Monrovia — Gbawou Kowou, former chairman of the defunct National Union for Democratic Progress (NUDP), has come back to politics after being away for many years serving in the professional sector.
Gbawou said for too long he has sat in the backyard in Liberian politics while those he described as political novices run the show.
The controversial former NUDP chairman is, however, poised to contest the District 4 seat in Montserrado County.
Many of his peers describe him as being one of Liberia's best political figures because he's a good communicator.
Senator Prince Johnson described Kowou as a qualified politician who can change things around to bring about good results.
"He enjoys talking to, working with, and helping people, he has good decision-making and negotiation skills and he's always prepared to work long hours to change things. I know all this when he served as Chairman of the party I ran on in 2011 against Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and George Weah, he was a good Chairman," Senator Johnson said.
The last time Gbawou was heard in the political space of Liberia was in 2013 when he announced the expulsion of the then political leader of the NUDP, Prince Johnson.
Gbawou and other executive committee members of the NUDP at the time expelled Senator Johnson from the party for his alleged arrangement with another political party without the consent of the National Executive Committee, soliciting funds on behalf of the party without the consent of the NEC of the party, threatening the leadership of the party, terroristic threats, embezzlement, among other things, that we thought would be criminal.
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Kowou and the NUDP expelled Senator Johnson immediately following the first round of Liberia's 2011 presidential election
After the expulsion of Senator Johnson, Kowou resigned from the party a year later to serve his country at the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning level on a combined World Bank and US Treasury Department project.
His comeback into politics has sparked a controversy in the Liberian political space.
Gbawou feels he can make a difference when he enters the House of Representatives, saying, those running the political show are not helping the system.
"We have sat in the backseat of politics and allowed popularity contests to take over our political space and people take advantage of our people, we are not going to do that again for any reason," he said. "We can no longer allow ourselves to be spectators in the politics of this country. If this country will ever be better than what it is now, we the technicians and professionals must be in the driver's seat of Liberian politics," he said.
Gbawou Kowou who is generally known as a security expert is also a university lecturer and a lawyer. He graduated from the Louise Arthur Grimes School of Law, University of Liberia with a Bachelor of Law degree, he also earned his Master's from St. Joseph's University. Kowou also obtained a Master of Science/Criminal Justice/Administration from the Temple University and a Bachelor of Arts/Criminal Justice.
