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The Anecdotes and Fallacies of the First African independent Republic and the Hope of a Brighter Future

Feature Article The Anecdotes and Fallacies of the First African independent Republic and the Hope of a Brighter Future
AUG 20, 2021 LISTEN

If You say today that Liberia is the second youngest nation in the world after South Sudan, many will disagree; some will bellow at you irascibly; other will accuse you of attempt to rewrite history when in fact you are not a historian, critical thinking spurs such sentiment. In their various vibes, You have to strive to prove that You did not surmise the assertion. Basically, You have to understand the point from which they speak

We all went to school and learned basic history. Salient among them is the much-touted belief that Liberia is the first independent republic in Africa. Embedded into our mind so firmly and for so long that anything contrary does not only look peculiar and eerie but also consternate and peeves us so much as to automatically get us into defensive mode, we are willing to defend that lesson that made us good boys and girls. it also risks the proponent being labeled an academic pariah, unanimously ostracized and, if you are lucky, gazed upon as intellectual maverick

But should that recoil you from opining your believe? The answer is no

After an exhaustive process of thinking and research, I have come to the opinion that Liberia got independence as lately as 2005 when the country conducted it first free democratic elections that represented eclectic independent norms and included the broader Liberian societies

Every eligible Liberians voted without segregation characterized by class system

Previous elections in Liberia had been mired by class systems which limited choosing of national leaders to certain group while others, disfranchised, accepted the results of decisions they didn’t make.

Such was the fate the free slaves bestowed upon the native Liberian for over one hundred and fifty years .

Instead of saying Liberia got independence in 1847, I will spitball a mot juste here: the free black former slaves that came to this land got independence in 1847. .

Before the arrival of the those free black people, the natives here were free. They were controlling kingdoms and vast swaths of land; all as sovereign territories but with questionable commerce and governances. People who fell prey to rival kingdoms were enslaved or sold into slavery, some in faraway land like America. These people finally obtain freedom and was sent back to Africa to live dignified life .

In a twist of irony, the former slaves relished in subjugating the natives to quasi slavery or neo-slavery or colonialism. Rather than loathing and abhorring segregation that defined them, humiliated them and left they and their progenitors an indelible emotional and physical scar that defined them for centuries, they indulged in it.

They colonized the country with one party system admissible only to thier ilks for a century and a half. They alienated anyone who did not look like them, speak like them, pray like them and act like them.

But for the tenacity of the resilient people whose sacrosanct cultures and traditions were apples of their eyes, the blitz of colonization would have swept away every things inherent to the land.

This colonization continued incessantly until president William R. Tolbert whose ascension to power heralded a new dawn for Liberians, natives and Americo-Liberians alike, but spelled trepidations for the Americo-Liberians who saw it as threat to their hegemony.

Tolbert was later killed in a brutal and enigmatic way, lot of invisible hands and schemes, This brought into power the Samuael K. Doe regime

This was the beginning of struggles for independence which span over decades and subjected the country to horrible and chilling experiences. The flurry of chaos that ensued culminated into internationally organized elections that finally give Liberians their independence.

But the century long natives servitude and colonists reign has created chasms in basically every aspect of life between the natives and the descendants of the colonists, with the natives devolving into a maze of precarity and the colonists evolving toward the epitome of accomplishment. This is a scenario reminiscent only to the chasm between black and white in America, with a remarkable difference being black versus black.

This is the principal reason for the socio-economy and political fumbles of Liberia and the economy is “Donor based“according to Liberia current finance minister Samuel Tweh

The system set the premise for the abject life and poverty being endured in Liberia and the prevalent impatience with government

When I look at the dismal socio-economic structure of Liberia and gaze at it never developed infrastructure, I hear the whining of disillusioned Liberians, irate at their government failure for over one and a half century, I wonder if they really know that their country is a toddler still curious about her surrounding; nursing from overwhelming socio-economic chaos and political tipsy turves, yet determine to take a stride

But I will be a daredevil to constantly schmooze this opinion in public because the opponent is historical apocrypha that has been ramrodded into our paradigms and has gone in our blood streams and nurtured us.

Many are pessimistic. They believe things will get better in Liberia only when pigs fly. They believe that the system of servitude damaged the confidence and psyche of many Liberians to assume total independence and buoyed above their inferiority complex. But The pessimist in me gives me a pet talk of hopes and inspirations. Hope of a brighter horizon radiating bright light. Assurance of a crescent moon heralding an era of smiles. A whisper that the current twilight zone my beloved country found herself in is not unique. That the fumbles of our government are a common phenomenon that every new country endures to rise.

My Liberia will not be an exception. Liberia will rise

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