Human Rights Lawyer Cllr. Tiawan Gongloe says President Ellen Johnson- Sirleaf has adopted a True Whig Party (TWP) style of governance thereby giving preference to nepotism.
Cllr. Gongloe alleged that the style of governance being practiced in Liberia should not be a surprise because, according to him, President Johnson-Sirleaf is a product of the TWP, a party he claims institutionalized nepotism, cronyism and other forms of patronage in the country.
"The only way of doing politics that they know best is the True Whig Party way, which is represented by its slogan "So say one so say all," Gongloe, a respected human rights lawyer indicated.
Speaking recently when he delivered a speech at the 42nd Anniversary of the Vanguard Student Unification Party (SUP) at the University of Liberia, Cllr. Gongloe said under the TWP government, respect for the constitution and laws was not important but "the whims and caprices of the standard bearer."
As Cllr. Gongloe unleashes his verbal attacks on President Johnson-Sirleaf and her government, the Ministry of Information did not allow his statement to go unnoticed.
However, Deputy Information Minister for Public Affairs Isaac Jackson said Cllr. Gongloe's argument about nepotism is redundant and political.
Deputy Minister Jackson maintained that Cllr. Gongloe's argument is not supported by law and urged the public not to give credence to his (Gongloe's) statement.
He observed that Cllr. Gongloe's argument justifies similar arguments made by some Liberians that when they are in government, they see no nepotism; but when they leave government, they begin to argue about nepotism baselessly.
Deputy Minster Jackson: "When did Cllr. Gongloe know that there was nepotism in this government? He was Minister when the President's sons were in government; his argument is based on flimsy political argument and has no evidence in law."
Jackson said while the government respects Cllr. Gongloe as an esteemed lawyer, however, he believes that the lawyer should take flight to the Supreme Court to argue his case.
Additionally, Cllr. Gongloe warned Liberians against embracing nepotism, stressing "no effort to return Liberia to its ugly past should be accepted anymore."
Addressing UL students on the general theme: "Redefining the masses struggle amidst rampant corruption, nepotism and massive unemployment," the renowned lawyer emphasized that nepotism was wrong yesterday and is wrong today.
He believes that nepotism is wrong because it is an abuse of power and provides a situation where the best jobs in a country are occupied by relatives or friends.
"A nepotistic leader promotes patronage, opportunism, and sycophancy as avenues for unemployment," Gongloe told a group of university students.
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Ellen Johnson Sirleaf does not have respect for the common man nor for the indigenous people.She's no different from other members of the TWP. Her struggle for power was not a since.
Again, this is only sour grapes. Cllr Gongloe was the former Solicitor General in the first term of the Sirleaf Administration and one of those who campaigned vigorously for the 2005 election of Madam Sirleaf. His sister was appointed by Madam Sirleaf as Superintendent of Nimba County (ex Governor of the county), which is one of the most pertinent political subdivisions in Liberia. He had the chance to deal with issues like nepotism and through his connections, his sister got appointed by the president. Now that the both of them have left government, Cllr. Gongloe sees nepotism in government as a problem? On a more factual note, the True Whig Party (TWP) ruled Liberia prior to 1980 at a time when there was no political opposition. Liberia was a one-party state. Today, Liberia enjoys a multi-party form of democracy where the legislature is made up of about 5 political parties. Therefore, there is no way that one would expect that the current leadership would lead Liberia in the same fashion as the TWP did. A one-party system and a multi-party system are polar oppositions.
Thisis the reason Liberians will never succeed, they are too scared to speak truth to power. Gongloe is right. And what if he had some of his relatives in government, Gongloe is not presdient. Ellen is presdient and should not hire her entire family.
look my dear brothe do you think people in government really talk aganst the same government they are in or ever try to do better for there people they governed, your answer is no they don't care about you and i. if it was not for the opposition who try to push them abit do u think they really care about you, im so sorry they only care about themselves and family so please listen to people like cllr. Tiawan Gongleo who was once in government and try not to be stupid because the Liberian people are not.
Liberians have been impacted by the negative syndrome of an imperial presidency for years. As such, even when given the chance to effect change in law and society, we still don't approach solving them from an institutional standpoint. The infraction of nepotism if we can call it that can not only be ascribed to a president. Conceptually, it is an act of patronage bestowed or favoritism shown on the basis of family relationship without the consideration of merit. It can occur in both the private and public sectors and at any and all levels of leadership or power structure. Indeed, we all can speak truth to power but lets start by enacting laws that will be sustainable and not just meant to target one person out of expediency. If the law against nepotism is enacted and I'm a Cabinet Minister or parliamentarian it should also prohibit me from employing my relatives in as much as it does prohibit the president from doing so. This is why I stated earlier that until nepotism is defined by the Liberian legislature and enacted into law, it will be subject to various non-binding personal interpretations. Liberia still does not have a law on nepotism and until one is enacted, we can assign accountability in various ways as one might in a twisted sense think that a cabinet minister should be free to hire his relatives but the president who is elected by the people must not because she is the president. So should nepotism only apply to the president in Liberia? This is like parsing based on personal interpretations. Technically, the president has 4 biological sons, two work in government and two don't. So its not like her entire family works in government and there is also the issue of whether the two are qualified and have had prior professional experience with these institutions before the president got elected.. Embellishment does not provide for a convincing argument.