allAfrica.com: Liberia: Baccus' Prophecy Comes Alive (Page 1 of 3)

Gabriel Baccus Matthews is now in his final resting abode but his political presages and prophetic conclusion remained unchanged today.

During his life, the Liberia political Maradona, as he was referred to, verbalized on many occasions that weak opposition political parties were a threat to democracy, and his friends and followers are still believe he was right then and right today.

One of his mentors, J. Milton Teahjay is even expanding on the late progressive prophesies, saying the country is resting on a time bomb that could explode in a matter of time, and that most of what he (Baccus) said are happening.

The Analyst looks at the statement vis-à-vis present political realities obtaining in Liberia's infant democracy.

"Baccus's political conclusion in the late 1990s is rapidly becoming a reality in a Sirleaf Liberia," says J. Milton Teahjay, one of the radical "Progressive" politicians who shares the ideas and philosophy of the man said to be the father of multipartyism in Liberia, the late Gabriel Baccus Matthews.

Baccus was an icon of political agitation who embraces peaceful change, and Teahjay says the prophetic words of Baccus still echoes today and that they suit the political reality of the day.

Milton Teahjay notes that in one of his prophetic statements, Baccus Matthews had concluded that weak opposition political parties were a threat to democracy.

He said what's obtaining today is not different from Baccus' assertion: "In Liberia today, majority of the national political leaders are busy with how they can secure job placements from the ruling party and have consequently ameliorated their positions on critical national issues so as not undermine their chances of securing jobs."

Recounting semblances of the things the late Baccus pointed out, the Executive of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) and one of founding members of the United People's Party said, "Under the Unity Party leadership, elections results in Liberia are predetermined in favor of the ruling party before those elections are even conducted, a practice which is enhanced by an election commission, saturated with political cronies of the president."

Teahjay who many say shares the philosophy of his mentor indicated "As regards the independence of the judiciary, Liberia's judicial system has regrettably and arguably returned to what appears to be pre-1980 judiciary in which judicial officials were consistently manipulated and made extensions of the Executive branch of government."

"Under Mrs. Sirleaf, reference is hereby made specifically to an Associate Justice who was made a bag-boy on a non judiciary related presidential foreign trip to the disgust of other justices of the Bench.

Secondly, with judicial approbation, the constitutionally assigned power of the Liberian people to democratically elect, provincial leaders has been taken away from them and given to Mrs. Sirleaf to appoint individuals who should otherwise be elected.

In a nutshell, under the Unity Party, Liberia's constitution is subjected to repeated slaughter and continuous butchery by executive arrogance," Mr. Teahjay said.

Under the Sirleaf presidency, he believes, the Liberian National Legislature has been irreparably destabilized and sufficiently damaged through presidential manipulations bordering illegality.

"There is stone-walling currently taking place, allegedly backed by the executive, to conceal the facts about executiveÂ financed bribery of legislators which resulted in 'the removal of a sitting Speaker and consummated in the enthroning of a presidential protégé and confidant as Speaker."

Mr. Teahjay presaged that Liberia, under Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, has become a political time-bomb awaiting explosion, noting that the security forces are busy allegedly orchestrating lists of opposition politicians as to how they can be implicated in bogus coup plots and subsequently charged with treason.

Recently, an accused former AFL Officer Dorbor sent panic through out the country when he publicly revealed in court the names of prominent politicians who Security Forces had wanted him to falsely implicate in fake coup plot against Mrs. Sirleaf.

"Liberia, under the Unity Party," he said, "has degenerated into gangsters' paradise where only Mrs. Sirleaf and her immediate family members are safe at night and everyone else becomes community vigilante to ensure personal security.

"The entire nation is split along political, sectional, and tribal lines manifested in the issuance of a presidential pardon of an accused without trial while others are languishing in prison cells."

web allafrica.com	Enter your search terms	Submit search form
OR subscribers use AllAfrica's premium search engine

Relevant Links

Relevant Links

Liberia

at a Glance

Today's Most Active Stories