The Perspective
Atlanta, Georgia
May 26, 2019

Cllr. Tiawan Saye Gongloe

As we celebrate the 56th African Liberation Day Anniversary, we neither do so with our heads high believing that the African peoples will no longer be subjugated nor return to the dark days of colonialism.

As we look back into the annals of African history, we are reminded of the days when the African continent and its peoples became victims of foreign domination and exploitation. We are reminded of how for centuries the African peoples had no say in the management of their own affairs.

Thanks to the champion of African freedom for their unwavering and relentless fight for the total and unconditional liberation of the African continent from the yoke of colonialism and imperialism. 

Yes indeed, Africa is free from colonial domination and has gained political independence. Today Africans are managing their own affairs, charting the way forward for sustained peace, collective security and unhindered socioeconomic development. Now that the African people have attained political independence, the struggle is for the general improvement in their living conditions. This struggle is based on the fact that the years of political independence have not brought self-reliance and self-determination.

It is no secret that the continent of Africa is the richest on earth in terms of natural resources. Yet it is inhabited, largely, by some of the poorest people in the world, as millions of Africans go without food daily, and millions more are homeless and jobless, while a fingerful of people enjoy most of the wealth of Africa –a situation that has made political independence meaningless to the struggling masses of the African people.
The lack of economic independence and fair distribution of the income generated from the resources of Africa among the people undermines the peace, progress, and prosperity of Africa. Unless the wide gap between the rich and the poor in Africa is narrowed, there will continue to be mass anger and mass anger will continue to create one crisis after another. Therefore, the new struggle for liberation in Africa should be centered on the elimination of poverty and the improvement in the welfare of the masses of the people.

The mass movement of young people of Africa to North Africa as a means of getting to Europe in the quest for a better life shows the need to intensify the struggle for economic liberation and a better life for all Africans. This trend must be reversed because the people of Africa cannot win the struggle for liberation if the able-body young men and women of Africa who should be leading this struggle are retreating and running away to Europe and the Americas.

On the commemoration of the 56th Anniversary of African Liberation, MOJA calls on the people of Africa to pay homage to the dedicated leaders of the struggle for emancipation from colonial rule on the African Continent such as Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Mwalimu Julius Nyarere of Tanzania, Nmzee Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya, Ahmed Benbela of Algeria, Patrice Lumumba of the Congo (DRC), Ahmed Sekou Toure of Guinea, Nnamdi Azikiwe of Nigeria, Modibo Keita of Mali, amongst many other African patriots. While they made their mistakes, their commitment to the true independence of Africa was not in doubt. We must continue to pay homage to them for their foresight and fortitude.

Today, Africa needs a new breed of leaders to move the continent towards becoming a continent that will keep its young people by creating a better life for all Africans. This breed of leaders must learn to put the interest of the people above their own interest and develop plans with the involvement of the people, for a better life on the African continent. After 56 years our people cannot be relying on imported food for their survival, foreign hospitals for their health and dependent on foreign governments for things that African countries have the potential to do for their people.

The African people cannot attain a better life if most of our leaders are so corrupt that the wealth of the continent is being mismanaged by them and their cronies. Africa cannot move forward if only family members and friends can be the beneficiaries of employment opportunities and contracts. Africa cannot experience sustained peace, progress and prosperity if justice is only for the powerful, well-connected and wealthy. Lasting peace begins with justice for all.

In our country Liberia, there has been severe leadership deficit from the founding of the Liberian state to today. Liberia has been a country where there has been growth without development from year in year out. All these anomalies culminated in the fratricidal civil conflict that destroyed the fabric of our society and undermined our collective ability to move forward as one nation.

With the help of ECOWAS and the International community, peace was restored to our country 15 years ago. Our collective responsibility as a people now is to maintain the peace. Instead, strange things are happening that could weaken our collective resolve to maintain the peace!! Yes, indeed strange things are happening in our country today- where people who were just barely managing to make life yesterday are today among the wealthiest people in Africa, if not the world, just in one year of being in power, as though they are money magicians.

They must provide an explanation for their overnight transition from being very poor to being very rich so that other Liberians can learn from them if their method of wealth accumulation was devoid of criminality. Otherwise, the masses of the people will be right to conclude that they stole the Liberian people money in order to become wealthy.

Corruption is a deadly virus that has been a menace in our country for the nearly two centuries of our national existence and has reached its zenith since the coming into power of the Coalition for Democratic Change led government. The cases in point are the failure of President Weah and his cabinet officials to timely and openly declared their assets, the issue of the missing $16 billion Liberian dollars, the doubt created by the manner in which US$25million meant for stabilizing the exchange rate between the US Dollars and Liberian Dollars was used; the awarding of contracts without exhausting public procurement laws, effort to acquire bogus loans from unknown and questionable sources, among others. In our Liberia today, the independence of the judiciary and its ability to deliver justice in accordance with the law have been the perennial subject of US State Department Reports and other external reports. The unconstitutional impeachment of Associate Justice Kabineh Ja’neh from the Supreme Court Bench by the Legislature, based largely on efforts by the power that be to demonstrate its effectiveness in retaliation is another form of injustice that Liberia faces today.

The Movement for Justice in Africa (MOJA), calls on the Government of Liberia to, without delay prosecutes those found culpable in the $25M Mop-up exercise carried out by the Technical Economic Management Team (TEMT) of the Government of Liberia.  Furthermore, MOJA calls on the Government of Liberia to demonstrate sincerity in addressing the poor economic conditions in the country.

MOJA calls on the Government to scrupulously protect the rights of the people to free speech, free press, free assembly, and free movement. In this regard, MOJA calls on the government to protect the rights of Liberians who have planned to protest against government’s actions and decisions on June 7, 2019. MOJA also calls on organizers of the protest to keep all options open, including dialogue, mediation by individuals, institutions and the international community.

However, if all other efforts fail and the protest is proceeded with, MOJA calls on the organizers to ensure that no degree of violence is associated with the protest. Based on MOJA’s experience, it calls on the organizers to be vigilant both internally and externally for people who may be planted to give the organizers a bad name. MOJA wishes every Liberian a happy African Liberation Day.

Signed _____________________
Throble Kaffa Suah (Cde)
Interim Secretary General

Approved____________________
Tiawan Saye Gongloe (Cde)
Interim Chairman, MOJA

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