“Caricature of A Failed State and Not A Real State” Antics Of Two Soccer Legends

Saturday, November 29, 2008

By Tewroh-Wehtoe Sungbeh

    If he ever wanted a national debate to further cement his activist image and enhance his future bid for a presidential run in 2012, he did not do a good job, and I don’t think he expected his words to generate such negative sentiments the way it did, but Samuel Kofi Woods sure is generating the debate he sought when he reportedly referred to Liberia as a “Caricature of A Failed State and Not A Real State,” and that “Liberia Needs No Army,” and that the “state be dismantled and re-conceptualized.”

     Those are strongly-worded statements from a guy whose former line of work requires him to use forceful and not so forceful tactics to get his message across in a political environment that has never been too kind to the messenger, the message and to sympathizers who often braved humid temperatures and torrential rainfall to support their men in similar situation.

     However, in an environment of this kind that is so profoundly fragile a result of that senseless civil war that continues to generate fear in the minds of countless Liberians, a little dose of persuasion and humility, coupled with some form of optimistic projections of a bright future coming out of the mouth of a cabinet minister and would-be presidential candidate would have been a breath of fresh air to most Liberians who expects more than intellectual exercise to get through a day.    

                                                    Min. Samuel Kofi Woods               

    It is not that a provocative intellectual exercise of the kind Kofi Woods attempted to engage in is prohibited in the Liberian society. The timing, the venue and the reasons behind such remarks during his recent appearance before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission when he, like others were invited to speak about their experiences and how they were grossly affected by the war, and how the nation can go from its painful past to a forgiving future was missing.

     Samuel Kofi Woods, as an experienced agitator, a seasoned political observer and a cabinet minister in the current administration, perhaps thought he was still an activist when he appeared before that body, and failed to gauge the political barometer of the nation when he needed to. That mistake led him to misread the population, as he did not expect to receive the kind of harsh criticisms his incendiary comments got when he took the theatrical route that did not serve him well in times like these when the nation needs more than colorful theatrics to move forward.

     Woods’ “caricature of a failed state and not a real state” comment is not persuasive for the mere fact that 1) he works conveniently for this so-called caricature of a failed state, and, 2) how can he explain the decisions he continues to make that affect Liberians in this grotesquely distorted and misrepresented failed state or government whose water he continues to tote as Labor Minister? Is he also a part of that caricature?

     “We have a state characterized by discrimination, subjugation and coercion. Distributive justice became a prevalent issue with the introduction of a so-called modern system of governance, history of injustice which includes resource distribution, land, lack of access and mechanisms of redress of grievances and justice for the rich and elites,” Woods said.

     About the need for a national army, Samuel Kofi Woods further said: “I clearly stated that there is a need for a debate as to whether or not Liberia needs an army now. My position is this matter remains a NO!”

  “I don’t believe that the underlying philosophy and historical underpinnings of the army have been altered especially the use of brute force and perception of power. The army has always and will always remain a function of the Liberian society, its values and politics. This aspect of our society has not fundamentally changed. Liberia should not prioritize an army now.”

     Woods is right about one thing: “The army has always and will always remain a function of the Liberian society, its values and politics. However, it is because of those stated reasons that a nation such as Liberia needs an army to carry out its mission – that is to protect the nation from external enemies who wants to do harm to the nation and its people.

     Certainly, there is a need to revisit the enormous influence Liberian presidents have on the national army, to prevent the kind of abuse and political manipulation of the army we have seen over the years, where presidents often would use the national army to physically abuse, intimidate and harass political opponents to remain in power indefinitely.

     If this was an attempt to intellectualize certainly this exercise did not serve Kofi Woods well because his remarks seemed grandiloquent in nature, out of place, did not address the actual reasons for his appearance before that body, concentrated on military and historical narratives, did not address how he was personally affected by the war, and resembled a college professor lecturing his students about whether the nation needs an army or not.

     If there was ever a time for human rights activist such as Samuel Kofi Woods and others to fight vigorously for a practical and enforceable constitutional amendment that strengthens the national army, curtailed abuse of the army and its resources and allow it to be loyal to the nation and its people than the president, this is the issue and the time.