Booker Rising On Liberia's Election

Campaign season officially began yesterday for the country's first post-war presidential election in October. Liberia was Africa's first black republic, and I believe that Africa will not advance until Liberia advances. As you may know, the country was formed by the American Colonization Society for freed American slaves. Americos are about 5% of the country's population, and have historically dominated politics, society, and much of the economy. There are tensions between the indigenous folks (who argue that the Americos are more American than African) and the Americos (who derisively call the indigenous population "country people", and argue that their tribal ways undermine progress).

Liberia was mired in civil war from 1989-2003 - after a coup replaced a coup that had replaced long-time oligarchic but stable Americo rule - which killed about 12% of the population and left 500,000 people homeless. 22 candidates are in the mix in the post-war presidential eleciton. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter is calling for a fair and honest campaign, and the Carter Center has a Liberia Election Observation Project that will dispatch election observers.

Enter George Weah (pictured, left), an indigene who apparently is a famous soccer player who played in the European leagues and is immensely popular in Liberia. He is a presidential frontrunner, along with Ellen Sirleaf Johnson. There was an unsuccessful attempt to have Mr. Weah disqualified on citizenship grounds, as he took on French citizenship in order to play in the European leagues. The election commission has cleared him to run though.

I can understand why the indigenous population - there are 16 or so different indigenous groups - would want to elect one of their own (never mind that the country was best run when full Americos ran it, and the country has since gone from one of Africa's most prosperous countries to one of its poorest countries with a jacked-up infrastructure). Ms. Sirleaf Johnson (another leading candidate who is half-Americo), has her own somewhat shady ties. She once supported the ousted regime of former President Charles Taylor (also half-Americo and thoroughly corrupt) and then later became an opponent. Despite her Harvard degree and experience in economics, I can see the apprehension there.

Hence, it makes sense that the population wants someone - regardless of ethnic background - who has no ties whatsoever to the butchery of yesteryear. Yet there is no educated, indigenous person with credible experience emerging as a frontrunner? An 80% illiterate populace may elect a semi-literate soccer player with no government or management experience? A man with as much education as my young cousins will be able to lead Liberia in a post-civil-war era, oversee its economic development, unify the multitude of ethnic groups, crack down on corruption and kleptocracy, and continue to stabilize the country's security situation? Especially with Chuckie in exile in his villa over in Nigeria, still trying to undermine the country's political process? I just don't see it.

So no wonder I am reading that quite a few Americos are howling here. Like the semi-literate Sgt. Samuel Doe's coup in 1980 (which caused massive capital flight and plummeted the average Liberian income by 75% in under a decade), I view this as a recipe for disaster and a potential coup waiting to happen.