Naomi Tappia
Former president George Oppong Manneh Weah, a renowned former soccer star and former President of Liberia recently witnessed sojourn to his presidency when he was defeated 79-year-old former Vice President Joseph Boakai.
Ex- soccer star Weah, who played for top-flight teams such as Paris-Saint-Germaine (PSG), AS Monaco, AC Malian amongst others in Europe first sought the Liberia Football Association (LFA) presidency, but was denied based on a clause in the statue that requires owning a club before contesting for the soccer house highest position.
In one of his recent local interviews before the elections, the ex- PSG star who entered politics in 2005 when he declared his intention to contest the presidency made a staggering revelation that his aspiration was not contesting the Liberian presidency, asserting he was brought on board by his friends because of his fame across the country and Africa at large as an iconic soccer legend.
Weah lost to former President Sirleaf who made history as Africa’s first female democratically elected President in the November run-off after topping the first round of votes casted in October but failed to obtain the 50 plus one which is a constitutional requirement for an outright victory.
The issue of Weah’s literacy was on the spotlight during the campaign with members and fanatics of the Unity Party questioning his astuteness to make wise decisions at crucial stage of the country’s existence when Liberians had just experienced fourteen years of civil crisis that ravaged the West African state.
The war ended in 2003 when former warlord and President Charles Taylor exiled to Nigeria.
The ex-soccer star humbly acknowledged the concern of his critics and enrolled at DeVry University in the United States of America where according to him, he earned both Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees.
In 2014, he won the senatorial by-election defeating his rival President Sirleaf’s son Robert Sirleaf overwhelmingly after being encouraged by partisans of the then Congress for Democratic Change(CDC) since his being a novice to politics and education interplayed in the 2005 presidential election that witnessed him conceding to then candidate Sirleaf in the November run-off.
Ex- President George Weah who lost twice to former President Sirleaf in 2005 and 2011 presidential elections crushed former Vice President Joseph Nyumah Boakai in both the 2017 October and November presidential elections which run-off was postponed to December 26 due to case of irregularities filed by Liberty Party candidate Cllr. Charles Brumskine that the Supreme Court later dismissed assumed the nation’s highest position the presidency.
Weah obtained 596,037 constituting 38.37 percent of the October votes while rival Boakai obtained 446,716 constituting 28.76 while in the run-off after getting endorsement from Nimba County Senior Senator Prince Y. Johnson, he defeated then VP Boakai winning with 60% of the votes.
Controversial issues that marred former President Weah’s administration
The administration of the former soccer star was challenged with issues such as economic hardship, unsolved murders amongst others that affected the live and livelihood of the masses leading to the opposition bloc staging protests throughout the streets of Monrovia arguing their action was in reaction to the “negligent leadership on the part of the Weah’s administration”.
One of the major protests was the famous June 7, 2019 “Save the State” remonstration of the administration’s governance that brought thousands of Liberians together to put the feet of the entire regime officials to the fire to do the needful.
With the exception of the series of protest that disturbed the administration, relentless barrage of sanctions imposed by Liberia’s ally, the United States of America due to “corrupt practices on the part of senior officials of the administration was one of the factors leading to speculations that opposition political figures were lobbying in the U.S.A against the Weah’s administration.
Senator Prince Y. Johnson whose movement for Democracy Reconstruction (MDR) was one of the parties that formed merger with Weah’s Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) parted ways with the Coalition that comprised the National Patriotic Party of former President Charles Taylor (NPP) and LPDP of former Speaker Alex Tyler.
The 2023 presidential elections was historic producing the country’s oldest President in Joseph Nyumah Boakai who got the blessing of an influential province Nimba County labelled “electoral college” senior Senator Prince Y. Johnson who is known as a kingmaker across the country.
The tight race ousted the ex- soccer legend President Weah who topped the first October 10, 2023 polls by a little over eight thousand votes in the run-off that shocked partisans of the Coalition for democratic Change(CDC) after receiving plethora of endorsements from prominent citizens and other opposition political parties that participated in the presidential elections.
Some members and supporters of the CDC of ex-President Weah reportedly frowned on his decision to concede the result of the November 14 runoff that was won by then former VP Joseph Nyumah Boakai with just a little over 20 thousand votes.
The Liberian ex- Chief Executive was praised and dubbed “peace icon’ for his decision to have graciously accepted the outcome.
Will Liberians expectation of economic emancipation and other expectations of President Boakai administration be realized as they yearn for renaissance of a good governance?
The closed to two million Liberians who headed to the polls across the country on 10 October and November 14 2023 during the general presidential elections and the run-off revealed that they sought change due to the direction the country was heading under the regime of former President George Weah with unprecedented rate of unsolved murders with most being of ritualistic nature.
They also cited economic stagnation as one of the reasons for change due to the sky-rocketing prices of already scare commodities as the Weah’s administration failure to regulate prices leading to some accusing the then President George Weah of being insensitive to the lives and livelihood of Liberians after winning the presidency on the mantra of changing their situation for hope.
It will be a challenge for the current administration that promised rescuing the country from the “Weah’s administration that practiced vices that has over the years derailed the image of the country internationally, and caused economic hardship and the alarming rate of unsolved murders making the masses to live with fear ensuring that these problems are eradicated or mitigated.
The President’s confidants and senior members of the Unity Party embarked on a campaign of encouraging Liberians right after the presidential election to manage their expectations as they acknowledged the prevailing unfavorable state of the affairs they attributed to bad governance on the part of then President Weah’s administration that refused to put mechanisms in place to have these problems curbed.
Their plead for expectations management has had mixed responses since its launch with the opposition Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) of George Weah lambasting them for dishonesty in campaign messages knowing fully well that they are incapable of solving the problems afflicting the citizenry while some argued that as a nascent administration, President Boakai and his team should be given time to address these issues meticulously.
The President’s health and age were under scrutiny by his rivals, especially his main opponent’s party, the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) cautioning the populace against electing a man whom they feel is incapable of rendering judicial decisions as the chief Executive without being dictated to as a “senile person” due to his health condition and age.
Unity Party executives and fanatics repudiated such claim throughout during the campaign providing argument of his being an experience person the country needs at this crucial point in time due to his over forty years’ experience serving as Minister and Director in several positions in government up to 2005 when Africa’s first democratically elected female President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf chose him as his running mate, something that later culminated to his twelve years as Vice president under the regime of Madam Sirleaf.
Their anti-thesis to the concerns raised regarding the age and health and the ability of the then former Vice President Joseph Boakai resonated with the electorate leading to the ex-VP cruising to victory in a tightly battled presidential race against popular former soccer legend incumbent President George Weah.
