The pervasiveness of corruption in Liberia is real, and its impact seems to be felt everywhere. Inaction or the usual “I-don’t-care” behavior seems not to be an option any more. Even ordinary people and groups are speaking out loudly. A number of civil society organizations on June 9, staged a protest march dubbed ‘Black Tuesday’ against corruption in the Unity Party-led government of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

Corruption in Liberia, unarguably, is entrenched. There are many factors that explain this troubling reality. It ranges from bad governance to hardcore opportunism by individuals, and cronyism and nepotism practiced by government officials in Liberia. Curbing corruption and its devastating impact requires courage and demonstrable political will, not mere pronouncements to fight corruption. 

Active involvement of civil society is critical to a successful struggle against corruption as well. A weak, passive civil society on the other hand tacitly endorses and encourages corruption. However, I see a promising future for Liberia as evidenced by the June 9^th protest march! But the question is: Will “Black Tuesday’ be a one-time event? I ask this question because I sense that those entrusted with leadership of our country, including those in the current administration of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, usually take Liberians for a ride. I oftentimes hear (of course, it seems to be true) that Liberia lacks a strong and organized civil society. As a result, those in leadership take Liberians for granted because they believe no sustained, concrete national stance can be taken against officials for acts of misfeasance in government.

There may be some truth in this mentality. Arguably, over the years, there has been no sustained, coherent fight against misrule in Liberia. There have always been occasional and sporadic protests against bad governance practices. I suppose the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf administration is aware of this disappointing reality and has already made its calculations and prediction that ‘Black Tuesday’ was just for June 9, 2009! Will the prayer of bad governance (including corruption) perpetrators and beneficiaries to see ‘Black Tuesday’ as a one-time protest march come through?

Black Tuesday should be a continuous national struggle against corruption in Liberia. This means Black Tuesday should be the beginning of a nation-wide movement or struggle against corruption. This movement should be established in all the counties, districts, cities, towns, and villages. It should be a mentality-changing endeavor. I will meanwhile suggest that the organizers of Black Tuesday work to make the National Legislature enact a law declaring an ‘anti-corruption’ day to be observed as a working holiday in Liberia!

 With the enactment and observance of an anti-corruption holiday, I believe all Liberians will continuously reflect upon and be reminded about the causes, consequences, and potential remedies for the extenuation of corruption in Liberia.

 This will certainly be helpful for our country. So, all of us (Black Tuesday organizers and anti-corruption advocates) have now got the challenge to make Black Tuesday a national struggle against corruption in Liberia.    

J. Kerkula Foeday lives in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. He can be reached at jkerkulafoeday@gmail.com.