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Like Doe, Like Weah
By
Tewroh-Wehtoe Sungbeh
When he was
alive, and after his brutal slaying, one of the explanations
given for his failed presidency is that the “PhD club”
and the so-called intellectuals who worked in his
administration and surrounded him at the time failed him,
never seek his interests and are to be blamed for his tragic
downfall.
“They were only there for themselves, and
eventually let him down,” we were told.
What we didn’t hear from the apologists of Samuel
Kanyon Doe is the obvious fact that the intellectuals were
never the ones in the Executive Mansion playing the official
role as President of Liberia. So if there’s any one to
blame for Mr. Doe’s failures, it must be the former
president.
Our 20th president, Samuel Kanyon Doe,
became what he eventually was after he, as a Master Sergeant
of the Liberian Armed Forces, (AFL) forcefully entered the
Executive Mansion on that day in 1980, and masterminded the
killing of a sitting president (with the help of others) and
took the presidency.
During Mr. Doe’s 10-year tenure as President of
Liberia, we were constantly reminded about his lack of
formal education, even though
Mr.
Doe managed to, according to some, to go as far as the 8th
grade, or as low as the 6th grade, and was never
taken seriously throughout his presidency.
Mr. Doe, no fan of the English language was
constantly torn apart, teased and ridiculed nationally (in
private, of course) for his total ‘disrespect,’ or for
constantly “abusing” the English language. Even his
wife, Nancy, who, according to some never entered a school
in her lifetime, and was not known for her sense of
rationale, or proficiency in the English language, became a
poster first lady for our comic relief. Here are two of many
stories told about Nancy Doe.
Mrs.
Doe’s husband, like most Liberian leaders is automatically
referred to as “Dr” or doctor once they become
president. One day the first lady was ill and a trained
medical doctor was summoned to treat her. She refused
treatment, the story goes, and wanted no one else to treat
her but “Sammy,” her husband, who she considers a
“medical doctor,” by virtue of the bogus title. She was
later advised that “Sammy” Samuel Kanyon Doe, was never
actually a medical doctor, but was called doctor because of
the title he and others bestowed on him.
Or when she was asked her opinion about her husband becoming
president. Her response: "I told 'Sammy' to stop
smoking opium, and he don't want to leave it alone,"
apparently believing the two words, opinion and opium are
the same.
With all the problems we had with Mr. Doe, we
accepted him as one of us and ignored his shortcomings. He
was our president, the first native president of our time
for that matter, who we believed could stand strong against
our common oppressors, those cruel and heartless
Americo-Liberians, to take us to our imaginary promised
land. President Samuel Kanyon Doe failed us miserably, and
we never reached the Promised Land.
Now George Weah. The (former) professional footballer
who just launched his presidential bid, like former
president Samuel Kanyon Doe, is believed to be a junior or
senior high school dropout. Like Doe, his background is a
humble one George
Weah
once
steeped deeply in poverty and a quenching desire to make
something positive out of his life.
Unlike the once obscure Doe who ascended to the
presidency a poor man, and without his own millions, George
Oppong Weah is a self-made rich man who made his millions
the old fashion way through hard work and a competitive
spirit.
We admired George Weah because he’s like none other
in the contemporary annals of Liberian history. His triumphs
put Liberia on the front page of maps and newsrooms around
the world. His was about helping others – the benevolent
spirit we lacked. As a result, we adored the grounds he
walked on.
But is George Weah a presidential material? His
friend and playmate, midfileder Kevin Sebwe, who's currently
playing in Greece told BBC sports this: “George is a good
person and I think he deserves this chance to be a good
president.” Others are also excited about the possible
presidency of Weah and are letting it be known. According to
BBC, “thousands lined the route of his motorcade from the
airport, cheering and beating drums – welcoming him as a
hoped – for national savior as an African football
great.” Mildfielder
Kevin Sebwe
Not too long ago, I
wrote on this same page – now in the archive,
(“Rejecting George Oppong Weah’s Presidential Bid”),
and cited that George Weah is a good man who is not actually
prepare to be President of Liberia, for the mere fact that
he’s inexperienced, thin-skinned, not used to being
rejected, and hasn’t held any public office that could
gauge his leadership skills.
I stayed away from his apparent lacked of a high
school diploma because I believe wholeheartedly that a high
school diploma or a college degree is not a prerequisite for
leadership, and that natural leaders and those who are
sincere about their leadership goals cannot be denied that
opportunity. I still stand by that.
Like the highly inexperienced Doe who was an
accidental president and was never ready for major league
politics, George Weah, I am sorry falls into that same
category, and could also be disastrous for post-civil war
Liberia.
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