Your Excellency:

The people of Liberia have cast in the dustbin of history yet another year of national existence following the observance, if not the celebration, of the nation's 166th Independence Anniversary.  As if it was a measured analysis of these long years of national voyage, the occasion's main orator, who is your party's leader, spoke of the gains and failures of your administration. Understandably, some national discussants of the 15-page oration of Cllr. Varney Sherman sound bitter and betrayed due to the boldly revealing and militant tune employed by the speaker. In fact, some are asking, "When did Varney Sherman get to know all these governmental performance issues?" over which his comments, as leader of the ruling party, appear nearly disapproving.

One can understand these outrages greeting Sherman's orations because our political culture, as a people,has etched into our political mind the sense of "blind loyalty" to the political throne particularly as an insider. We are used to having loyalists, fanatics and sycophants, and even leaders who have never heard or seen anything wrong and bad about the administration, the group or the organization that they are part of. We are accustomed to hearing nothing else but eulogies about leaders, their policies and their performances. And more so, our Independence Orations—except in few cases—have been about the recitation of history and the sermonization of patriotism and unity. Cllr. Harry Varney Gboto-Nambi Sherman came out last July 26 a little different, piercing into our ears what is rarely heard of on our Independence Day anniversaries.

Though Sherman did the traditional thing of providing some historical context of both the day and his speech, rapping on reconciliation, unity and patriotism, he became a bit queer when he was heard interspersing such issues as peace, reconciliation, unity and patriotism with those critical recipes without which all the national drives will remain unachievable. It must have irked the ears of some "dignitaries" at the occasion and perhaps others far away from the seat of the occasion in Tubmanburg; but Varney Sherman, Chairman of the Unity Party, reechoed the highly sensitive and volatile issues of corruption, TRC reports, poverty and government's allergy to public aspiration. And he called upon your government to seize the moment, protect the enormous gains you made since 2006 and urged you to solidify your legacy by giving serious and unprecedented attention to and tackling those sensitive issues.

We are not worried by pockets of unfavorable reactions to Sherman's oration—reactions that have largely come from people who sound like zealots. What worries us is your official reaction which came minutes after Sherman ended his rather instructive statement. You said you accepted and welcomed some of Sherman's comments, but disagreed with him on many accounts. And more worrying is when you said if you knew, you would have selected Cllr Sherman an Independence Day orator three years earlier. These reactions of yours give the impression that Sherman's comments and suggestions, or much of them, have no place in the remaining days of your nation building agenda.

It is not clear which of the Unity Party Chairman's opinions you don't agree with, and which ones you accept. It is not known whether by saying you would have appointed Sherman three years earlier it means his comments are late and that you don't have much time on hand to accommodate the suggestions he has proffered for nation building. What we can say, nevertheless, is that it is not late for you to do something about the critical issues he raised. It is not late to keep the national development agenda burning and energized and pursued holistically and to logical conclusion. It is not late to take a relook at the TRC report, as Sherman has suggested, or to tackle the growing rate of unemployment and its accompanying disenchantment and frustration among Liberians. It is not late to embark on your promise to bring "big light" after the "small light" and take it to every hook and corner of Liberia as Sherman is suggesting. It is not late for you to fight and defeat corruption which you declared "Enemy Number One" and which you promised to confront wherever it exists and by whomsoever it is practiced.

We are not suggesting that Sherman's statement is a replacement of your numerous post-conflict development agendas, such as the 150-Day Action Plan, Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy (iPRS), MDG-based PRS or the Agenda for Transformation. We are not saying the 2013 Independence Speech is Holy Bible and UP Manifesto. All we are saying is that issues revealed and suggestions proffered by the Independence Day orator constitute stubborn but assailable menaces that need increased attention and efforts. And because you are capable of overcoming the challenges posed by the remaining intractable problems, we agree with Cllr Sherman that if you fail to keep the pace and continue to tackle the issues of corruption, reconciliation and the fight against poverty, your legacy will remain blur and your successors will have the opportunity seize upon your failure to complete your cherished dream and will prevail in stature and performance. This is why we think you need to take cue from the Sherman speech and don't dismiss it. Thanks for your time.