9 May 2008
President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf left the country more than a fortnight ago to attend a commissioning ceremony of the Africa Commission in Denmark and then move on to the US to undergo medical checkup, amongst a long itinerary of activities.
She did undergo the test alright and was declared "fit", but rumors and media reports have variously indicated that she has been diagnosed of cancer, and that in fact she has died from heart attack.
Now, the President has refuted the media reports, and disclosing that she has bagged a number of awards, she promised to come home today to consider shifting from the "Oldma" to the "Iron Lady" mode in order to "kick little bit".
The Analyst Staff Writer, reports.
President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf says not only will she not allow detractors to wind back the clock of progress in Liberia but that she was ready to "kick little bit" and to eventually "see them out".
The Liberian leader, who arrives at the RIA today from the U.S. where she was declared "fit" after undergoing a battery of medical examinations and bagging a number of awards, made the remarks when she spoke live with a core of Liberian journalists, last Saturday in Monrovia. She had been away for more than three weeks.
It had been rumored in Monrovia and even reported in the press variously that the President has died from heart attack, but she told the Saturday live interview from the Indiana city of Bloomington in the U.S. that she had just picked up an honorary degree in that city and would be back in the country today, ready for business.
"Well, let me say when I talked to my family this morning, I said, dead woman talking. You are talking to the President; you are talking to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, in the flesh, real, kicking, ready to go!" she said in response to a reporter's question.
She said the objective of those circulating the news of her so-called heart attack and death was to wind back the clock of progress made thus far by removing the "catalyst".
She considered herself that catalyst and noted that the post-war reconstruction and development of Liberia was centered on the development and fund-attracting programs of her administration.
"It is those detractors who want us not to make progress; they want to take us back to those old days of extortion and corruption and lawlessness and all of that. I am not going to let that happen.
"All this rumor is to take away from the progress we're making; trying to send this cloud in the Liberian community; trying to send this cloud to the international community, because they know that I am at the center of our development progress; and if they don't want progress, they want to move the catalyst. And that is not going to happen," she said.
According to the President, that has to be the reason because the rumors and press reports continued even though she was in contact with Monrovia on a daily basis throughout the duration of her trip to Denmark and the U.S.
"I've been in touch with the Vice President, the Chairman of Cabinet; every day I talk to the Minister of State for Presidential Affairs; I talked to the Minister of Agriculture on the rice issue; I have talked to the Minister of Finance on the debt issue.
I've been in touch with Monrovia every single day; giving instructions, being briefed on what's happening," she said in an effort to account for her stay in the U.S. that she said was full of activities intended to keep Liberia in donor's radar range," she said.
She said the second reason for the rumor was to frustrate her administration's efforts to move the country forward but vowed to press on to the point of seeing the detractors go.
"Look, let me tell you something: those people who are spreading this rumor, they better think twice. If they think they will frustrate me so that I can get tired for us to go back to the old ways; they're lying; I will see each one of them out, because I will still there until I carry out my mandate of carrying out the change that our country needs," the President said, short of naming names.
In order to "see each one of them out", according to the President who said she held informal talks with officials in Washington, while in the U.S., concerning the rising price of rice and the restructuring of the AFL, she was considering shifting from the "Oldma" to the "Iron Lady" mode as she addresses matters of state.
She did not day what each of these modes entails, but observers say as "Oldma or Ma Ellen" she was moderate and addressed state matters from the perspective of the patrol mother of the state. On the other hand, they say, as "Iron Lady", she would be drastic in addressing state matters even though it is not clear what that is likely to entail.
"We called her Iron Lady because she stood against tyranny in Liberia without fear. She played her opposition cards without fear. But as President of the nation tied down by law and order in this era of the redefining of governance and politics in Liberia, it will be difficult to see where an 'irony lady' fits in the political equation that emphasizes consultation, rule of law, and empathy," said political observer Jimmy Q. Doe of the Fish Market in Monrovia.
President Sirleaf who bagged the prestigious International Crisis Group award in New York for efforts in restoring human rights in Liberia and addressing the issues that effect women and children, told the live interview that as the result of her Denmark trip, the Danish government declared Liberia a "model country", for the achievement of MDG-3, which is the empowerment of women.
According to her that country has put some US $20 million aside for the achievement of the UN Millennium Development Goal (MDG-3").
The MDG-3, according to information available to The Analyst, is a section of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) that focuses on gender equality, mainstreaming, and women's empowerment, demonstrating how the approaches have developed in recent years and how they differ across regions.
The President did not say how Liberia will benefit from the US $20 million but noted that she was returning to the country to continue working hard with the international community for them to see reasons to contribute to the nationals reconstruction and development.
"I am coming back, renewed in body and spirit, to continue to carry out my mandate, to work for them for the change and development that they so richly deserve, and I am glad that people miss me so much that for the first time they have not seen me working from 9: O'clock to 10: O'clock at night, and being away so long, they had to attribute it to something being wrong," she said, speaking of the Liberian people.
On the occasion World Press Freedom Day, which coincided with the live interview Saturday, President Sirleaf urged the media to put the past behind them and focus on a new partnership with the government without "undermining or taking away your independence".
"I would encourage them to be more investigative; I would encourage them to be more professional and factual; to check out some things so that it does not undermine some of the good things that are happening," the Liberian leader, who reiterated his administration's vow to respect and maintain press freed and freedom of speech, said.
She commended the press for being progressive in digging out wrongdoings in society and noted that whenever the press run afoul with the law or truth, it was expedient for those wronged to take a course against them in keeping with the law, rather than taking arbitrary actions as it were in the past.
In another presidential news, President Johnson-Sirleaf is expected to receive what journalists called the "21st Century Lazarus Award" when she arrive in the country today.
Details of the award were not available, but President Sirleaf suggested jokingly that the award may be related to her rumored death from heart attack.
"I am coming to that ceremony so that I can receive it; having risen from the dead; let me come now so that we can have...gee wiz...we gonna have another big celebration - Liberia has another first; we've got someone who has risen from the [dead] and is coming back now to continue her work," she said.
The live interview was conducted at UNMIL studious by is Chris Worlo assisted by Darius Ambrose Nmah of Truth-FM and T-Max Jlateh of Sky-FM.
Read comments. Write your own.
Copyright © 2008 The Analyst. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
but being a leader of a country means that you have to show streagth and power. Especially when trying to rebuild a war torn nation.
MJflower, You missed the point about using power to intimadate perceived enemies. Building a nation after a civil war has nothing to do with misusing power. Ellen sholud know that she cannot intimadate people who differ with her government on many issues. Gone are the days where the President was the ROSTER at every level in Liberia. She will be checkmated every step along the way. During her hey days as Human Right Activist who believed in the rule of law, she called people names, condemned those who disagreed with her and trashed them. For example, she delivered a… [Read Full Text]
Dear Editor, Thanks for this story on President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
As much as she deserves credit for heading Liberia at this crucial time in our history, I wish to point out that some of her comments sounded very arrogant.
She seems to be taking all the credit for the hard work of all the men and women who struggle daily to keep Liberia going.
Whether "Iron Lady or Oldma" it is not neccessay to intimidate people with her power.
Like other leaders around the world,rumours are bound to circulate about a president, but after that a well organized information… [Read Full Text]