Imposters of Patriotism

Dear Liberia,

This letter serves to remind you that your birthday is right around the corner and to share some thoughts beforehand. As you already know, it’s going to be another engrossing day for you. Your children, both home and beyond, will be spilling into your vacuum an outpour of empty praises that you may wallow in, but don’t sit back and give them the nod. Your birthday has always been that time we embody joy and harmony, where everyone gets along celebrating your age over the commitment of your independence (self-sufficiency), but also where the ears grow tired of hearing the imposters of patriotism recounting their fairy accomplishments over the years. 

Take for instance the “Radio Man” and the “Country’s Giant”, who have both created impacts not more than the size of my index finger, but stay prepared to whoop it up on your birthday and rave about the significance of your independence. Visualize the Radio Man “kacking” and telling you about how he has fought to liberate the masses or has risked his life flagging out the red issues in the society. However, when you look behind the scenes, you will discover that he has been cozying up in a basement of Uncle Sam’s (America’s) luxurious chambers all year long, only to come down twice last year and cause chaos for his own political goal. Even if you can not question his patriotism from this angle, I guess you are cognizant of the fact that only a hefty GoFundMe can bring the Radio Man home to show “his love” for you.

On the other hand, visualize the Country’s Giant bragging about his “ultramodern” four-lane road project from the Roberts International Airport to Monrovia; his tuition-free declaration at the University of Liberia and the Tubman University in Maryland County, not forgetting about his dedication of the Special Medical Unit at the John F. Kennedy Medical Hospital that contains a “Computed Tomography (CT) Scan”. However, a little research will show that there are just a handful of cemented roads in few communities in Paynesville, a hefty registration fee that almost doubles the actual tuition fees at UL and TU, and a nice-looking JFK hospital with neither drugs nor equipment to provide healthcare services to the public. Believe it or not, the Country’s Giant has refused to adequately address the issue of the lost $16 billion LRD and the $25 million USD that was bungled by mopping up an economy in Pluto.

Truth is, that’s what imposters do; they will always do something to seemingly “impress you,” but only care to screw you – in spite of all the umpteen hurdles you have positioned in front of you.  As a matter of fact, there have been two groups of imposters around since you became a sovereign state. One group is the “patriots” and the other group is the “loyalists” – these are the forces that continuously shackle your economy to its worsening woes each year. 

The head of the current group of “Patriots” is the Radio Man, and he operates through a council that claims to have you at heart. They stand for the masses, even though it’s glaringly clear that they stand for the masses from abroad. I hear that they usually organize peaceful protests that expose the common people to the abuse of police teargas and water cannons. Success for them is when a large group of civilians accompany them to protest and petition. Whether or not any of their demands receives the green light is something only another  GoFundMe will decide. 

“Loyalists” are the second group of imposters, and they are mostly found in the public sector. Currently, this group is headed by the Country’s Giant, and it is more savage than the “Patriots” due to the hoaxlike political agenda that brought them to power. In the first 2 years of their term, Liberia’s GDP was valued at -2.278. While the country is thrust up to become the poorest nation in the world, it would take the life of a “loyalist” to blame these problems on the Country’s Giant. Bigotry is the least common denominator in this group and sycophancy is the quotient. For “loyalists”, anyone who believes in something other than the government is an “enemy of the state.”

Corruption has always been a comfortable inheritance for every “loyalist” (past governments), although not to the degree that this present group has taken it to. The Country’s Giant has accelerated the culture of impunity in order to keep the business of corruption going more than as usual. SGBV and financial malfeasances have also become the new normal, under his leadership, with the number of cases rising as the clock ticks on. The poor health sector across the country is a promise of how long the Coronavirus will stick around. And in the face of all this, if the Country Giant’s priority is not to continue to build as many luxurious homes around town as possible, then he would be improvising to the beats of his Coronavirus song while the problems keep rising. 

To sum up, learning comes with the process of making mistakes, but as Albert Einstein said “you can not keep  doing the same thing over and over again, but expect to have a different result.” For over 172 years you have given yourself so cheap to imposters that they have continuously gotten the best of you. If you must discover the true essence of your independence and get on par with other nations around the world, you need to jump up from your sleeping bag and demand actions over words. It comes with judging your leaders not by what they will say to you, but by what they have been doing over years. It comes with looking back at the havoc that the imposters have caused you through their fake love/patriotism and adopting a new model for assessing your leaders. That said, it is my fervent hope and prayer that these words will continue to resonate with you as you enter your 173rd year of independence!

From The Diaspora, with Love!

Destined

Authored by: Destined Darlington Sehgbean Jr. 

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