IN LIBERIA’S advanced and turbulent political panorama, few voices have commanded as a lot respect — each nationally and internationally — as that of Leymah Gbowee. A Nobel Peace Prize laureate identified for her tireless advocacy for justice, peace, and ladies’s rights, Gbowee has lengthy served as an ethical compass for a nation too usually mired in chaos and corruption.
HER WORDS have by no means been taken calmly. However just lately, it was not her criticism that caught the nation’s consideration — it was her uncommon and unflinching admission of error.
“I used to be improper in my criticism of Ellen,” Gbowee confessed in a candid interview with FrontPage Africa. “She did exceptionally nicely. We have now two different governments to measure her authorities with, and so they make her authorities appear like a diamond.”
THAT SINGLE assertion has rocked Liberia’s political class. Not merely due to what it says about former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, however due to what it implies — what it confirms — about her successors: George Weah and Joseph Nyuma Boakai.
THIS IS not merely a praise to a former president. It’s a scathing condemnation of the 2 males who adopted her, and a brutal actuality examine for Liberians who as soon as hoped these leaders would usher in a brand new period.
WHEN GBOWEE resigned from the Peace and Reconciliation Fee in 2012, her departure got here with a fierce rebuke of Sirleaf’s management. She denounced Sirleaf’s failure to crack down on corruption and her perceived incapacity to ship concrete progress to Liberia’s poorest residents. Her critique was extensively seen as brave on the time.
BUT NOW, Gbowee’s recalibration of that view has taken on historic weight — not as a result of Sirleaf has modified, however as a result of the nation’s descent underneath Weah and Boakai has been so drastic, so seen, that even Sirleaf’s controversial tenure now seems noble in distinction.
“We have now two different governments to measure her authorities with,” she stated once more. “They usually make her authorities appear like a diamond.”
HERE, THE phrase “diamond” isn’t just poetic. It’s surgical. It exposes the comparative rot that has since unfolded. In Gbowee’s eyes, Sirleaf’s authorities, as soon as scorned, now shines when held up towards the degraded requirements set by her successors.
THE SHIFT in Gbowee’s evaluation cuts significantly deep as a result of it exposes a reality many Liberians have come to really feel however few have dared articulate so boldly: that the nation’s management has regressed — not advanced.
IN GBOWEE’Sown phrases: “I imagine that if we start to elect leaders that love the individuals greater than their international financial institution accounts, we’ll start to see progress.”
THAT LINE doesn’t simply sting. It lands like an indictment. Gbowee doesn’t have to call Weah or Boakai. Their reputations now communicate for themselves.
UNDER GEORGE Weah, Liberia witnessed a presidency outlined extra by optics than substance. Whereas the previous soccer star got here into workplace with overwhelming in style assist, his administration was shortly mired in allegations of systemic corruption. U.S. sanctions had been slapped on his closest allies — Nathaniel McGill, Invoice Tweahway, and Syrenius Cephus —accused of enriching themselves off the backs of Liberians.
ALTHOUGH WEAH took the token step of suspending them, no authorized penalties adopted. Worse, a few of them have returned to public life. At this time, McGill and Tweahway maintain seats within the Liberian Senate, a surprising reflection of Liberia’s entrenched political impunity.
“Everybody sees authorities because the place to get wealthy,” Gbowee noticed—a reducing reality few in energy will problem.
WEAH’S TIME in workplace, as soon as seen because the hope of a brand new technology, turned a cautionary story in populism gone awry. His lavish way of life, persistent absenteeism, and failure to deal with Liberia’s foundational points finally earned him condemnation — not simply from critics, however from disillusioned supporters.
IF WEAH’S authorities failed by overpromising and underdelivering, Joseph Boakai’s could also be failing by doing nothing in any respect.
SWORN IN on the wings of anti-corruption rhetoric and his a long time of expertise, Boakai was anticipated to proper the ship. As a substitute, inside his first yr, indicators of decay started to floor. Corruption scandals appeared early, and so did Gbowee’s warning.
“It’s a critical matter that individuals come to authorities with nothing,” she stated. “In lower than a yr, they’ve constructed mansions for themselves.”
THE ECHO of Weah’s failures couldn’t be clearer. For Gbowee — and for a lot of Liberians — Boakai’s administration was purported to be a corrective. As a substitute, it seems like a continuation. Whereas Boakai has taken the step of suspending officers suspected of wrongdoing, Gbowee questions the sincerity and follow-through.
WITHOUT TRAILS, with out asset restoration, and with out reform, she warned, these efforts are meaningless. “Suspensions ring hole.”
DEPUTY INFORMATION Minister Daniel Sando fired again, calling Gbowee’s remarks “completely unrealistic and fully out of order.” However Sando’s protection failed to deal with the underlying reality that suspensions usually are not convictions. Nor are they accountability.
GBOWEE DID not cease at monetary corruption. She drew a chilling line between financial crimes and the violence of Liberia’s civil battle.
“Impunity has taken an excellent seat on this nation,” she stated. “Sure, there are individuals who took weapons and killed us, however there are additionally individuals utilizing their pens and financial institution accounts to homicide 1000’s by denying them fundamental wants.”
THIS COMPARISON — between the bodily violence of warlords and the bureaucratic violence of corruption — is as provocative as it’s sobering. For Gbowee, corruption will not be a coverage failure; it’s a ethical crime. And in in the present day’s Liberia, that crime goes unpunished.
DESPITE YEARS of requires justice, the Conflict and Financial Crimes Courtroom stays an unrealized promise. Gbowee is demanding President Boakai cease delaying and act: “Reinforce your dedication. Make it a high precedence.”
SHE ALSO referred to as for a “gender lens” to be utilized to the courtroom’s government order: “Within the absence of data, individuals can’t operate. What does this doc say? How is it related to girls? How is it related to peace? How is it related to reconciliation?”
THESE ARE not the phrases of a mere critic—they’re the cries of a nation’s conscience.
ULTIMATELY, Gbowee’s assertion that Sirleaf now appears to be like like “a diamond” doesn’t recommend the previous president was with out flaws. She reminds us: “You go to JFK, for instance, while maternal well being was not one hundred pc, there have been programs and constructions in place… Applications at JFK for teen moms… Throughout the nation, there have been various things occurring for girls and ladies.”
SIRLEAF’S LIBERIA, whereas imperfect, had path. It had ambition. It tried to construct, nevertheless slowly, a post-war state. And that, greater than the rest, is what units it aside in Gbowee’s eyes.
TODAY, underneath Boakai and beforehand underneath Weah, even these positive aspects seem fragile—or gone.
GBOWEE’S phrases have reopened outdated wounds, however in addition they sign new prospects. Her name is evident: for civic awakening, for public scrutiny, and for management that places individuals above revenue.
THROUGH THE return of her documentary Pray the Satan Again to Hell, she hopes to reignite the ethical flame that when introduced Liberia again from the sting. She’s asking Liberians to demand extra, bear in mind their historical past, and select reality over tribalism.
THIS IS not only a second of reflection. It’s a mirror held as much as energy. Liberia stands at a crossroads. And until its leaders — previous, current, and future —embrace the usual of service over self, the nation’s wounds will proceed to fester.
UNTIL ACCOUNTABILITY turns into actual, till justice is greater than rhetoric, and till public service is measured not by private acquire however by nationwide progress — Gbowee’s voice will stay the loudest conscience in a nation nonetheless reckoning with itself.
