By Bill W. Cooper
As Liberia prepares to celebrate its 177th Independence this Friday, July 26, 2024, many Liberians find themselves grappling with a myriad of challenges that have plagued the nation; reflecting on the country’s history of progress and challenges over the years.
From overcoming a brutal 14 years of civil war to electing the first female President in Africa, Liberia has made some significant strides in its journey towards peace, stability, and development yet the challenges facing the country still remains unchanged.
Looking at the high unemployment rates, lack of basic infrastructures, rampant corruption, and abject poverty are just a few of the issues that continue to hinder the progress and development of the West African nation.
But despite these challenges, there are still some things that the country and its citizenry can boast about as they reflect on the nation’s historical history and looking towards a brighter future.
Liberia is a country in West Africa founded by free people of color from the United States, and as the emigration of African Americans, both freeborn and recently emancipated, was funded and organized by the American Colonization Society (ACS).
The mortality rate of these settlers was the highest among settlements reported with modern recordkeeping, and of the 4,571 emigrants who arrived in Liberia between 1820 and 1843, only 1,819 amounting to 39.8 percent survived.
Also in 1846, the first black governor of Liberia, Joseph Jenkins Roberts, requested the Legislature to declare independence, but in a manner that would allow them to maintain contacts with the ACS.
The Legislature then, called for a referendum, in which Liberians chose independence and thereafter, a group of 11 signatories, on July 26, 1847, went ahead and declared Liberia an independent nation.
The ACS as well as several northern state governments and local colonization chapters at the same time continued to provide money and emigrants as late as the 1870s, but the US government declined to act upon requests from the ACS to make Liberia an American colony or to establish a formal protectorate over Liberia.
However, it did exercise a “moral protectorate” over Liberia, intervening when threats manifested towards Liberian territorial expansion or sovereignty, and upon Liberian independence, Roberts was then elected as the first president of Liberia.
But this milestone struggle for independence, Liberia continues to be underdeveloped, while vast majority of the citizens continue to be poorer as things are hard and are getting harder government after government.
And since former President Johnson-Sirleaf took power after the war, over US$15 billion have been put into the country by international investments and donations yet, like in previous administrations, the people and country are still poor.
Liberia’s under-development, lack of basic services, high unemployment rate, rampant corruption in public offices, and inequality among others continue to permeate, as the country is one of the poorest countries and one of the most corrupt nations in the world.
In spite of these many obstacles, the country and citizenry are still hopeful and optimistic that Liberia will emerge brighter and prosperous; as one of the things that Liberians can be proud of is their resilience and perseverance in the face of adversity.
There are also signs of progress and development that give hope for the future; as in recent years, successive government has made efforts to improve the country’s infrastructure, including roads, schools, and healthcare facilities.
The construction of new roads and bridges has helped to connect remote areas of the country and improve access to essential services for some Liberians, while there have also been efforts to combat corruption and improve governance in the country.
The government has taken some steps to strengthen anti-corruption measures and increase transparency in public institutions and even though corruption remains a significant challenge, there are signs of progress in the fight against this pervasive problem.
Again, there is much to be proud of and much to look forward to because the country has overcome many challenges in its history, and has emerged stronger and more resilient as a result, boasting about its progress in democracy, gender equality, and roads among others.
Meanwhile, President Joseph Boakai has by Proclamation declared Friday, July 26, 2024 as Independence Day to be celebrated throughout the Republic as a National Holiday.
The Proclamation is in consonance with the Patriotic and Cultural Observance Law of 1956, setting aside July 26th each year to be observed as a public holiday to be known as “Independence Day”.
According to the Proclamation, the official festive celebration will take place in the City of Monrovia, Montserrado County, under the theme: “Building a New Liberia for All Liberians.” And an indoor program commemorating the day, will be held at the Centennial Memorial Pavilion on Ashmun Street, Montserrado County; commencing at Eleven o’ clock ante meridian.
The Proclamation states that it is in grateful recognition of the blessings and miraculous deliverance which God has extended to Liberia as a Nation and State, in which the nation has been unworthy of to give thanks, adoration and praises to Him for saving the nation and to commemorate the brave and timely decision of the nation’s forebears on July 26 1847.
The Proclamation added that after due deliberation on the future of the settlement and facing colonial challenges and threats, the founding fathers did publish to the world the historic and immortal instrument, known as the “Declaration of Independence” by which the commonwealth of Liberia became presented to the comity of nations as a free, Sovereign and Independent State thereby warding of encroachment from any colonial powers, and becoming the “First Independence African Republic.”
The government has therefore named Dr. Robtel Neajai Pailey as this year’s Independence Day Orator and she has assured the country that her message is intended to inspire and incite change.
An award-winning academic, activist, and author, Dr. Pailey works as an Assistant Professor in International Social and Public Policy at The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
She has practitioner-based proficiencies in qualitative research, capacity development, policy design and analysis, program management, report and grant writing, journalism, and strategic communications.
Dr. Pailey centers her scholarly research on how structural transformation is conceived and contested by local, national, and transnational actors from ‘crisis-affected’ regions of the so-called ‘Global South.’
She is an author of the monograph Development, (Dual) Citizenship and Its Discontents in Africa: The Political Economy of Belonging to Liberia, which won both the 2022 African Politics Conference Group (APCG) Best Book Award and the 2023 African Studies Association of Africa (ASAA) Pius Adesanmi Memorial Award for Excellence in African Writing as well as contributed to the passage of Liberia’s dual citizenship law.
In 2018, Dr. Pailey was recognized with an International Anti-Corruption Excellence (ACE) Award in the category ‘academic research and education’ by the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Center (ROLACC).
In her acceptance message, Dr. Pailey asserted, “I am honored to serve as National Orator for this year July 26. And my Oration is entitled a Radical Agenda for Re-imagining Liberia.”
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