by Charles L. Massaquoi (September 13th 2005)
"... Politically Doe represented a leader hungry for power. As the Nigerian
journalist Ray Ekpu put it, “power like liquor, has a strong aroma and like liquor when taken in large quantities, it is capable of intoxicating the consumer”. Doe was power intoxicated and saw enemies where there were none and saw no friends where there were many. It was as if the gods were angry and intended to destroy him. He was power intoxicated, mad with the power that he had ruthlessly acquired and ruthlessly maintained, until
the very intoxication led to his fall....." |
Coups and sudden military takeover in Africa were common occurrences in
the late 70s and early 80s. When I was a student in Senior High School,
we
often heard about military coups on the continent. The media
immediately
captured and published such events.
On television and radio, and in the
newspapers journalists and political analysts described in details how
certain governments had been destabilize as a result. For instance correspondents from the BBC or the Voice of America, the common and
easily accessible media for the poor in Africa, and arguably the most reliable
at
the time, told stories of how the army ruled in Ghana, Nigeria, and
Uganda. I never imagined the same would happen in Liberia. However, I
was
short sighted and wrong because Liberia could not escape from the
cruelty
and insurgency of the military. On April 12, 1980, the military
overthrew the Government of Liberia. Seventeen young enlisted men of the Armed
Forces of Liberia stormed the Presidential Mansion, and assassinated
the
Chairman of the Organization of African Unity and President of Liberia,
William Richard Tolbert. Over a dozen officials of Tolbert’s region,
mostly of Americo-Liberian descent, commonly referred to in Liberia as
the“congo”, were also publicly executed. The Liberian experience was described as one of the bloodiest in Africa.
The military seized power thereby launching Liberia’s first
“revolution”.
Americo-Liberian political domination of over a century ended with the
formation of the People’s Redemption Council (PRC) headed by Master
Sergeant Samuel K. Doe. The young revolutionaries promised that once again
the Liberian people would be treated humanely and would be given equal
opportunity to realize their full potentials. This was overwhelmingly
welcomed by many Liberians because in the first place Doe was an
indigenous Liberian just like many native Liberians. In fact he was not
a “congo”, and that was enough. Secondly Liberians were convinced that
they
were finally in control of their own destiny and their country without
outside influence. They believed that many of the Americo-Liberians at the
time had some link or relationship with the United States one way or the
other. So all was well when Doe and his men seized power. For them the
time for the common and indigenous Liberian had finally arrived.
Sergeant Doe became the Head of State; Sergeant Thomas Weh-Syen, the
Vice
Head of State; and Sergeant Thomas Quiwonkpa, "Strongman of the
Revolution", was announced the Commanding General of the Armed Forces
of
Liberia. The PRC was thus formed to “redeem the Liberian People”. What
better opportunity can one ask for? However, this joy and relief were
short-lived.
Instead of changing the old system, they succeeded in creating another
system, which many deemed was far worse than their predecessors in
terms of inequality, human rights violation, poor economy, deplorable
education
and health care system, to name a few. The military completely worsened
the political and economic conditions in Liberia. What was known as
military coup d’etat became a coup de gráce.
The military government condemned the old regime and accused their
predecessors, but from time to time we saw how lavishly the new regime
lived, soldiers drove in luxurious cars with tinted glasses, and
occupied
split level mansions while social services standards in the country
including health, education and employment plummeted. The flamboyant
life
styles of the military were observed by all Liberians because for the
soldiers, their lifestyles were a reward and a result of their “hard
work”. After all taking power away from the Americo-Liberians was
worthy
of celebration. Hence there was no point hiding their reward and
accomplishments. For them it was time to demonstrate a form of
superiority
and power as they publicly displayed what they have “earned”.
Doe's government increasingly adopted an ethnic outlook, as members of
his
Krahn ethnic group soon dominated political and military life in
Liberia.
This caused a heightened level of ethnic tension leading to frequent
hostilities between the politically and militarily dominant Krahns and
other ethnic groups in the country. The Doe regime was an extraordinary
brutal one that not only disenfranchised many Liberians, but it also
effectively erased the boundaries between legitimate and illegitimate
political action.
Doe accused the Americo- Liberians of corruption. He may be right on
that
because the ethnic Americo-Liberians also publicly displayed their
enormous resources of wealth and connections garnered during the many
years they ruled. However Doe’s Administration was said to be one of
the
most corrupt and profligate in Liberian history. Instead of building an
honest and capable civil servant, many government workers were hired
based
on their linkage or relationship to top government officials rather
than
based on their academic qualifications. Further more, Government
workers
were forced to contribute 25% of their salaries towards the celebration
of
Doe’s birthday—officially declared a public holiday each year— when he
was
in power. In addition, all civil servants were also forced to pay into
the
coffers of the ruling party. He championed the cause of mainly the
Krahns,
his ethnic group, rather than act as a figure-head for all.
Doe became insensitive to the plight of the poor by allowing foreign
insatiable interests and, like many other developing countries,
allowing
the International Monetary Fund (IMF) dictate the nation’s economic
course. The plight of the common Liberian was unbearable. The country’s
human rights record became stained and yet unquestionable for fear of
being labeled or branded as an enemy. Doe’s National Democratic Party
of
Liberia had greater access to the media compared to other parties
during
the period of elections, thereby giving him the upper hand in the
campaign
process.
Tubman’s Era
Dr. William V. S. Tubman, the 18th President of Liberia ruled for 27
years. His Vice President, William R. Tolbert ruled Liberia for 19
years.
Their party, the True Whig Party (TWP), reemerged in Liberian politics
in
1877 as the dominant party with its candidate Anthony William Gardiner
as
the winner of the elections. Hence forth, the TWP became the only
political party in Liberia to have ruled the country for 133
uninterrupted
years.
That was definitely a grave mistake because what it meant was that the
country became a one-party state though there was no ban on multi party
politics. But the TWP, like any political party system, had its
shortcomings. Its strength lied not on serving the people of Liberia
but
on building a network of loyal families entrenched in the political
root
of the country so that the party stood for over a century without a
major
opposition. Consequently until April 12, 1980 Liberia was considered a
primary country among the politically stable countries in Africa.
Regrettably Liberia could not escape the wrath of inequality,
oppression
and revolution. The Liberia we all knew before became that of the past.
Many African countries like Liberia are grappling with the aftermath of
years and centuries of social, economic and political injustice. In
Africa
today Ghana is one of the most stable and economically viable
countries. A
rank once reserved for Liberia.
Tubman’s legacy of “Open Door Policy” geared towards attracting foreign
capital into the country, and his policy of unifying indigenous
Liberians
and Americo-Liberians were perhaps well-intended policies to cover up
the
underground inner workings of his network of leaders. Unfortunately
establishing power made up of a small number of prominent families who
led
factions and formed alliances within the party existed far before Doe’s
arrival in Liberian politics.
Hence it is no wonder that native Liberians were full of joy when the
military overthrew the civilian President William R. Tolbert on April
12,
1980. The same people, however, were later to be victimized by General
Samuel K. Doe. He ruled Liberia for ten years, a period some
journalists
and political analysts have described as a reign of terror. During a
discussion with me of the Liberian situation, a Liberian Educator Mr.
James S. Bartee once said the late Head of State Samuel K. Doe will be
remembered not for his bravery for taking power away from
Americo-Liberians, but as the man who introduced “DOEMOCRACY” and not “DEMOCRACY”. His description illustrates the degree at which Doe was
obsessed with power. It describes how Doe, like his predecessors,
established a network of tribal loyalists in his government.
Out of Liberia’s 21 past presidents, Samuel K. Doe made history on
January
6, 1986 to have become the first indigenous person to be inaugurated as
elected president.
Following the social, economic and political problems that the country
encounter even long after the rule of the string of Americo-Liberians,
some argued that Doe exemplified the incapability of native Liberians
to
govern themselves.
That not withstanding it is worth noting that Doe indeed registered
some
marks of achievement during his rule as president. For instance it is
in
Doe’s era that a truly autonomous constitution was drafted. The
creation
of four more counties and the introduction of a multi-party system of
government all occurred during his rule. However, it is believed that
his
misdeeds outweigh his achievements. He completely lost a unique
opportunity to radically change the country and head it in the right
direction where Liberians would take charge of their own destiny
without
any fear of intimidation and discrimination. Instead he failed to unite
all Liberians, and intensified the practice of tribalism thereby
heightening tribal sentiment coupled with social and economic turmoil.
It
is these characteristics that led to the crumbling of military rule and
fueled the over 10 years of civil crisis in Liberia.
Politically Doe represented a leader hungry for power. As the Nigerian
journalist Ray Ekpu put it, “power like liquor, has a strong aroma and
like liquor when taken in large quantities, it is capable of
intoxicating
the consumer”. Doe was power intoxicated and saw enemies where there
were
none and saw no friends where there were many. It was as if the gods
were
angry and intended to destroy him. He was power intoxicated, mad with
the
power that he had ruthlessly acquired and ruthlessly maintained, until
the
very intoxication led to his fall.
The United States of America (USA) cannot go without blame for the
political nightmare in Liberia. The US supported the ruthless dictator
for
10 years. The US Department of State endorsed the disputed results of
the
1985 elections. Between the 1980’s and 1990’s, US aid to Liberia stood
at
500 million dollars. But this is another topic, which I hope to revisit. sometime soon.
About the author:
Charles L. Massaquoi, International Journalist, Poet, Media Analyst/
Consultant, and Scripturologist studied Religion and History at Andrews
University, Berrien Springs, Michigan USA. He received his Bachelor of
Biblical Theology from Therapon University, St. Thomas USVI, and the
Master of Journalism from the Nordic College of Journalism, Mullsjö,
Sweden.
Mr. Massaquoi is a published writer, a number of his articles have been
published on the internet. Some of his writings had been published by
well-known magazines such as Time Magazine, Focus on Africa Magazine,
The
Pepper Bird Magazine.The Lundian, The Radiation, Foot Print Magazine,
and
Africa Forum. In addition, he has written twenty one poems. His poems
have
been published by Poetry International, Maryland, USA. One of the
poems, A
New Liberia is a masterpiece.
As an International Journalist, he had traveled to many parts of the
world. He speaks English, Swedish, and three African languages from
Liberia, West Africa. He is the Publisher/Managing Editor of Africa
Talking
Drum online magazine. Africa Talking Drum has become a reliable source
for
African News.
Mr. Massaquoi was born in Firestone, Margibi County, Liberia. His
hobbies
are playing basketball, reading, writing, traveling, Athletics ,
listening
to music, and teaching.
Mr. Massaquoi and his family currently reside in Malmö city, Sweden. |