On Behalf Of The "Book People"
By Wonderr Freeman
The Perspective
Atlanta, Georgia
October 25, 2004
If all the degree holders were to conglomerate in one locality or in one building, I should consider myself fit enough to be a proud gatekeeper, knowing fully well that the degree I have earned is still further down the ladder. Furthermore, it should be considered no disrespect to the bigwigs amongst the "book people" if I undertake to speak on behalf of the group, for being a proud gatekeeper, I am naturally the first line of defense for any one wishing to get into the conference of the "book people". Additionally, in the community of the degree holders, freedom of speech is so highly cherished that though the fold may not necessarily agree with all I say or how I say it, they will defend to death my right to speak – even on behalf of the degree holders.
Now how true is the claim that the book people failed Liberia? Firstly, to understand this theory one must try to understand what is actually meant by the phrase "degree holders failed Liberia." Do the advocates of this misguided theory actually mean that those who have chosen the honorable path of going through formal institutions of learning as secondary schools, technical schools, colleges and universities are good for nothing? Do they mean that graduates of these educational institutions are miseducated; hence, the graduates are failures? Do they mean that these graduates fail to put into practice what they’ve been thought at these institutions? If the degree holders are failing in Liberia, what are they doing in other countries? Are the "book people" in other countries failing? Is there any country in the world where socio-economic development was achieved without degree holders? Is there any country in the world where the practice of the professions was turned over to the people who did not go to school; that is, the people who don’t know "book"?
Germane questions, indeed, these are! Interestingly just asking these questions makes the Book-People-Failed-Liberia theorists to fumble, for I know, for example, of no country in the world where the practice of any profession for that matter was turned over to people who didn’t go to the relevant training for that particular profession. Unfortunately, now a days in Liberia, many are contending that what is not done the world over should be done in Liberia – illiterates and school dropouts - should be permitted to practice professions for which they’ve got no relevant formal training. The most pathetic part of this tomfoolery is the fact that some very "honorable" members of the community of degree holders are advocating this view. It is not difficult to phantom how some one could spent some 20 or more years in acquiring formal education, and many more years in gaining experience (practical education) and yet become a mouthpiece for the misguided Book-People-Failed-Liberia Theory. This argument coming out of the mouth of degree holders defies logic. For anyone who considers himself/herself to be a "bookman" or "bookwoman" to suggest such a theory infers a lack of integrity, foresight and above all common sense; and common sense, I am told, is seeing things as they are and doing things as they ought to be done. Unfortunately, however common sense has just been murdered in Liberia and many are now jumping on its grave shouting death to common sense and long live insanity!
Who are in fact the "book" people? I should think that professional such as teachers, professors, computer technicians, lawyers, pastors, engineers, foresters, and many other professionals can be properly considered as "book" people. Have these degree holders and other professionals failed Liberia? The answer is an emphatic no! Firstly, those who claim that the "book" people (degree holders) failed Liberia, contrary to their conviction continue to send their children to school to receive instructions from such degree holders as teachers and professors. These professionals, despite their low salaries, continue to impart knowledge in our schools. Is the above action an evidence of failure? I honestly don’t think so.
Again, when the advocates of this misguided theory get sick, they visit our hospitals that are, again, manned by another group of degree holders – the nurses, doctors and other medical specialists. These degree holders sacrifice daily, despite the lack of logistics to cater to the sick and oppressed. Is catering to the sick by the book people of Liberia an act of failure? I certainly don’t think so! These book people who cater to our sick and fallen members of society need our utmost thanks and appreciation. No monetary reward would suffice.
When the rights of the illiterates and school dropouts are trampled upon and violated, they go running to another group of degree holders – the lawyers and human rights advocates, and to the best of my knowledge they have not failed this country. Our lawyers and human rights activists have battled against successive repressive regimes. As a direct result of their advocacy, these degree holders have been jailed, beaten, tortured and sometimes murdered. Tiawon Gongloe, Aloysius Toe, Marcus Jones, Frances Johnson-Morris are fresh examples of degree holders who have been victimized because they’ve championed the cause of human rights and democracy. To dare say that this group of degree holders failed Liberia is glaring ingratitude, and ingratitude is sin!
The argument could continue ad infinitum, across all spectra of Liberian professionals and one would come up with the same answer time and again that the "book" people as a group have never failed this country. Those who have indeed failed Liberia have always been the imposters; those that practice professions for which they have got absolutely no training. These imposters – the trial-and-error professionals have always posed the greatest threat to the establishment of professionalism in every facet of the Liberian society. Who are the imposters? The trial-and-error politicians, the quack lawyers, the blackbag doctors, the untrained administrators, the illiterate pastors etc., these are the people that have failed Liberia. These people who have failed Liberia, and their families as well, are and have always been the "round pegs" that insist that they must be fitted into square holes. It is no secret that jobs in Liberia’s public and private sectors are offered on a who-know-you-basis and as a result jobs allocations have traditionally fitted round pegs into square holes, howbeit unsuccessfully. The round pegs that have no education but crave jobs that only educated people can handle are the ones guilty of failing Liberia. Those who are educated but advocate for the continuation of such status quo are equally guilty of failing Liberia. How long must Liberia bleed because the wrong job was given to the wrong person? How long must Liberia suffer because jobs whose successful execution required extensive education and experience were given to illiterates and school dropouts? And Liberians are still calling for functional illiterates to be given high profile jobs. What kind of people are we that don’t learn from history or from suffering? It amuses me indeed!
Did I hear someone say "ok Wonderr, we’ve heard enough about your degree holders. Granted book people like teachers, journalists, engineers, doctors, activists etc. haven’t failed us, but what’s about the Liberian politicians, this particular group of book people, you must admit, have failed us, haven’t they? I mean, after all, the politicians have been running the country since "charley kin" time and the country is in shambles, while the wrecking is still in action carrying out business as usual. Most of our former presidents have been degree holders or at least they have been counted as book people, haven’t they? And they have all been failures. Only president Doe did well in this country and he was not degree holder – at least for nine years."
The crux of the contention to be understood is: a. Have all Liberia’s past presidents been degree holders (ie. book people), b. Have they all been failure as is been alleged? Assessing all Liberian presidents in their respective levels of success is clearly beyond the scope of my means. However, a moderate but honest attempt will be made to group the presidents in pre-"charley king" time presidents and post "charley kin "time presidents. Since "charley king" time in Liberia literally means ancients days, we will not venture into assessing a era for which information is not readily available. So naturally, my analysis will focused on the post "charley kin" time presidents in my attempt to verify whether all our past presidents have all been book people and whether they’ve all been failures.
EDWIN J. BARCLAY
The noted Liberian historian, Dr. Joseph Saye Guannu, wrote the following
of Barclay in his book titled: A SHORT HISTORY OF LIBERIA. According
to Dr. Guannu, Edwin J. Barclay was perhaps the most gifted and in
the opinion of many, the greatest president of the First Republic.
Barclay, he continues, "taught mathematics at Liberia college"
(now University of Liberia) which fact presupposes that he must have
passed through college or college must have passed through him; hence
he could clearly be classified as a book man. Barclay according to
our source initiated and concluded arrangement for Liberia’s
first and only international airport, the Roberts International Airport.
Additionally the "idea of constructing a port at Monrovia (Freeport)
originated with Barclay… in 1943 Barclay raised the issue with
American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt; consequently on December
31, 1943 the agreement was reached in Monrovia for the construction
of the Freeport of Monrovia." Dr. Guannu ends by saying, "when
Barclay left the presidency in January 1944, Liberia’s economy
was on a sound course and her sovereignty was respected by all members
of the international community. Can these activities of Barclay be
classified as failure? I certainly don’t think so!
Besides the above, Barclay was a patriot. His patriotism is not just limited to his writing patriotic songs as Lux-in-Tenebris and Lone Star Forever, but his patriotism can also be seen on the very strong stance he took against imperialist and exploitative foreign investors. Many Liberians do not know, for example, that the Open Door Policy was first pronounced by TJR Faulkner (of the Peoples Party), started under Charles D B King through the coming of Firestone 1926, skipped over Edwin J. Barclay and flourished under Tubman. Just why did the Open Door Policy go into a self-imposed exile never to return until Tubman ascended to the presidency? All we know in Liberia is that Tubman started the Open Door Policy, but in actual fact the Open Door Policy started under Charles D. B. King in 1926, went into coma from (1930-1944) under Barclay and resurrected in 1944 under Tubman. Now, the $64,000 question is why it took 14 years for the Open Door Policy to resurrect? Well, the simple answer is because Edwin J. Barclay was a patriot and he was determined to have no exploitation of Liberia’s wealth without the benefit of the ordinary Liberians. Consider what he says of foreign investment in his 1st inaugural address to the nation (1930), "we shall accord it such facility that while the investor may be satisfied the economic status of our people will at the same time be improved." With this kind of attitude adopted by President Barclay, the Open Door Policy had no alternative but to go in coma! After reading the facts, it should be clear to one and all that Barclay, a degree holder, a book politician, was no failure, and any attempt to classify him as such is slander and slander is a crime under the Liberian Penal Code.
WILLIAM V.S. TUBMAN
Was President Tubman a degree holder and was he a failure? President
Tubman was not a degree holder: He is widely believed to have completed
8th grade education only. Not surprisingly, he was a miserable failure.
He was nothing more than one of those trial-and-error politicians
that I spoke of earlier. Such trial-and-error professionals, I maintained,
are the people who have failed Liberia. Tubman, an eight grade graduate,
cannot be considered a bookman when his immediate predecessor was
a university professor and other contemporaries - pro-independence
leaders and African nationalists- as Hasting Kamuzu Banda of Malawi,
Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Kenneth Kaunda of Rhodesia, Nnamdi Azikwe
of Nigeria, were fully equipped with PhD’s to run their respective
countries or independence movement.
Politically, Tubman was a flat failure! His Unification Policy was a charade. His Council Meetings; i.e., his trips to the interior, were simply to have the opportunity to be presented with "native women" on whom he could demonstrate his manhood. His creation of new counties was to flood the legislature with illiterates and by so doing prevent and stifle debate even in a one-party state! Politically, Tubman is on record for "uncovering" the first coup plot, on record for conducting the first "treason trial" in which the defendants were obviously found guilty. The so-called coup plot was clearly another opportunity to hunt down and drive into exile his political opponents especially degree holders like Didho Twe. Tubman is on record for carrying out the first politically motivated murder (The case of opposition politician Samuel David Coleman and son). Certainly, that is what you get when you give power to a trial-and-error politician. There is a clear distinction between the government of university professor Barclay and that of the eight-grader Tubman. The people perished when power is given to unschooled or semi-literates politicians.
Some one might argue, okay, we all know Tubman was no saint, so naturally he did some evil things and failed politically, but on the economic front, at least, he "brought" the Open Door Policy and the Open Door Policy brought money to Liberia, didn’t it? Certainly, that can be counted as a success. My response to that is: granted the Open Door Police flourished under Tubman, and money flowed in, no doubt, but what did the money do for Liberia? Was this new-found wealth shared equitably with all Liberians? Did this money improve the living standards of the common man? The answer is a clear and consistent no! As for the figures quoting economic performance, I have no qualms; there was indeed economic growth – without development – under W.V.S. Tubman. Consider the following excerpts from a work published in 1971 by the Department of Information and Cultural Affairs titled: Liberia remembers Tubman’s Diamond Jubilee:
