Defacing a Historical Relic

My mental picture of Miller McAllister United Methodist Church was shattered when I reached the Ganta United Methodist Mission Compound, the official grounds that host the Church. I struggled for the entire day trying to find the natural stone building of the Miller McAllister UMC that I knew before and replace it with the cement sprayed ash-gray one. I quickly took a picture of the MMUMC since I could not lay my hands on the picture of the famous “stone building” which represented a historical relic not only of the United Methodist Church, but the entire community of Ganta. Being deeply troubled, I decided to see some members of the church.

I visited Rev. James Z. Labala, District Superintendent of Gompa District and one time pastor of the Miller McAllister UMC. “What happened here?” I asked. “I spent five years debating with my congregation on the need to preserve the building as it has been for the past sixty years, but they won the argument,” he said. Actually members of the church wanted the church plastered with cement to conceal the natural stony look of the church. “We want to have our church plastered and painted like other churches,” Rev. Labala quoted some of his members. While others complained that the stones were uneven and  took away the beauty of the church. “As a matter of fact there are some members who want the church reroofed with zinc instead of maintaining the present clay tile roof,” he added.

Still not understanding why any group of people would want to get rid of such antiquity, I approached a group of church members who were completing their day’s work of cleaning around the church in anticipation of the funeral of the Late Rev. Herbert Zigbuo. According to Rev. Labala in our earlier discussion, the Late Rev. Zigbuo was one of those who supported him in his drive to preserve this historical relic.  Without being direct, I asked, why is the church sprayed with cement? “We want to get rid of the old look of the church” a young lady said to  me. “We are in modern days now,” another lady intoned. I was more disturbed than I had been when I first saw the church.

I returned to Rev. Labala to ask  a little more about this church. According to Rev. Labala, the church was established in 1926 by Dr. George Way Harley from North Carolina the United States of America. He was a member of the Edenton Street United Methodist Church. According to other sources, the building of a church in Ganta was the culminating point in Dr. George Way Harley's work in Liberia. Erecting a church was the high point of his work in mission building. It took many years to build the church. The work was delayed for a long time because of shortage of funds and pressing demands for other buildings.

Though he did not say how long it took to build the church, he just said, the church was completed in 1950 and because Charles Miller a devoted Methodist layman and Agnes McAllister a gallant young missionary among the Kru people in Garraway in the 1890's were the highest contributors of funds to the building project the church was named in honor of both families: The Miller McAllister Memorial United Methodist Church. There is a missing puzzle of what the church was called before its current name. Be it as it may, this historical church is about to be erased, not by tearing it down, but by defacing it from its original look which is worth every effort of preservation.

Still not wanting to judge those who I thought were in the process of defacing the church as wrong doers, I probed further by asking Rev. Labala who is also a graduate of the University of Liberia with a degree in architecture, if the sixty year old building posed any form of danger to the congregation. “Not in another 50 years time” Rev. Labala said.  As I write this piece of information trying to capture the attention of those who will want to rescue this historical relic, I saw visible cracks in the walls, sun light streaming through the roof, which suggested to me that water also pours down on the congregation during the rainy season.  Then I said to myself these folks may be right by saying, “away with the old.”

[On second thought, I realized that a new campaign of “generational change” is about to enter into the church.] So I decided to once again confront Rev. Labala about the issue of cost if one wanted to change the roof to zinc which is what some of his members are calling for. “It will cost us US$14,000 to keep the clay roof and probably the same amount or more even if we decide to use zinc,” Rev Labala said. I also realized that the cost of preserving this relic will be high, but the impact of erasing it will be more devastating to those of us for whom historical records mean so much.

I further realized as I was concluding this article that “away with the old” is not just a campaign of wanting to change the outlook of the Miller McAllister Memorial United Methodist Church, but to make sure this relic of the 18th century is preserved.  

About the Author                                                                                                                                                  I am a Journalist, Transitional Justice Worker, and former Inquiry Officer TRC of Liberia. I am interested in transitional justice work and my research interest is in the area of education, land tenure security, youth, and gender sensitivity issues. At the moment, I am serving as the Director of Communications for the United Methodist Church in Liberia. I am based in Monrovia.

African Delegates Hold Pre-General Conference Prayer Summit in Liberia

Rev. Dr. John G. Innis told African delegates who attended the Prayer Summit in Monrovia Liberia from March 28-31, 2012 to pray for the sustained peace, unity and harmony of the global United Methodist Church. He urged the Prayer Summit delegates to pray for the sovereign rule of God over the future of the Church and its programs, projects, and ministries.

Delegates representing several Annual Conferences in Africa met in Liberia for four days in a prayer meeting referred to as the “Prayer Summit.” The meeting, hosted by the Liberia Annual Conference, was intended for the African delegation to speak with one voice on most of the legislative issues that will come up on the General Conference floor in Tampa, Florida, USA. The fifty member delegation prayed and decided that as delegates from Africa they will stand together to protect the unity and connectional nature of the global United Methodist Church.

Though the delegates at the Prayer Summit did not name any specific legislation, the head of the organizing team in Liberia, Rev. Dr. Jerry P. Kulah said, “Africa has always been in God’s Messianic plan and timing to provide hope for the preservation of the purpose of the gospel.” Rev. Kulah, who is also member of the Liberian delegation to the GC said, when Jesus’ life was threatened as a baby by a wicked and idolatrous king Africa provided hope to rescue our Lord. (Matt. 2:13-18).There is no small biblical value attached to us, Rev Kulah added. “We are confident that in these end times, Africa can live up to the true ministry of up-holding and defending the purpose and virtues of the Church of Christ” he concluded.

Earlier, the Resident Bishop of the Liberia Area of the United Methodist Church, Rev. Dr. John G. Innis, welcome the delegates to Liberia and said he did so on behalf of Children, Youth, Young Adults, the Lay and Clergy leadership of the Liberia Area of The United Methodist Church, and his colleagues of the College of Bishops of the West Africa Central Conference. Bishop Innis urged delegates to pray for the sustained peace, unity and harmony of the global United Methodist Church. He also called on the Prayer Summit delegates to pray for the sovereign rule of God over the future of the Church and its programs, projects and ministries. “Do not forget to pray for the successful hosting of the events” of the 2012 General Conference, scheduled to take place in Tampa, Florida from 21st April to 4th May 2012, Bishop Innis concluded.

The Liberia “Prayer Summit” brought together three Central Conferences representing twenty six Annual Conferences in Africa. Delegates came from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Cote d’Ivoire, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Zambia, and host country Liberia. The delegation also met with the Liberian leader, President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf who is also a United Methodist. Meanwhile, the general resolution from the four days Prayer Summit will be issued soon.

Monrovia District Women Dedicates US$100,000.00 School Building

The Women of the Monrovia District Conference, United Methodist Church on Saturday 18, 2012 dedicated eight classrooms school in Mount Barclay outside of Monrovia. According to the District Superintendent, Rev. Jerry P. Kulah, the school was constructed to provide educational opportunity for the children of the Mount Barclay community, especially girls. “The school project is the Monrovia District Women way of helping to fulfill the mission and vision of the general United Methodist Church in Liberia” Rev. Kulah said. “The eight classrooms school was constructed by the Monrovia District Women in partnership with the Women of Oak Grove United Methodist Church of Decatur, Georgia in the United States of America” the UMC Clergyman added.
Also speaking at the dedication program, Rev. John G. Innis, Resident Bishop of the Liberia Area, United Methodist Church hailed the visionary sense of the Monrovia District Women and praised them for their commitment to ensure that girls are provided the opportunity to go to school. He called on parents of the community to make sure that their children will take advantage of the opportunity provided them. The UMC Bishop said, “the ability of the women to build the school is in itself a service to the future leaders of the country.” “You have redeemed the people of Mount Barclay, especially the children from darkness to light” Bishop Innis concluded. He further pledged his support to the Women of the Monrovia District Conference.
Speaking further, the USA based partners; Zoe Hicks and Madge Watson said, “the dedication of the school was a dream comes true.” “The school will not only provide the children with education, it will also teach them the value of education,” the partners said. “The vision of the school is to remove girls from the streets,” they added. Zoe Hicks and Madge Watson represent the women and the entire membership of the Oak Grove United Methodist Church in this partnership.
The school which is to be called “New Hope United Methodist Women Elementary School” has eight class rooms, offices for the principal and vice principal, the secretary and registrar. The 8,700 sq. ft. building is also equipped with teachers’ launch and modern bathroom facilities. The school cost over US$100,000.00 and it is expected to be fully operational in September 2012.
Meanwhile, the Monrovia District Conference Women and the Oak Grove United Methodist Church have committed themselves through this partnership to construct dormitory and hostel by the year 2015.

YOUNG PEOPLE URGED TO MAINTAIN A POSITIVE OUTLOOK ON LIFE

The head of the United Methodist Church in Liberia Reverend Dr. John G. Innis wants the church and the state to rise up to the challenge of working to mold the minds and attitudes of youths to enable them acquire and maintain a positive out look on life.
In his Pastoral Season’s Greetings to the nation, Bishop Innis pointed out that this is a moral obligation from the Bible for parents, guardians and all those responsible for the up-bringing, supervision and the exercise of authority over young people to do so in ways that will help them become humble, respectful, trustworthy, law-abiding and to exhibit all the positive characters that are required for service to nation and church.
The United Methodist Bishop challenged the church in particular, to work more assiduously with the young people in the local churches and communities, as well as partner with government and other groups to guide the young people of Liberia in becoming respectable citizens and leaders of tomorrow.
He however, urged the young people to be humbled and summit themselves to the process of becoming the kind of children God wants them to be in Liberia and the world at large.
Meanwhile, Bishop Innis is appealing to Liberians to use this Christmas to love, protect and lead the nation in the spirit of peace, forgiveness, reconciliation and unity. Alluding to the words of the Liberia’s national Anthem, Bishop Innis called on Liberians to first admit the wrongs they have committed to one another in order for true reconciliation to take effect.
Bishop Innis in conclusion congratulated Liberians as well as foreigners and the international community for guiding the peace process and helping us in going through a peaceful and successful election in Liberia. He also prayed that the New Year will be filled with renewed vigor and opportunities for the realization of the many dreams and aspirations of Liberians.

Sharing Sepp Blatter’s Naivety

My love for football goes as far back as my childhood itself. All through my in experience, I never saw a footballer who has gone to the referee and admitted their wrong for a wrong call against the opposing team. Yet the game is referred to by many, especially FIFA Officials as the “the beautiful game of football.” Whether we like it or not, horrible things happen on the playing pitch. Only the players and the referees in some cases do explain these ugly acts once they come under probe. Other than that those issues are generally resolved by a “hand shake”. Few days ago the football community reacted as if though FIFA President Sepp Blatter’s statement was the most dangerous thing that would have brought “the beautiful game of football” into disrepute had he not apologized. Some went as far as requesting for the FIFA Boss’ resignation.
Candidly speaking, and sharing the naivety of Blatter as many people described the statement, I strongly belief that the issue of “racist” reactions in football is equivalent to one of those many emotional outbursts that players experienced during crucial games. Racism as we all knows it to be is more than just chanting, screaming or whistling by any group of football fans in a packed stadium. In my thinking if football authorities decided to play a particular game in a stadium not accessible to the fans based on racial reasons, it will be an endorsement of racism itself. I say this because the game starts with a handshake by the teams which officially dismiss the presence of any racist behavior among the players. Surely, no player with racial construct will want to shake hands under that circumstance.
We are all witnesses to the John Terry-Wayne Bridge story in the English Premier League. For example, during the handshake ceremony this is how BBC described the action of the two men; “Bridge finally reaches Terry, who offers his hand. With the sort of exquisite timing not seen from a Manchester-based comic since the death of Bernard Manning, Bridge stops for a nanosecond, wonders whether to take the proffered mitt, looks Terry up and down dismissively, and decides not to bother, sauntering off and getting on with life. Not for the last time in the day, Terry fails to react, his paw swinging sadly in the breeze.”
Though John Terry did not succeed as in the case of other players, all of us know that most of these outbursts are settled by “handshakes”, a yellow, or a red card given the direction the axe falls on. In other cases, the victims nursed their wounds while the perpetrator go home laughing. France for example, went to the 2010 World Cup on a disputed hand ball which resulted to the goal that qualified France. France also attributed their lost in 2006 World Cup final to the sending off of Zinedine Zidane in the 110th minute of the game after head butting Marco Materazzi. According to one of the French players at the time, William Gallas, "We deserved to win but that is life. I think we played very well and better than Italy but sometimes football is very strange.”
It is the “strangeness” of the things that happened in football that make me to now share in the naivety of Sepp Blatter. Is it not true that some these “strange things” in football are overcome by a simple handshake?

The Civil Liberty Issue

“Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.” In one of His teaching section at the beginning of His ministry on earth, Jesus Christ told the people that gathered around Him at the time that the ONLY path to human interaction is the engagement process. The freedom to talk to your boss, leader, or master about the issues that are affecting your survival makes living better. Jesus Christ enhanced the discussion of freedom by the saying “for everyone who asks will receive, anyone who seeks will find, and the door will be opened to those who knock.” In the 21st Century anyone one can argue that the choice to open the door depends on the person within. Well, let me inform you that even if all of the positive responses that are contained in the Jesus’ lesson were negative in our world of today, at least there would have been an interaction which is a demonstration of the civil liberty of the individuals involved.
Like the many issues that come up in our media landscape and certainly died natural death either with action or inaction from the government or the citizens, the subordination of the civil liberties of the Liberian people to any other plan that any government may have in mind should not go unchecked. According to the media, the Standard Bearer of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), Cllr. Winston Tubman is quoted as saying that “civil liberties and press freedom are not a priority for the Liberian people.” Cllr. Tubman said Liberian people need roads, hospital, good working conditions with better salaries, and other social services. I am certain that the “Liberian Leader” in the making received over whelming applause from his partisans instantly when he made the statement. Minutes after the speech, I asked some CDC partisans where they would prefer the road to pass in their town. This is what they told me, “we will tell the government the kind of road and hospitals that we need.” There and then I knew that even the CDC partisans including those who applauded Cllr. Tubman did not understand what it meant to subordinate their civil liberties to the construction of roads and hospitals.
As a young man growing up in Monrovia, I still remembered that we had only one radio station; the state owned ELBC which later on became LBS because of its local networks in the various counties. There were three newspapers including the government newspaper. So when the Catholic Church of Liberia established a radio station which could hardly go beyond Monrovia in the 80s, the political playing field was deemed level by some advocates of the freedom of speech. Though the terrain in which that freedom was conducted constrained several politicians and civil liberty campaigners, the fact that there was a free and independent space, people felt comfortable. Twenty years on, our civil liberty has been threaten by one of the candidates who want to lead this great nation in this 21st Century. If civil liberty and press freedom are not a priority, what else will be?
For a nation that has transition from just one radio station to over 45 radio stations 30 of which are community radio stations and more than 19 newspapers with a blend of visual complements from five television stations, a step backward will be resisted by all well-meaning Liberians including some CDC partisans at the polls. The journey from one radio station to where we are in terms of freedom of speech and the press cannot be wasted or thwarted by any Liberia leader.
I am sure by now Cllr. Winston Tubman has remonstrated and justified the statement to his Vice Standard Bearer, Ambassador George Weah and other party executives quietly. What remains to be seen or heard is whether the learned Counselor slipped in delivering his campaign speech or he intentionally meant to say that our civil liberties as a people didn’t matter to him if elected. I am raising this concern because political speeches are shrouded with deniability. One politician may say something here and there and few days later it is denied with such clarity that even those who bring it to public sphere feel guilty. I hope we can have Cllr. Tubman confirmed or denied that he made this statement with “clear heart” like we say here in Liberia. On Wednesday, October 5, 2011, the Secretary General of the CDC challenged the media to provide any prove of the utterance of Cllr. Tubman on the civil liberty issue.
Surprisingly, on October 4, 2011, CDC Free Thinkers issued a statement in one of the local dailies condemning statements made by the party’s “compromised Standard Bearer, Cllr Winston Tubman.” The group indicated that Cllr. Tubman’s statement “runs contrary to the philosophy and objectives enshrined in the CDC Constitution.” The CDC Free Thinkers’ release further threatens “immediate expulsion” of Cllr. Tubman. Don’t be surprise if the CDC through another group denounced the Free Thinkers. Beside the CDC Free Thinkers, other groups including the Liberia National Union (LINU) have voice out their fear of the man who wants to lead Liberia. Surely Cllr. Tubman’s statement was made on grounds that he has the liberty to speak freely. A liberty and freedom made possible by this administration. How can he say “civil liberties and press freedom are not a priority?” “The statement is disturbing,” says one politician.
I am similarly thinking about what Ambassador Dew Tuan-Wleh Mayson of the National Democratic Coalition (NDC) will say when he hears that his fellow contestant has promised to subordinate the civil liberty of the people to all other national concerns. I am wondering whether those billboards printed by the NDC which carried the images of President Johnson-Sirleaf and Vice President Boakai in various sarcastic forms would have been printed if Cllr. Winston Tubman was president of Liberia. Surely, those billboards demonstrate the presence of civil liberty and press freedom in its highest form.
A young Liberian, Patrick Saah described the performance of this government as “overwhelming and tremendous.” He cited the moving the country's annual budget from 80 million to 0.5 billion, economic revitalization by the immense debts waiver and signing of concessions agreements worth 16 billion United States Dollars, amelioration of salaries from US$15.00 to a minimum of US$100.00, the exposure of corruption and the effort to fight it through the establishment of GAC, LACC, and the passage of the whistle blower act as a great success on the part of the government. According to Mr. Saah, civil liberty and press freedom has been accomplished by this government. Unlike in the old days when we were told to buy “tiger generator”, the presence of electricity is all over Monrovia. Judging from where I sit and looking at Mr. Saah’s description of the government’s performance record, I strongly think that Cllr. Tubman misjudged the cry of the Liberian people. Indeed if the people are crying for roads, hospitals, and other social services, the cry is about moving things upward not downward which the denial of civil liberty and press freedom will do.

Enough of the civil liberty and press freedom talk. Like Cllr. Tubman who I believed slipped in denouncing civil liberty and press freedom during one of his campaign speeches, Cllr. Charles Walker Brumskin, in exercising his rights to speak freely also slipped by saying Liberia under the leadership of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf ranked highest among the most corrupt countries in the world. Cllr. Brumskin’s assertion has already been denounced as false and misrepresentation of the facts by many Liberians and government functionaries. It is difficult to piece together all of these negative massages that are coming from other political parties in the wake of the General and Presidential Elections and draw a clear line as to what they want to achieve. For example, every time one wrong message is sent forward, the contesting parties other than the Unity Party seem to be shooting themselves in the leg.

Seeing it Differently, I am convinced that the people of Liberia have changed a lot in the past six years. In 1997 the election was characterized by several slogans such as “there are more bad people than good people” or “you killed my ma, you killed my pa, I will vote for you.” In 2005, the message changed with a little twist. While the enlighten Liberians were saying, “shine your eyes,” the rest of the people, mostly young Liberians were saying, “you know book, you not know book, I will vote for you.” When the 2011 elections campaign was declared opened, the Unity Party surprised the entire nation with its major campaign slogan, “ugly bamboo wait small, the monkey is still working.” With less than 5 days to the election many Liberians, especially the other political parties are still finding it difficult to counteract this slogan. The slogan, “corruption, da her area,” has been twisted by the Unity Party in a resounding way such that if one was to insert any of the developmental achievements in place of the word “corruption,” the UP will stand tall. Similarly, in 2005, the contest was between the young people and the old people. Right now, the line is in the middle of the young people with the old people wooing a lot of them to the UP and other parties beside the CDC.

This is the election of the intellect, not color, flags, party insignias, or individuals. If anyone wants to take cue from this statement, he or she needs to review the result of the National Referendum, especially proposition number two which had the highest vote in NO category. Whether we like it or not, those who will be cueing up on October 11, 2011 will be doing so, based on the visible evidence of the things around them rather than the things that are yet to come including “civil liberties and press freedom” which might be CRUSHED if the CDC comes to power.

The Quest to Win

“For to every person who has something, even more will be given….” Surely when Jesus Christ concluded his parable of the three servants, his thoughts were deeply rooted in what impact this parable would have on leadership; political, social, religious, and managerial. This statement sets the managerial basis for trust and the capacity to handle the business of the people including the people of Liberia. The Quest to Win therefore started in 2006 when the talents were divided among the politicians including the sitting President, Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.
Six years on, each politician the president included are being ask, “What have you done with my talent?” and all that we hear is excuses. Major among the many excuses is the fact that “they were not at the helm of state power.” So right now the best way each politician would have reinvested and transformed their master’s talent which in this case is Liberia, is if they were elected president in 2005. If the parable is anything to go by in the General and Presidential Elections than the ruling Unity Party (UP) stands a better chance. Though many Liberians including her opponent in the elections speak less of the progress made by the President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf led government, the visible evidence of how best she has invested her talent in these last five years made her a possible candidate to whom the master will say “well done you good and faithful servant, you have been faithful in managing small amounts, I will put you in charge of large amount.” Herein the Quest to Win is justified from the Unity Party’s point of view.
The Quest to Win which the UP has justifiably demonstrated through actions and deeds raise several issues that the other politicians can use in making their case. For example, there is no way any of the politicians would have undertaken any kind of infrastructure development of any proportion without having the finances and contacts with the international community. Moreover, some of these interactions require state approval and it is not likely that the UP led government would have approved the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) bid to construct a major road network by accessing funds through it international connections. That is what I think, but Seeing it Differently, most of the political parties did not help to improve lives in their “little corners”, but spent significant portion of their time criticizing the government.
The Liberty Party’s Standard Bearer is on record for saying that President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is not a “reconciler.” Yet there is no evidence of a reconciliation workshop(s) hosted by the Liberty Party either for its members or some Liberians in any of the would-be conflict prone community of the country. At least the corruption noise that was trumpeted by the Liberty Party’s Chairman is quiet now because of his involvement in a 2 million dollars scandal and subsequent incarceration. At the level of the Liberty Party, the Quest to Win is to discuss the failure of the government which the party was not in any way ready to fix. The provision of checks and balances on the government is not wrong, but depending on the same government to heal itself is more of a disservice to the people you represents. So like the servant, the master will take from the Liberty Party that which it has; the critical mind, and give same to one who has justified the Quest to Win. In this case the servant is the Unity Party.
As if this is not time wasting enough, several parties spent the latter part of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf administration mastering the art of criticizing her government, forming mergers, and coalitions. One of such coalition, the National Democratic Coalition’s (NDC) Standard Bearer, Dew Tuan-Wleh Mason accepted the party’s nomination with this declaration; “I am willing and able to lead our campaign to victory so that our people will be lifted out of the poverty-stricken conditions with which they are saddled.” That was since July 2011 and many of us especially Liberians know that those who participated in the convention that nominated Dew Tuan-Wleh Mason are now speaking from other parties including the Unity Party. The promise to “lift our people out of the poverty-stricken conditions” beckons one important question. What has the professor done for the people outside of the normal and persistence criticisms that he and his likes rendered the government? Surely there will be several answers from him and his supporters. Answers like, “I have given scholarships to needed students” which is all that we heard from most of the legislative candidates who participated in the debate on the Truth FM Radio.
That brings me to my next point of concern; the legislative elections. In his article, “My Senator, your Senator, our Senator”, K. Abudullai Kamara, provided this statistics; 99 persons contesting the 15 senate seats across Liberia. Ten of these contestants are women including two incumbents. Each of these individuals has their personal Quest to Win which has been stated in different form and style. As stated earlier, all of them have provided some kind of services to their people and constituencies. Seeing it Differently, I think we need to give those who justified their Quest to Win, the chance to lead us into the next six years. For example and according to Kamara, “the Bomi County incumbent contestant Richard Devine of the Unity Party (UP) comes with the controversial and generally incomplete caseload from the transitional government. His former party's alliance with the ruling UP has effectively taken him off the hook. The main challengers, Sando Johnson of the National Patriotic Party (NPP) comes with the notoriety of challenging and insulting the former Archbishop of Monrovia, during the reign of the NPP 1997 -2003. The decision to elect these people depends largely on what they bring to the table; The Quest to Win. What have they done not necessarily what they will do?
The Quest to Win is impregnated with several livelihood options that will benefit the Liberian people after October 11, 2011. For many politicians, especially the presidential candidates, the major quest is to explain to the Liberian people what President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf did not do rather than what they themselves have done in the past six years. I stand with some of them surely. Their distance from home did not allow them to see what the reality of living in Liberia was prior to this election. Practically, for some of them, the Liberian Presidency is a game of chance; get in, if you win that is it.
From where I sit, the Quest to Win is a baggage that that each of them needed to off load with the six years prior to the General and Presidential Elections. The baggage includes how well each of them responded to international, national, and local issues that affected and shaped the lives of every Liberian. Seeing it Differently, I think the 16 presidential candidates did not do well except for the incumbent. I don’t need to say what she has done; neither will I say what she did not do because the media landscape is filled with her failure rather than her than her success story. As the gap between “the day” shrinks, the decision of the voters will depend on how well they benefited from what was and is contained the candidates’ baggage; The Quest to Win.