Liberia: William V. S. Tubman - the Father of Modern Liberia

Thursday, Nov. 29 is the Natal Day of Liberia's 18th President William Vacanarat Shadrack Tubman (1944-71) and will be celebrated as a national holiday. President Tubman led the country for 27 years and led a legacy that the current generation of Liberians may not be aware of. I have heard many Liberians questioning the relevance of the country celebrating President Tubman's birthday and last year, there were reports from Nimba County that many people could not recognize or identify with. In fact, because President Tubman spent 27 years in office, many other Liberians have also wondered his contribution to the infrastructural development of the country and many have also compared Liberia's poor infrastructure, relative to that of neighboring countries. While this piece is not a treatise to defend what President Tubman should have done but did not do, it is worth pointing out that whatever the case; his contributions to Liberia have much to be recognized since it was the basis for the country to recognize them and to make a law for his natal day to be celebrated, as it is today.

Before assuming the mantle of leadership in 1944, Liberia was seriously underdeveloped, lacking basic infrastructure of roads, railways, and sanitation system. President Tubman noted that Liberia did not receive the "benefits of colonization," which meant the investment by a wealthy major power to develop the infrastructure of the country. Therefore the onus fell on Liberian leaders to build the country. He, therefore, established an economic policy, known as 'Open Door' to attract foreign investment to the country. Before Tubman came to power in 1944, according to former secretary of the treasury (now Ministry of Finance) there had been only four concessions granted to outside investors.

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