leaving hundreds of people homeless.
The sudden demolition of dozens of homes in a densely populated community, which left hundreds of poor people, including women and children homeless and vulnerable to outbreak of epidemic diseases, was not wisely executed.
It goes without saying that hundreds of children rendered homeless by the sudden demolition of their homes are out of school, which exemplifies a failure of the Boakai government to prioritize the safety and wellbeing of the people, especially vulnerable women and children.
Even though the government operates a national budget of hundreds of millions of dollars and can afford to charter flights for official delegations to travel around the world, the government has yet to offer those poor homeless people any relocation package or payment for the loss of their personal properties, including school materials and uniforms for those homeless children.
It was while monitoring those heart-breaking developments on the demolition in Monrovia, I received a call from veteran journalist and mentor, Mr. Isaac D.E. Bantu, regarding the death of Mr. James Dorbor, one of Liberia’s first professionally trained journalists in the French language.
Mr. Dorbor, who served for over a decade in the French Department at the Information Ministry and the Liberia News Agency (LINA), also served as correspondent of Agence France Press (AFP), the French news agency. Mr. Dorbor, who died in the United States, was Financial Secretary of the Press Union of Liberia (PUL) when Mr. Bantu was the President and I was the Secretary General.
The three of us comprised the PUL delegation to the then Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) to establish a relationship with the then Union of Soviet Journalists before the collapse of the USSR, which is now represented by Russia. The Russians also reciprocated with a visit to Liberia before the outbreak of the Liberian civil war.
Supporting Clar Hope Foundation Against Political Harassment
Back to the prevailing state of affairs in Liberia, another development that is generating more political tension and division is the controversy between the Boakai government and the humanitarian organization operated by Madam Clar Weah, who was the First Lady of Liberia during the administration of her husband, President George Manneh Weah.
According to media reports, the Clar Hope Foundation (CHF) has been taken to court by the Asset Recovery Task Force established by the Boakai administration, which is investigating use of public resources during the Weah government.
Let me make it absolutely clear that I am in no way opposed to the Boakai government’s investigation or court action against the CHF.
During Weah’s tenure in power, I suffered as a major critic of his government – which withheld my just remuneration after years of sacrificial service in government, and my outstanding compensation has not been paid by the current government. Importantly, I have never met or communicated with Madam Weah before.
However, I am opposed to what many perceive to be politically-orchestrated attempts that could force the closure of the CHF, a humanitarian entity which is providing a lifeline for vulnerable little orphan girls in Liberia.
While supporting the overall purpose of the Asset Recovery Task Force to recover stolen government resources, I would have handled matters related to entities like the Clar Weah Foundation differently.
For the sake of those orphan children who are already enrolled in the academy, I would have engaged with the foundation to determine how the government could continue to be helpful through budgetary allocation so that the lives of those orphan children are not unnecessarily interrupted.
Whatever may be allegations of financial improprieties during the George Weah administration, what crime did former First Lady Weah commit by building a state of the art academy to cater to poor orphan little girls in a poverty-stricken country where most schools suffer neglect?
What would be the fate of those poor little children if Madam Weah shuts down operation, packs up and leaves Liberia, due to unwarranted political pressure?
This is why I applaud former President Sirleaf for recently visiting the academy to meet with the children and former First Lady Weah.
What others consider to be an interference in a legal matter because of her visit, many sound-minded people regard it as a demonstration of concern about the wellbeing of those children who depend on the foundation as a lifeline. This is to also appreciate Senator Amara Konneh and other forward-thinking leaders who visited the facility to better acquaint themselves.
In order to help create better understanding for the sake of those children, I recommend for current First Lady Kaitumu Boakai, a mother and grandmother herself, to also reach out to former First Lady Clar Weah. Let us not allow petit destructive African-oriented politics to lead our country down the wrong path again.
Need to Correct Diplomatic Blunder
I take this position based on conviction and not opportunism, using the lessons of history. During the early period of the Sirleaf administration, the government struggled to maintain a healthy working relationship with a section of the independent media, in the wake of the arrest and imprisonment of former Liberian President Charles Ghankay Taylor.
The confrontation with the segment of the Liberian media that was seen to be pro-Taylor, or anti-Ellen came to head with the publication of sexually compromising photos of one of the President’s closest senior officials. Under pressure from within the circle of her close associates, the President accepted a recommendation from her Minister of Information to order the arbitrary closure of a private independent newspaper for violating Liberian laws regarding pornography.
As a junior minister at the Information Ministry, I openly opposed the decision to arbitrarily shut down the newspaper without due process of law, also arguing that the action would damage the new government’s international image.
Even though I was threatened with dismissal by some powerful officials who accused me of trying to undermine the President’s directive, I sought an audience with Madam President to express my objection.
During the meeting in her office, I put my job on the line when I informed the President that as a career journalist and former leader of the PUL, I felt duty bound to let her know that the decision to close the newspaper without due process was unconstitutional, and therefore illegal.
As the Lord would have it for me, the President was so moved by the merits of my argument that she reversed the arbitrary ban on the newspaper with immediate effect.
My meeting with the President at the Executive Mansion, which was attended by a couple of senior presidential aides, was followed by a series of engagements with various international organizations and other partners to correct the potential harm the arbitrary closure could have caused Liberia’s emerging democratic image.
We also had an extensive meeting with the U.S. Ambassador to Liberia, which included exchange of notes.
Because of the proactive engagements to ensure damage control, we were informed that the U.S. government would disregard issuing any public statement against the Liberian government regarding the newspaper closure.
This was during an era when adherence to press freedom and free speech were critical preconditions for U.S. international assistance under the administration of President George W. Bush, who visited Liberia a few months following this development.
During the course of 12 years of the Sirleaf administration, part of which I also served as a Liberian diplomat in Washington, the three successive U.S. governments that came to power during that period maintained a very cordial working relationship with Liberia because of President Sirleaf’s proactive diplomacy.
Apparently due to poor handling of the U.S.-Liberia relationship by the respective Weah and Boakai governments that followed Ellen’s administration, the U.S. has imposed sanctions against Liberia and some of its officials.
For example, I would have preferred for Liberia to have taken another approach by first deeply engaging with the United States before aligning with other countries to issue a statement of condemnation in the wake of the U.S.- Venezuela crisis.
This was a diplomatic faux pas (blunder), which could have grave consequences if we do not recalibrate and deepen our engagements with our most important bilateral partner in the world. President Boakai, please be mindful that a hostile approach towards the U.S. would not only hurt your government but our country would suffer more.
