Monrovia — No longer walking in the shadows of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Joseph Nyumah Boakai, the standard bearer of the Unity Party is taking a stab at his second go in his quest for the Presidency, ever determined to do it on his own terms - and in his own way. In the process, he's also trying to do what has never been done in 152 years, return a former ruling party to state power in Liberia's rugged political history.
Ahead of the October ballot, the former Vice President is taking nothing for granted with a cautionary approach and message to his supporters to expect the unexpected. "We also call on the ruling establishment not to engage in acts that will provoke the opposition as we strive to remain strictly within the parameters of the Farmington Agreement," Mr. Boakai said in a statement on the eve of the start of the campaign season.
POLITICAL PARTY: UNITY PARTY
RUNNING MATE: JEREMIAH KOUNG
DECIDING BASE: Lofa County, Nimba and western belt counties of Gbarpolu, Bomi and Grand Cape Mount County. In fending off pressure from Senator Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence and talk-show host Henry Costa, among a laundry list of potential running mates, the former vice president decided on Senator Jeremiah Koung, in hopes that a combination of vote-rich Lofa and vote-rich Nimba, where Koung hails, would make ensure an easy victory for Mr. Boakai. Political analysts however see Nimba as a battle ground likely to be fought for amongst the UP, Tiawon Gongloe of the Liberia People's Party, the ruling CDC, and the Collaborating Political Parties of Mr. Alexander Cummings. Koung also carries the baggage stemming from his ties to controversial Nimba County Senator and former warlord, Prince Y. Johnson viewed as the Godfather of the county. If the PYJ force prove to be strong for JNB, Boakai could see a major improvement from his dismal 2017 performance. Doing well in the Western Belt could also help the former VP emerge as a serious threat to the incumbent Weah.
THE LOWDOWN: During his first stint, the 2017 presidential elections, Mr. Boakai accumulated more than 457,000 votes, representing more than 38 % of the total ballots, falling short of the more than 732,000 votes resulting into 61% for Weah, who won the presidency.
Although he only won his home county, Lofa back in 2017, many of the former vice president's supporters believe he stands the best chance of defeating the incumbent Weah this time around, owing to his elderly status and already established UP base.
Despite criticisms over his age and reports of a declining health, Mr. Boakai readily expressed that Liberia is faced with a leadership void which only he can fill. For Boakai, Liberia under the incumbent Weah is bleeding because of ineffective leadership. "This is not about me. It is about the good of our country; and we must act now in correcting the problem".
With more than 40 years dedicated to public service, Boakai elevated to the national public discourse when he was asked served as Vice President to former President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf in her quest for the presidency.
Now running on his own terms, the former vice president has made it clear that if elected president, one of his administration's foremost priorities would be to audit the Weah administration.
This was emphasized recently with the luring of former auditor General John Morlu, who has joined the JNB team as an advisor with emphasis on fund raising and trumpeting accountability and transparency issues.
For JNB, his administration will audit and prosecute to the fullest anyone in the CDC government found guilty of malfeasance as he vowed that the audit would begin within the first 100 days of his administration; and it will help the incoming government in knowing where Liberia stands economically as a country. He maintained, "The UP, as a political party believes that some sources of government's revenues in the CDC administration remain unknown".
Says JNB: "Corruption will have no place in my government. My administration will have zero tolerance for the corrupt. That's the situation of our country; I am talking reality. You can go and see for yourself what I am talking about. Fellow Liberians, we need to rescue our country, because Liberia is degenerating daily".
Trumpeting the moniker as "The Rescuer", Mr. Boakai hopes that his years in leadership and government will convince voters about his ability to rescue Liberia from the frailties and lapses of the Weah administration.
STRENGTHS: Mr. Boakai's humble beginnings and statesman persona makes him easily appealing and likeable. After attending secondary schooling in neighboring Sierra Leone, he went on to complete a degree in business administration at the University of Liberia.
In the 1980s, Mr. Boakai served as the country's agriculture minister under President Samuel Doe, who was mutilated and murdered in 1990, a decade after he had taken power in a bloody coup of his own.
Mr. Boakai He would go on to attend school in neighboring Sierra Leone, before completing a degree in business administration at the University of Liberia.
By the 1980s, he was serving as the country's agriculture minister under President Samuel Doe, who would be mutilated and then murdered in 1990, a decade after he had taken power in a bloody coup of his own.
In that role, Mr. Boakai oversaw the programme to decentralize agriculture by creating regional agriculture hubs - a major project in Liberia, where many people are subsistence farmers.
So, when Sirleaf sought the presidency in 2005, selecting Boakai from vote-rich Lofa County was a no-brainer.
In Sirleaf's shadows, Mr. Boakai shared that laurel of leading Liberia through a decade of peace. His critics however contend that the former vice president.
His critics, however, note that Mr. Boakai has not done enough to pull the country out of poverty and many question the lack of support he received from former President Sirleaf as a rather thorny stain on his political credentials.
Boakai raised eyebrows during the 2017 presidential elections when he tried to explain his way around the lack of effort under Sirleaf since he was "a race car parked in the garage" - suggesting that his talents had been wasted for the last 12 years - has not impressed some. Mr. Alexander Cummings, a former Coca-Cola executive who, like Mr. Boakai is making a second run at the presidency jabbed, perhaps unkindly - that "if you park a race car in the garage for 12 years and it doesn't move, it becomes obsolete", in a direct aim at the former vice president.
WEAKNESSES: The well-publicized concerns about Mr. Boakai's health and the lack of transparency from his camp over the details of what is going on with him, health wise has prompted speculations, bolstered by recent revelations from one of his strongest allies, the talk-show host, Henry Costa.
During the past year, Mr. Boakai, 78, was admitted at the ELWA Hospital amid reports that he had a stroke, a claim the JNB camp was quick to dismiss. Mr. Boakai, often been criticized for being too frail to contest the election, has on multiple occasions denied having any medical condition that may hinder his performance if elected President.
Speaking to the Voice of America's James Butty in 2021, Mr. Boakai said, I'm very, very well. I took my Covid-19 vaccination and I'm doing well. I'm discharging my daily responsibility; I go on my farm, come to my office daily. I know the state of my health, I am very, very well. I can assume the presidency because I haven't been to any hospital in the last two years".
Pressed by Mr. Butty as to whether he would make his health record public ahead of the 2023 presidential elections, declared: "If it's the requirement of becoming a president of Liberia then I can do that, but I think it's not a requirement. My doctors know my status of my health; they will tell me whether it's necessary or not. All I can tell you is that I am healthy". Asked about "being too old" to contest the presidency replied: "I can't change my age and I thank God I am as old as I am. Age is about wisdom".
All this backed by Mr. Boakai's apparent tendency to fall asleep during official functions that has led to many of his opponents and detractors to brand him, "Sleepy Joe".
Mr. Boakai has also been hit by concerns that the Collaborating Political Parties, seen as the best opposition shot at defeating the incumbent Weah, fell apart under his watch, when he served as chairman.
In addition to losing grip of the CPP, Mr. Boakai has lost many of his closest ally including talk-show host, Henry Costa, who recently accused Mr. Boakai of a "painful betrayal."
Costa, who has for the last five years supported and promoted Boakai as the only person capable of defeating President George Weah, in a shocking turn of events, announced that he and the All-Liberia Party, which he is part of, would no longer support Boakai's presidential bid.
Costa, known for his strong opposition to the current government because of his support of Boakai, made the accusation during a press conference today.
Said Mr. Costa: "The ALP is no longer a part of the Unity Party," Costa revealed. "It was not the ALP or Costa that betrayed the UP, but it is the UP that betrayed us. Boakai and the UP have stopped talking to us for a long time."
Mr. Costa went on to express his deep disappointment and frustration, alleging that Boakai had betrayed their friendship and the principles they had once shared.
According to Costa, the betrayal stemmed from a series of undisclosed actions taken by Boakai, which he claimed were detrimental to their shared political agenda. He claimed that the betrayal had been painful, and as a result, he and the ALP were severing ties with their former ally.
In a response on his Facebook page, Mr. Boakai wrote: "Henry P. Costa is my son, and I hold nothing against him. I forgive him, and I am always willing to work with every well-meaning Liberian to accomplish our mission to rescue Liberia. I would advise all to focus our attention on the mission to remove the nightmare we have presiding over our country. Let's Think Liberia, Love Liberia, and Build Liberia."
Many political observers say, Mr. Costa's revelation on the former VP contains some damaging information that could harm Mr. Boakai, politically.
Boakai has also been bombarded with concerns that he may be too tribalistic to unify the country, a concern some of his supporters readily acknowledge and one that carries on from the 2017 elections when he decided to carry Rep. Emmanuel Nuquay as his running mate in the now ill-fated, "Country Ticket".Rank ( + / - )
KEY CAMPAIGN THRUST: The former vice president would be the first to acknowledge that the October election while profoundly crucial, must be guided by rule of law, transparency, and credibility. In a statement on the eve of the start of the campaign period, Mr. Boakai that despite calls international partners, civil society organizations, ECOWAS, AU, and the United Nations for a credible, peaceful, and transparent elections, the burden will be on the National Elections Commission to ensure the process is free, fair, and transparent. "The NEC must go the extra mile to ensure the conduct of free, fair, transparent, and credible elections, by enforcing all relevant laws guiding the process, especially during the campaign period. It must utilize the muscle given it by the Elections Law to track and catch violators in their tracts and bring them to justice as provided for under the Law."
Boakai and his UP are already sounding an early alarm over perceptions of irregularities. "Let us be guided and reminded that when the 1985 elections were rigged by the Special Elections Commission, headed by Mr. Emmett Harmon, in favor of the then ruling Military Regime, that action later careened our nation into a protracted civil war, snatching away the precious lives of over two hundred and fifty thousand of our citizens."
Despite the fears of irregularities, Mr. Boakai and his Unity Party are trumpeting a plan of action emphasizing agriculture and the rule of law. Realizing that the foundation of Liberia's economy plays a critical role not just in the national food economy but also serves as the main driver of economic development and source of employment for a large proportion of the Country's labor force, the JNB campaign sees the sector as a key source of foreign exchange earnings to drive growth, while serving as the main source of food security and poverty reduction.
The campaign also aims to promote Agricultural Mechanization to Improve farmers' access to using technologies in production that make them grow more food; support farmers to Increase production of the country's main staple food crop and strengthen the development of rice processing industry to increase domestic rice supply.
The campaign also aims to develop national strategy to agriculture development based on regional comparative advantage, support agribusiness enterprise development to enhance agriculture value chains and improve access to agricultural value chain financing and enhance financial literacy of farmers.
For the JNB campaign, roads remain critical infrastructure for the development of our country. The availability of quality paved roads and railroads will unlock the potential of both our agriculture and tourism industries and spur commerce and industry. Our administration will focus on the followings to improve access to our country and make the lives of our people better:
The campaign aims to reinforce appropriate investment in roads and bridges to expand access across the country and continue the pavement of highways connecting county capitals to create easy access to all regions of our country; Pave all highways connecting the country to neighboring countries in the region to enhance cross-border trade and interactions with our neighbors; Construct feeder roads throughout the country to enhance farmers' access to local markets and enhance local agriculture development as well as ensure proper management of the National Road Fund (NRF).
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Additionally, the campaign is pledging to lay emphasis on sanitation and health which remains a critical area for human capital development. Realizing that the country's healthcare service delivery system continues to face various systemic challenges that affect efficient healthcare delivery and the provision of basic water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services, the JNB campaign is promising to ensure that Liberians have access to safe drinking water, proper sanitation and hygiene present a tremendous asset to the survival of any society, whether in a high, middle, or low-income country.
The UP-led campaign is also pledging to promote tourism by establishing a National Tourism and Culture Authority (NTCA) to develop and manage the tourism sector a robust plan for tourism and culture (covering contemporary art, music and film); Designate Grand Cape Mount County as a national tourism center due to its natural endowment and Strengthen collaboration between NTCA and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) in rehabilitating old cultural and historic landmarks sites, churches, schools, traditional shrines.
The Boakai campaign as it was in 2017 continues to push its Think Liberia, Love Liberia, and Build Liberia mantra, emphasizing that Liberians challenge themselves to think Liberia foremost in our national endeavors, and put our country and people's interest first above everything else. We must defiantly think our situations; that is, think outside of the conventional wisdom box. We must dream big, dare impossibilities, think beyond narrow interests, and think forward.
KEY TO WINNING: Despite the much-publicized disunity with the opposition, Boakai and his supporters will need to mend fences with the Collaborating Political Parties after a nasty falling out, should they manage to enter a runoff with the incumbent Weah. This could be a chance for JNB to prove himself as the wise and elderly statesman his supporters believe he is. Some analysts also see the potential that in the case of a voters' revolt against the incumbent at the polls, owing to governance lapses, Boakai, or the opposition candidate, Alexander Cummings could benefit.
CHANCES OF WINNING? 50-45 Percent. The former Vice President is looking to do what has not been done in 152 years - hoping to lead a former ruling party back to power through the ballot box. The last time it happened was in 1871 but through a coup d'état, when the Republican Party came back to power following the overthrow and assassination in 1871 of President E.J. Roye (first True Whig Party President). Following the overthrow, Vice President James S. Smith became president for a few months. Republican J.J. Roberts assumed the presidency again in January 1872. He was succeeded by another Republican James Spriggs Payne who served until 1877 when TWP President Anthony Gardner came to power. But TWP hegemony was not assured until the 1883 election of HRW Johnson. The Republicans tried comebacks several times -- 1891, 1893, but to no avail. Since the fall of the TWP, successive regimes like Samuel Doe's National Democratic Party of Liberia, Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Party (NPP) have attempted comebacks without success. The UP will be hoping that JNB change the narrative in October.
For Boakai, convincing voters that can take on the incumbent without the Unity Party baggage from its twelve-year reign will be crucial. But more importantly, he also has to be ready to address serious concerns about his health and the fallout from his selection of former warlord, Prince Johnson's prodigy, Jeremiah Koung as his running mate.
COMING WEDNESDAY: ALEXANDER BENEDICT CUMMINGS, 'THE FIXER'
