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"Rename
Stadiums After Wannie Bo-Toe and George Oppong Weah,"
The
Prejudice in Tewroh-Wehtoe Sungbeh’s
commentary
Tuesday,
August 5, 2008
By Thomas Kai Toteh
I
just read a Sunday, August 03, 2008
editorial/commentary, by the editor/publisher of this
web magazine“Rename
Soccer Stadiums after Wannie Bo-Toe and George Oppong
Weah.” After a
thorough reading, I have used all of the different
critical analyses, including theories, school of
thoughts, such as psychoanalytical, structuralist and
post-structuralist, and Marxist readings.
After
paying tributes to two of Liberian greatest soccer
stars, past and present, in his strife to buttress the
renaming of Liberia’s only international soccer
stadium, Tewroh-Wehtoe Sungbeh either ignorantly or
deliberately confused reality with a concept that
exists in the imagination only. For example, in his
judgment or conclusion about why Liberia's only
international soccer stadium should be renamed from
SKD Sports Complex to either Wannie Botoe or George
Oppong Weah, in his 11th paragraph, failed
to consider some important distinctions between sports
and politics, and in the process, he becomes one of
the thousands if not millions of people not only in
Liberia but around the world who make it their habits
to politicize every aspect of life.
The
world over, sports is a unifying force of every
nation, whereas politics is a dividing force of every
nation. Let’s agree that Samuel Doe was a dictator, needless to
mention why he was a dictator, how he became a
dictator and why, but history tells us that Samuel Doe
was a poor and ignorant man in the least organization
of Liberia, the Armed forces of Liberia. The rest of
the story about how he became a
soldier-turned-politician and later a monster (made or
born) will explain itself to those that still don’t
know that not all monsters are born.
However,
who are we to judge others and continue to judge
others when we have no idea who our enemies are. Now
back to the point of sports and politics or sports
versus politics. What happened in the dying days of
politics in Liberia? What happened when Liberians
realized that Doe was a dictator, a born dictator or a
monster that was created by others monsters?
What happened when Liberian political geniuses
advised Doe to execute 13 senior government officials
in 1980? Did Doe, according to Tewroh-Wehtoe
Sungbeh’s political analysis and glib facile,
unilaterally carried out the execution of the 13
senior government officials in 1980?
The day thousands of Liberians marched in the
streets, perhaps for violently removing True-Whig
Party and executing our fellow Liberians on the beach
was the beginning of Samuel Doe’s dictatorial rule.
How many so-called native Liberians did not support
the jungle justice against the 13 executed government
officials in 1980?
This
reminds me of the common saying that if we don’t
know where we are coming from we will not know where
we are going. This is the hint about politics. Now
let’s look at sports. What happened in pre-Doe’s
administrations in regards to sports in Liberia,
especially soccer? Yes Wannie Botoe as I learned
carried the ball with his teeth and made millions of
passes that resulted in goals for Liberia, but what
happened next? What happened to hundreds of great
soccer players before Doe? How many years had Liberia
existed and how long Liberia being taking part in
African and West African soccer competitions before
Doe? What’s Liberia’s position in WAFU let alone
African Cup of Nations? How many times Ghana and
Nigeria flogged Lone Star?
Other
than Paul Broh and Santos Maria, how many players ever
traveled outside of Liberia for international
exposures? How many years we had the tight and rough
soccer stadium commonly referred to as “bald hill
field?” Why we named it “bald hill field?” It
was the least in Africa. Is it true or false?
I just don’t want to go too far in this
rebuttal. But what I do know is if you ask the only
survival of your nominees who you think should benefit
from the renaming of the sports complex, of who is
George Weah, he would question your judgment and
credibility for the following reasons.
Had
it not for Doe, Weah would had ended up like Wannie
Botoe and all the other rest of Lone Star players. Did
you know that Weah still pays tribute to the late
Samuel Doe?
Back
to politics, are you saying Doe was the only dictator
in Liberia? Are you saying there are no important
landmarks that were named after our former presidents?
I know that you know the answer. What were William VS
Tubman’s political tactics whose name is almost
everywhere on buildings and other important places.
Did not he rule Liberia with iron hands for 27 years?
In addition, what did he really achieve?
Is
Tewroh-Wehtoe Sungbeh saying that only the sports
complex should be the only landmark that should be
named in honor of George Weah? What happened to George
Weah’s monument on Broad Street under the most
popular democratic government of our time?
Finally,
I will like to base Tewroh-Wehtoe Sungbeh’s judgment
on the followings and I advise him and all Liberians
to desist from these followings if we are sincere in
our strife to reconcile and reconstruct our country
that we have directly and indirectly ruined.
That
we do away with diverse judgment or opinion formed
beforehand or without knowledge or examination of the
facts. That preconceived preference or idea is one of
our common enemies. That the act or state of holding
unreasonable preconceived judgments or convictions is
posing a greater danger to our national survival. That
Irrational suspicion or hatred of a particular group,
race, or religion has potential risk to our national
life.
Thomas
Kai Toteh is a freelance writer.
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