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We
are proud of you, President Sirleaf, now let the real work
begin
Friday,
March 24, 2006
By Tewroh-Wehtoe Sungbeh
President
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf couldn’t have asked for
anything better this month, because March has been too
good to her both at home and abroad.
The Liberian president is impressive, no joke
about it. In just two months into her presidency, she
is riding high in popularity, and is saying the right
things to those that are fortunate to hear her speak.
And if the third month of the year means poise
and dignity, Ms. Sirleaf has shown that part of her
charm to her detractors and admirers during her
historic visit to the United States.
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has re-invented the
Liberian presidency by reassuring the Liberian people
and governments around the world about a responsive
and people-friendly presidency that will not do
business as usual on her watch. It is that message
that got Liberians everywhere talking about a new day
in their country. It is that talk of hope and optimism that
also got Liberians to begin to think about returning
home to either visit or live.
The warm reception President Sirleaf received
from her host is the kind of good public relations
some of her counterparts wished they could bask in at
a time when they cannot get traction for their
policies on the domestic and foreign fronts.
Pres. Sirleaf addresses U.S. Congress
With the Vice President of the United States
and the Speaker of the House serving as a backdrop
during her March 15 speech to a joint session of
Congress, our president certainly made us all proud to
be Liberians once again, even as some of us continue
to disagree with her on many issues, including her-not-so
decisive handling of the Charles Taylor issue, his
possible extradition and prosecution for crimes
against humanity.
When I listened to her on PBS’ NewsHour with
Jim Lehrer on March 23, I noticed a significant change
in the tone of a president who’s on record for
wanting Charles Taylor to be turned over to her
government for possible prosecution. So will he, or
will he not? That's the million dollar question the
president and her advisors will have to answer in days
to come.
However, President Johnson-Sirleaf was
impressive in her speech to the U.S. Congress, and
came through as sincere in her efforts to turn the
world’s attention to the plight of the Liberian
people.
She got the attention and perhaps the sympathy
of Congress and the government of the United States by
being an optimistic leader who humanized the untold
suffering of her people caused by that senseless civil
war, a war which destroyed an entire country and
killed so many people during its 14-year reckless run.
The Liberian president was scheduled to ring
the bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday to
signal the closing of that venerable financial
institution. She met with UN Secretary-General Kofi
Annan, World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz, Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice, President George W. Bush
and other notable leaders and institutions. She also
met with Liberians and friends of Liberia in Rhode
Island, than later participated in a virtual Town Hall
meeting sponsored by the United States Institute of
Peace on March 21.
We Liberians couldn’t have gotten a better
spokesperson on the global stage to tell the world
about our suffering than our much-traveled president
who could also pass for a foreign minister, and who,
within a short period of her presidency has visited
many countries, and has done a great job of
articulating the plight of the Liberian people
everywhere.
Even though she served briefly in government
decades ago and is rumored to have started the civil
war, she is seen as a strong leader who can make a
difference by injecting a breath of fresh air in a
corrupt and dominant male society where everything
politics has gone wrong for over a century.
This is a far cry from what we had in the
Executive Mansion almost a decade ago when world
leaders refused to recognize Charles Taylor as a
credible person to work with, which hurt his
presidency and the recovery and reconstruction efforts
of a country that needs all the financial assistance
to feed its people and rebuild its crumbling
infrastructure.
The Liberian leader started out much better
than her disgraced predecessor, and is in an excellent
position to achieve a whole lot than Mr. Taylor, who
was already in trouble around this time when he took
over and never recovered from his woes because of the
baggage he brought with him.
Charles Taylor suffered enormously from a
negative perception problem, played tough, pulled all
the political tricks in the world to be president for
just another day, but never recovered until he fell
apart and was driven out to another land.
The change in the Executive Mansion is welcome
by most Liberians. Those Liberians are anxious to
improve their tattered lives, and wants the president
to get to work as soon as she can so that they too
will be able to find work, feed their families, send
their kids to school and live a prosperous life,
thereafter.
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is no Charles Taylor. And
for the Liberian people not to miss or be constantly
reminded of the devilish Taylor, Ellen must deliver
the bacon as soon as possible. But the president
cannot do it all alone until and unless Liberians of
all persuasions join her in those noble efforts.
She can also be effective when donor countries,
financial institutions and humanitarian organizations
play their part in following up on their promises to
help the Liberian people in this time of need.
It is too early to know whether the
tough-talking president can deliver. With her enormous
political windfall, she could most definitely embark
on one of the most ambitious development and
reconstruction programs in the country and improve the
lives of the Liberian people.
Ms. Sirleaf will have to show exemplary
leadership skills by being practical, since people
don’t live or survive on charm and rhetoric, but by
having jobs and food on their respective tables.
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