By Bill W. Cooper and S. Siapha Mulbah
Ahead of the official advent of the celebration of Liberia’s Bicentennial, Health Minister, Wilhelmina Jallah has alarmed over the continuous increase in the number of Coronavirus cases in the country in less than a month.
She however attributed the cause of the continuous increase in the COVID-19 cases to overcrowded events during the celebration of the festive season, noting that some citizens deliberately flouted all health protocols prescribed by health authorities.
“Everyone put COVID-19 protocols in their closets and forgot that the virus is still active and fighting against our wellbeing, hence they ignored the wearing of their masks or observing the basic social physical distancing,” Minister Jallah intimated.
Speaking yesterday at the First Edition of the Ministry of Information Press Conference for 2022 held at the Ministerial Complex in Congo Town, Minister Jallah, among other things, emphasized that all health protocols will be strictly observed henceforth and the number of persons expected to attend the official kickoff of the Bicentennial celebration this Friday on the Providence Island will be highly restricted.
The country’s Health Minister stated further that the Providence Island will only be accessed by officially invited persons properly wearing their nose masks, adding, “If you don’t have an invitation to enter the event center, please do not show up.”
“Also, even those that will enter with invitation will be monitored to make sure that they properly wear their masks throughout the occasion. We need to protect ourselves, our country and people so that those coming to celebrate with us can be encouraged to come back some days after the long celebration,” Minister Jallah cautioned.
Meanwhile, the Traditional Council of Liberia has urged descendants of Americo-Liberians to recognize the indigenous Liberians prior to the arrival of their forefathers in 1822.
Addressing scores of journalists on Tuesday in Monrovia, the Liberian Traditional leaders head, Chief Zanzan Kawor revealed that there were indigenous Liberian famers and hunters who existed on the land before the repatriation of freed slaves to the country.
“The people are imposing their western culture on us to the extent that they have also changed our society’s name by calling us devils and all sorts of names. No love of liberty brought them here because we were already here before their arrival,” he intoned.
Chief Zanzan Kawor narrated further that the motto of Liberia ”The Love of Liberty Brought us here”, shows that westerners failed to recognize the existence of the indigenous people of Liberia, noting, “when they came, they landed on the Island, a place that was so clean, at that time our people were already famers.”
“So if you say nobody was in Liberia here before you came, then who cleaned the place you landed and who gave you land here,” Chief Zanzan Kawor interrogated.
Chief Zanzan Kawor’s statement came at the time Liberia is commemorating its Bicentennial, which is the country’s 200-years of existence from the time the settlers arrived in Liberia as freed slaves from the Americas in the 1800s.
Zoes and Elders of Liberia have over the years expressed serious frustration about the alleged refusal of the quote-unquote educated class of Liberians and frowned that they had been heavily disrespected by them.
For his part, Liberia’s Information Minister, Legihood Rennie disclosed that this Friday will be the official kickoff leading to several activities of the Bicentennial celebration under the theme, “Liberia, Land of Return Commemorating 200 years of Freedom and Pan-African Leadership” at the Providence Island in Monrovia.
He then called on all well-meaning Liberians from diverse background to support the government as they celebrate the country’s 200 of existence, adding, “Let us all take ownership of this celebration as one people and country because that is the dream of the President to see that all Liberians come together and celebrate Liberia’s culture.”