Opposition Vision for Liberia Transformation Party (VOLT) political leader Dr. Jeremiah Z. Whapoe has endorsed a planned protest due on Liberia's 175th Independence Day, 26 July 2022.
In an exclusive interview with this paper at the weekend, Dr. Whapoe said the protest is laudable and necessary.
"Everybody needs to come together so that we can call our government again to the prevailing hardship and poverty in the country," he told this paper.
The campus - based Student Unification Party (SUP) at the University of Liberia plans to stage a protest on 26 July demanding the Government of Liberia to fix the country.
But Dr. Whapoe said this is not only about SUP, but the entire nation and every patriotic Liberian.
"We have nothing to show and celebrate as a country and people," he claimed.
"Our security, health and economy are all damaged and stolen by vampires. I am part of this call because it's a national request," he added.
Moreover, Dr. Whapoe stated that the gathering to call the government's attention to bad governance and other issues is a fundamental right under the law.
He therefore urged the government to protect the protesters.
He argued that the much publicized 'Fix the State Protest' is a non-violent patriotic assembly that seeks to call the international and national authorities' attention to the extreme hardship and poverty in the country.
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Dr. Whapoe suggested that there should be no Independence Day celebration, but the government should fix the state.
He accused the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) - led government of allegedly damaging every fabric of the society and Liberians are left with complete hopelessness.
The VOLT political leader lamented the lack of social services for the society and other marginalized groups because the government seems not to be a listening government.
"Therefore, since protest is the only request that can be communicated, that is the medium that will be used by the citizens," said Whapoe.
He pondered over the rationale of celebrating an Independence Day when the country does not have economic might to feed itself and also provide jobs for its people.
"Liberia is truly not an independent and free country because we can't even feed ourselves for a day. There is no job creation and opportunity for our people," he argued.
"Since this government came, we are not having investments, investors and companies coming in to work here and pay taxes, to employ our people," said Dr. Whapoe.
Dr. Whapoe noted that if economic situation is stopping Liberian people from living the kind of life that they want to live, then they are slaves to their economic situation.
As such, he claimed, they are not independent. Whapoe stressed that if Liberians also find it difficult to get food to eat, they are slaves to food insecurity.
"If Liberian people are finding it difficult to move, which is a fundamental right, where their security is not guaranteed ... they are slaves to their insecurity situation."
