By Sidiki Fofana | Truth in Ink
Barely two Sundays after his electoral defeat, George Weah stood in Forky Klon Jlaleh Church and declared he was “done politically.” He told congregants that unlike others who chased public office into their sixties, he would be spending time with his family. By his own words, the door to 2029 was closed.
But months later, the door swung open again. “Coming Back”, once a rumor, has become the rallying cry amongst his base, his giving renewed hope among thousands of supporters, many of whom felt forgotten during his last six years in power, and served as an assurance to those who wine and dined with him that they will be doing so again soon. But the question is what explains the turnaround? What is fueling this new ambition?
It comes in two part of a question; one of such irony which stands tall in Liberia’s politics today is that President Boakai’s very treatment of Weah may be fueling the fire for his comeback.
The evidence is public and deliberate. Denied entry to the New Presidential Lounge, which he himself built, Weah is now made to use the regular passenger terminal, reserved for ” common citizen”, a phrase used by President Boakai’s Vice President Jeremiah Koung who had declared that Weah “must park” and accept his ” new” status as a common citizen.
Boakai’s Press Secretary, Kula Fofana, doubled down: “There is only one President in this country, and that person is Joseph Boakai.” In other words, any courtesies once afforded to Weah are withdrawn and technically reserved for the sitting President .
Beyond travel protocol, there have also been attempts to strip Weah of what the law still grants him as a former president, his assigned security detail and portions of his vehicle fleet. Cars once deemed fit for a former head of state are suddenly being classified as exclusive to the sitting president. To his supporters, this looks less like protocol and more like punishment.
A market woman in Red Light told Truth in Ink: “I not say Weah was perfect, but to treat a former President like common citizen man is to shame all of us who voted for him before. If they can do it to Weah, what about us?”
A young motorcyclist in Paynesville added: “Weah say he was going to retire, but the way Boakai people embarrassing him, they making the man popular again. Every time they disrespect him, I feel he should come back and show them he still the people choice.”
Supporters in Monrovia’s Clara Town tie Boakai’s actions even to his much-publicized anti-corruption drive. One die-hard CDCian put it this way: “Da Weah they targeting. They just want make the man shame. All this talk about corruption, you na see how they only going after Weah time people?”
Such acts are not trivial. They cut deep into the pride of a man who once held the nation’s highest office and still commands the loyalty of thousands. Former Minister Eugene Nagbe summed it up: the disdain has become so pronounced that Weah could not, in good conscience, stand beside other former leaders of Liberia when Boakai’s administration sought his support for a seat at the UN.
This dynamic is not unique to Liberia. In the United States, Democrats’ unrelenting attacks on Donald Trump, from impeachment trials to efforts to bar him from office, did not break him. Instead, they hardened his base, turned him into a “martyr” of establishment disdain, and propelled him back into serious contention for the presidency. A leader with a loyal base, when constantly marginalized, can transform grievance into political fuel.
In politics this is an irony seeing many times, “marginalize a man with a base, and you may not kill his ambition ,you may sharpen it”, a Liberian Political Observer. For Weah, who rose from Gibraltar’s ghettos to the lights of Milan, it has always been disrespect and underestimation that propelled his rise.
A student at the University of Liberia put it best: “Weah is like that footballer , the more you boo him, the more he score goals. Maybe Boakai think he finishing Weah, but he could be writing the man comeback song.”
By stripping Weah of courtesies, Boakai risks giving him a grievance powerful enough to script the first chapter of a comeback story.
But that is only half the story. Watch for Part 2 . [14:52, 31/08/2025] Selekei Fofana: Letter to His Excellency President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr.
Subject: Turn The Fight Against Illicit Drugs To The Armed Forces Of Liberia (AFL) And The National Security Agency ( NSA).
His Excellency Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr.
President of the Republic of Liberia
Executive Mansion
Monrovia, Liberia
Your Excellency,
I extend my respectful compliments and convey warm greetings on behalf of fellow citizens who remain concerned about the prevalent of drugs spread and use in our country. Off the many things I do disagree with you with I must however say I was encouraged by your determination to confront the menace of illicit drugs in Liberia.
From your decision to undergo a voluntary drug test upon assuming office to your more recent policies aimed at holding landlords accountable for premises used in drug trafficking, you have elevated national consciousness on this grave matter. And your actions to replace and remove non- performing heads of the Liberia Drugs Enforcement Agency as a clear sign that the fight against drugs can’t be a one of business as usual.
And yet, despite these well-intentioned steps, the problem persists. The devastation caused by narcotics continues to rob Liberia of its youth, weaken communities, and erode our nation’s reputation abroad. The Liberia Drugs Enforcement Agency (LDEA), tasked with leading this fight, has witnessed three or four changes of leadership under your administration alone.
Allegations of collusion, incompetence, and even facilitation of cartel operations within the agency have undermined its credibility. As a result, both the morale of its rank-and-file and the confidence of the public stand at an all-time low.
We are now convinced that simply replacing the heads of the LDEA is no longer sufficient. The crisis has become systematic , and the institution itself requires complete overhaul.
Your Excellency, we respectfully recommend that responsibility for leading the fight against drugs be temporarily transferred to the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL), in collaboration with the National Security Agency (NSA), for a period of one year, while the LDEA undergoes comprehensive restructuring, re-vetting, and reform from top to bottom.
Both the AFL and NSA remain among our most disciplined and credible institutions. Their training, intelligence capabilities, and record of professionalism equip them to confront powerful drug networks that thrive on institutional weakness and corruption.
Your Excellency’s authority to act rests on a firm legal foundation:
- Article 50 of the Constitution vests executive power in the President as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Liberia.
- Article 54(d) empowers the President to appoint and command military officers.
- Article 86(b) authorizes extraordinary measures to protect public safety in times of grave national threat.
- The National Defense Act of 2008 allows the AFL to support civil authorities in emergencies and matters of national security.
- The NSA Act of 1974 empowers the National Security Agency to gather intelligence and counter threats to Liberia’s stability, including transnational crime and narcotics.
Mr. President allow me to inform you that International precedents exist; Liberia will not be the first or only country to take sure measure:
- In Mexico, the armed forces were deployed when police forces were compromised by cartels.
- In Colombia, the military and intelligence services played a decisive role in dismantling major cartels, including Medellín and Cali.
- In Sierra Leone, the armed forces assumed law enforcement functions temporarily after the war until civilian agencies were reformed.
- In the Philippines, the military was integrated into anti-drug operations alongside the police when institutional weaknesses were exposed.
These examples demonstrate that when law enforcement agencies lose credibility, it is both lawful and necessary for the state to rely on its military and intelligence institutions to safeguard public order.
Your Excellency, Liberia stands at a defining moment. By assigning this fight to the AFL and NSA while reforming the LDEA from the ground up, your administration can both restore confidence and reclaim a generation from the grip of drugs.
As you did with our previous recommendations against this national evil, we trust that you will again give this proposal your most serious consideration. In further support, we have attached a draft Executive Order that may serve as a legal and operational instrument for immediate implementation.
Please accept, Mr. President, the assurances of our highest consideration and our continued prayers for wisdom and strength as you lead our Republic.
Respectfully,
Sidiki Fofana
Truth in Ink
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this communication does not in any way reflect any position or policy of the Congress of Democratic Change, where I served as one of its National Chairpersons. These views are exclusively the editorial judgment of Truth In Ink reflecting our strong support for the fight against drugs- a nonpartisan issue.
