The Perspective
Atlanta, Georgia
February 24, 2021

Dr. Togba-Nah Tipoteh

Any commentary is useful to the extent that it can help people to learn how to use non-violence to solve a societal problem. This commentary is coming out at this time to help in calming the tensions about whether some persons have the morality to be credible to be elected or appointed to any position of trust.

We can learn from Liberian culture. All the Liberian languages tell us that we all come from the same place. We are all children of the One and Only Creator, the Creator of the world and all human beings and non-human beings in the world. From this knowledge about our Common Creator, we learn how to respect one another. In each of the Liberian languages, this Creator has a name, as in the following examples: Nnangala in Kpelle; Kamba in Vehee (wrongly called Vai); Ahbie in Dahn (wrongly called Gio); Walla in Mahn (wrongly called Mano); Glaypor in Bassa, and Nyinhswa in Kraowihn (wrongly called Kru). Through the realization that we have the same Creator and, therefore, we are the same human beings, we know that we have equal inalienable rights, as found in the constitution of Liberia. From this knowledge flows the reality that humanity brings morality which brings credibility.

The Youth of Madina, Cape Mount County, invited me to speak to their community about Credibility. The Youth chose the topic Credibility because they wanted to understand correctly how come they voted for some persons but when these persons got elected, they forget about the interests of the voters and focused on their own interests. I accepted the invitation of the Youth of Madina. What follows is the substance of the speech that I gave in Madina and the discussion on the speech.

Humanity has to do with respect for a person, realizing that all human beings have the same Creator. Knowing the source of respect, a person realizes that honesty comes from the morality of humanity. With this respect, a person is prepared to live for others rather than live for himself or herself. It is this realization that leads a person to Community interest rather than Self Interest. It is essentially this record of service to the Community that a person has the makes the person credible. When this credibility is observed in the record of a person, the Vehee people say to the person: Kamba Mu Tayee Beh, meaning God Bless You. On the part of the Kissi people, they say Achaabor, meaning You have Done Well.

A credible person is a good person, a person with a record of acting in the interest of voters, most of whom are poor, like the voters in Madina. What happened in the election in Madina was that the voters were driven by emotion and money rather than by reason, resulting in greedy persons getting elected. So, it is not surprising that these greedy persons did not care about the interests of the voters.
The Medina Community Hall was jammed pack with hundreds of people, most of whom had just come from burying two persons who died a day before the speech. As most of the people in Madina were Muslims, their burials took place a day after death. Although condolences for the bereaved were in order, the people realized correctly they must draw inspiration from the good things that the dead persons did not complete. And central to the good things left undone was the interest of the Youth in knowing how to choose good leaders. Upon listening to my speech, a vigorous discussion followed and ended up with the admission by the Medina people that the voters were money-driven than reason-driven, resulting in the election of greedy persons.

The persons who accompanied me to Madina were Mrs. Elithia Manning, Founding President-General of the Liberia Labor Congress; Sheikh David Kiazolu, Vice Chairperson of the National Muslim Council; Mr. Dempster Manangan, Secretary General of the Bong County Council of Chiefs and Elders; Mrs. Abigail Kofa, Women Chairlady, Borough of Krutown, and SheikhMamamudu Pusah, Susukuu Coordinator of Western Liberia. Sheikh Kiazolu, a Citizen of Madina goes to Madina almost weekly, helping people to know how to chose good leaders. Sheikh Pusah is often in various parts of Grand Cape Mount County, while a co-worker Mr. Gbanja Jeh, Head of Liberians United to Save Humanity, works out of his base in Than, Gola Konneh District of Grand Cape Mount County, in efforts to promote community development.

Many persons consider the Vehee people to be lazy or weak because they are afraid to be confronted by the principled behavior of Vehee people due to their awareness and practice of Vehee culture in their drive to improve their living conditions. Witness the recent signing of a document by hundreds of Vehee Elders and Youth leaders, protesting the use of Vehee lands by Concessions without the approval of the Vehee people. It took the intervention of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to calm the storm over the illegal occupation of Vehee lands.

The Madina experience clearly shows that the Way Forward for the Better is the use of knowledge to raise awareness in ways that motivate people to take non-violent actions to change living conditions for the better. Baika-way, the Vehee language for thank you yah.