By Gideon Nma Scott, Jr.
On Monday, January 27, 2025, the entire country stood still as President Joseph Boakai delivered what I believe to be his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) to the republic; though it was his second in essence; and I must say at his age, the president proved that he is in complete control of the business of the Liberian people.
Article 58 of the 1986 Constitution of Liberia states, “The President shall, on the fourth working Monday in January of each year, present the administration’s legislative program for the ensuing session, and shall once a year report to the Legislature on the state of the Republic. In presenting the economic condition of the Republic the report shall cover expenditure as well as income.”
As per this Constitutional mandate, the President reported to the nation on the performance of his government, mainly on his development programs, economic achievement as well as challenges he encountered. He seized the occasion to give hope to the people by promising to address socioeconomic as well as development activities by building more schools, putting drugs in healthcare facilities, making farm to market roads pliable and putting more food on the table of the ordinary Liberian people through job creation and business opportunities.
Sometimes, in these types of writings, it is difficult to suppress one’s biasness, but I must, in this public manner, appreciate the Mr. Joe Boakai for keeping the hopes of the Liberian people alive, especially in the face of pressing national and global challenges-like the rivalries among members of the House of Representatives of the 55th National Legislature that saw the burning of the Rotunda at the Capitol Building; his intend to connect the southeast to the rest of the country through northern and southcentral Liberia; as well as huge agriculture initiatives that tend to benefit Liberia, if they are well taken care of. Again, I say BRAVO!!! Mr. President for a well delivered speech.
While many Liberians think that the President’s report was ambiguous, with vain promises and false hopes, it is the sole prerogative of all of us, Liberian, home and abroad, to hold the government’s feet to the fire to make good on its promises. Also, and in good faith, as the President strives to make good on his people, it rests on the shoulders of those he has chosen to help him achieve his goal. This is why I believe that the President’s call for all to join him in delivering the good for the state is in place.
As we celebrate the President for his well-prepared annual report, the crisis that denied him from delivering his SONA in the Rotunda of the Capitol Building still persist-One House, Two Speakers. I do not in no way want to disrespect the President of the Republic for sitting under the gavel of Representative Richard Koon who was elected by some of his colleagues to steer their affairs in the face of a divided Lower House to deliver his address, but the absence of the Full Bench of the Supreme Court of Liberia says it all. It is the first of its kind in the Republic that members of the third branch of government will boycott a statutory national even of such. I thought that by now, the President would have brought the House under one roof to do the business of the Liberian people.
I want to be decorous while pointing out that the absence of the Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court was to save the face of the court in the midst of the crisis, it would have been prudent where the public to be informed of the absence of the court, and for what reason. But the abrupt absence from such sacred national event by the third branch of government was a disrespect to the presidency and the Liberian people. Hope we can take clue from these scenes, for they are now part of our history as a nation-that one day I will tell my grand and great grand-children that the Supreme Court boycotted a president’s State of the Nation Address.
I am not concerned about those lawmakers who boycotted their own occasion, like you invited people to your house and stayed away. They should be ashamed of themselves for they are an embarrassment to their electorates. But the absence of the High Court speaks volume. I also do not want to give credence to those lawmakers who say that they do not recognize Koon as their Speaker, but at being paid from the budget passed by the man they are denouncing. This is insincerity to the highest…
Let it be known that I hold no malice against Hon. Koon whom I believe can do a better job like he’s doing now with the support of those who elected him. But my concern is that since the president took the courage to stand under the speakership of Koon to deliver his State of the Nation Address (SONA), he should use the same courage and influence as the Head of State to resolve the long-standing saga between the majority and minority blocs at the Capitol and unite the House. We cannot continue with lawmakers parading around the town and on various media outlets in the name of majority and minority bloc. While they are from diverse backgrounds with different political, tribal, religious beliefs, members of the Honorable House of Representatives are expected to put aside their various differences to work as a team for the good of the nation. But since they have failed to do so, I believe that the President should step up to the game and unite them.
Also, since it is known that Representative Richard Koon now is vested as the Speaker of the House of Representatives and holds the gavel of said office by the President delivering his DONA under his authority as Speaker, he (Koon) should move his colleagues who are seeking refuge at the Monrovia City Hall back to the main chamber of the House of Representatives in the Capitol Building to do the business of the Liberian people.
The thought of the son of a professional Kru woman.