The Nyonblee-Unity Brouhaha Is Recipe for Opposition Defeat

-A Call against Distraction in the Opposition By Bill K. Jarkloh billkjarkloh@gmail.com/jarklohbi@ul,edu. Introduction Any stance by Senator Nyonblee Karngar Lawrence to turn away from the Unity Party (UP) smells bad omen for an opposition victory in the 2023 presidential election. Since the occasion at which Unity Party Standard-bearer Joseph Nyumah Boakai made the decision choosing a stalwart of Prince Johnson’s Movement for Democratic Reform (MRD), Nimba County Senator Jeremiah Koung, the social media and local airwaves and print outlets are filled and replete with mixed reactions some of which rather drives a wedge into opposition unity at the polls at a time that the country is just few months away from elections. This incidence followed this disintegration of the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) that brought to the Unity Party, the Liberty Party (LP), the All-Liberian Party (ALP) and the Alternative National Congress (ANC) and further affects individual -member parties, thereby making the entire brouhaha ending with the pick of Jeremiah Koung a subject for discussion in the media. But why should Koung's pick become a problem? Should it in fact be a problem in the opposition? If yes, why? It is obvious that the need for opposition Unity is paramount if the opposition’s desire to unseat the incumbent should materialize. All along the time of the CPP, it was initially conceived that the opposition ticket for 2023 would be a Boakai-Cummings ticket. But unfortunately it could not work out because of greed for the presidency. While visibly collaborating party leaders in their majority opted and the Liberian people clearly though that the Boakai-Cummings ticket could be the winnable ticket that they could rally behind, Cummings on the other hand said he did not enter the marriage to become vice President to anyone, while the other political leaders were for the Boakai-Cummings ticket as the formidable option that could defeat the Coalition for Democratic Change and replace President Weah at a very first round of voting. So their deal did not work. But how did it actually happen? A glimpse at the CPP Disintegration Some two years ago, the main opposition Party, the Unity Party of Joseph Boakai, the Liberty Party (LP) of Grand Bassa County Senator Nyonblee Karngar Lawrence, Businessman Benoni Wilfred Urey’s All Liberian Party (ALP) and Alexander B. Cummings’ Alternative National Congress (ANC) entered a collaboration named and style the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) with the objective of decisively removing from power the incumbent president, Ambassador George Manneh Weah who they have heaped many charges against. The coming together of these mainstream opposition leaders was preceded by acute economic quagmire and contentions over the ‘missing 16 billion Liberian dollars, agitation about US$25 million intended for mop up excess liquidity from the money market which remains unaccounted for amongst others. These controversies characterized by unresolved allegations o0f corruption, financial malpractices and bad governance issues caused the popular June 7, 2020 protest organized by Henry Costa’s Council of Patriots . Following the protest which was massively supported by the UP, LP, ALP and the ANC the idea was apparently derived amongst the opposition to form the collaboration movement so as to checkmate the government and to garner efforts, members and resources to vote from power the incumbent Coalition for Democratic Change. But the question that caused the disintegration of the CPP was an acute disagreement on who should be the Standard-bearer of the collaborating parties. The biggest opposition Party, Unity Party went into the collaboration with the intention of occupying the Presidential candidate slot in the 2023 process but the ANC’s Cummings disagree vehement and contended that they collaboration should go to congress to choose the their Standard-bearer and candidates for 2023, says this was the mandate of their which he said the framework document of the CPP provided for. Because of the instance of Mr. Cummings, Mr. Benoni Urey, who was supportive of the UP, withdrew from the CPP, the Unity Party followed. Attempt by the Liberty Party’s political Leader Nyonblee Karngar Lawrence to follow the two parties the withdrew from the was fouled by the party’s Chairman who said the Liberty Party will not withdraw from the CPP, a situation that caused the split of the second largest opposition political – the LP when its Chairman Musa Hassan Bility contended that the party will be with the CPP with the other two parties left with Mr. Cummings. Nyonblee and the Bility Factor The unfortunate event has submerged the Liberty Party to internal wrangling that embraced the leadership Crisis. Mr. Bility said he is the leader of the Party and was not agreeing with Senator Lawrence on withdrawing from the party. For the obvious fact that LP political leader Lawrence had already pledge support to the Boakai leadership of the opposition ticket, she and her supporters withdrew leaving the other faction of the party with Mr. Bility, who also pledged support to the Cummings leadership of the opposition towards the 2023 political process for the Presidency. Well the rest witnessed the disintegration of the main opposition bloc that initially was referred to as the CPP along the Boakai and Cummings sides and the split of the Liberty Party along the Nyonblee Lawrence and Musa Bility sides respectively. The rest that resulted involved framework tampering allegations by the ALP Political Leader Benoni Urey against Alex Cummings on one hand and the same involving Musa Bility against Nyonblee Lawrence on the other. Amidst the hullabaloo, the folks in the camp of Grand Bassa County Senator and those of Benoni Wilfred Urey pledge unflinching support to a Boakai-led ticket against the CDC in the 2023 process. Nevertheless this support pledged to the Boakai-led ticket, each side was ambitious to produce the vice standard bearer. After former Vice President Boakai of the Unity Party picked the MRD’s Jeremiah Koung for vice standard bearer, what we started hearing of is that Boakai betrayed Nyonblee Lawrence. Madam Lawrence and her followers have been saying she and Boakai came a long way and that the Unity Party political leader should have picked her instead of one, meaning Nimba County Senator Jeremiah Koung who was nowhere when she and the former Vice President were in the opposition together. This failure by Mr. Boakai to pick Madam Lawrence exposed her to the temptation of thinking whether or not she should go back Bility to support Alex Cummings’ presidential bid which she had rejected earlier. Is Ellen Intervening However, news abound that former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf who said she was leaving Liberian politics after her second term, has now started to hold meetings with the Nyonblee Lawrence side, the bility side and Mr. Cummings of the CPP. The Meetings are said to be aimed at persuading the Grand Bassa Senator and Liberty Party Political leader to first reconcile with Musa Bility and send run as vice on the Cummings ticket of the disintegrated CPP. In every respect, it must be said that such meeting might have spiteful l motive. If not, Madam Sirleaf as a state woman should have embarked upon such intervention when the CPP and the Liberty Party problems started in the opposition camp. So the question now is “Why now?” Anyway, Whether or not Madam Lawrence will heed this persuasion is her option or right to do so, bearing in minds that the life we live speaks for us. Certainly, it is what the guess of the public because her side of the Liberty Party keeps saying it remains engaged meeting with stakeholders, even though she told her supporters that the struggle is not about her personally, but it is about liberating the Liberian people from the CDC regime of President George Weah. Political commentators have held that Madam Sirleaf, Africa’s first female President, stands against Boakai presidency for the reason that she wants protection for prosecution for whatever excesses she might have committed during her 12 years of leadership. It is said the Madam Sirleaf requested her former vice president for protection should she win the presidency by Boakai reportedly rejected the request assuring that he would prosecute anyone who committed crime during their 12 years of leadership. Why Costa? Meanwhile the ALP’s Henry Costa who also said he has been defending Boakai’s Presidential bid wants to be vice to the UP candidate the ALP supported. Interestingly, Costa is not realistic, when he was returning to Liberia from the United States, he pronounced that he was coming to contest the office of Senator of Montserrado County to unseat the CDC’s Saah Joseph, for which his followers were highly geared to ensure that he wins the seat. It was notwithstanding funny when at the 11th hour he made a U-turn to say he wanted to be Vice Standard Bearer to Ambassador Boakai of the Unity Party. Because he was not picked, he went public saying he will no longer support those who betrayed him to become vice presidential candidate. This is laughable in that he tends to muddy the water for his senatorial bid, as other serious minded people may see him as a joker who is not serious for the senatorial seat. This may have dampened his chance at the office. It is worth noting that Mr. Urey, the political leader of the ALP of which Costa is a member, proclaimed that he is neither interested in the presidential race nor the vice presidential contest. He was categorical in pledging support to Mr. Boakai whom he believes is a winnable candidate that can unseat President George Weah. My take of the Issue Given the foregoing it is important to remind the opposition that their quest to unseat the CDC government is hardly achievable unless they are focused on their goal. As a matter of fact it was unnecessary for Mr. Cummings to reject the offer of Vice Presidential candidate to Mr. Boakai for the 2020 race. The justification that he did not go in the race for defeat is unthinkable considering that the race is not a football game where no team can play for another. Using the 2017 election result, Cummings should have understood his colleagues that going into such a collaboration obviously would count on the strength of each of the political parties, and Boakai not only being tested in the past presidential elections but also having experience of the presidency puts him in a better position to lead the opposition ticket. This is why I believe it wasn’t a mistake when the Nyonblee Lawrence side of the Liberty and Urey’s ALP decided to support the Unity Party Candidate. May I first ask whether or not Vice President Boakai promised anyone for the vice presidential contest as a running mate? Besides, is it any secret that former VP Boakai took such a long time to choose Senator Koung of the MDR; that many of us thought that he would have been picked had it not been for the prolonged court action that her rival Bility subjected her to? Can’t we see that Mr. Bility would have chosen to reinforce his court case had Madam Lawrence been selected. Bility supported by Alex Cummings obviously seem to be the mangy planted in the opposition camp to help destabilize the opposition and to cause distraction. Conclusion Looking at this reality, Madam Lawrence needs to be focused and avoid the distractions that are coming her way if she purposes to work with likeminded people to achieve the objective of the opposition. The Vice Presidency is not the only place of service, indeed it is a nominal position. She could get a higher calling at the Legislature or in the next administration if she remains focused. It would appear to the public that Madam Lawrence and Costa were out there in the opposition for personal interest devoid of the national interest if they insist on running the vice presidency, which by their initial utterances should not be the case. So those driving the wedge into the opposition camp have intention to retain the present establishment, and by every means the opposition will mean well to living the spirit and fulfilling of the initial CPP provided that they don’t heed to distraction by those who are politicizing the pick of Jeremiah Koung to mean a betray of Madam Lawrence and Mr. Costa. Lest before I forget, we all shall be judged by our present in our future. I rest my case. Bill K. Jarkloh is an award winning journalist, a member of the Press Union of Liberia and student of peace-building and conflict transformation at the Kofi Annan Institute for Conflict Transformation (KAICT) of the University of Liberia. He is a media training of the Liberia Media Center and an adjunct instructor at the University of Liberia. He is former Executive Officer for Information at the Embassy of Ghana. He works with and edited several newspapers in Liberia Including The Inquirer, The Analyst, The News, Liberia Journal etc. algbor@thenewrepublicliberia.com alphonsotoweh@gmail.com