When Lawlessness Prevails…

Few weeks ago, Liberians had a taste of electoral violence, an unlawful means of protest, which led to gun fire, also unlawful, and death(s); few days ago, some Liberians openly burned the Norwegian flag, another unlawful means which I think, signifies the declaration of war, in protest that President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf didn’t deserve the Nobel Peace Prize; yesterday aggrieved students took to the streets to wage their anger on state authorities and which led to the damage of some vehicles and today, the violence continued. I stood saddened and regretful as I saw young Liberians, under the umbrella of aggrieved students which I still cannot believe, ragging havoc on government and private properties today in protest of their vacation job stipends. Standing about one hundred yards from the scene, I watched cars and window glasses of government buildings being damaged without remorse. The perpetrators called themselves “vacation job students,” something I still find very hard to believe that students will go out of their common senses when they feel disenfranchised about a process. The president intervened in yesterday's event and everyone thought the situation had calmed down, but it turned out to be worst. In response to the situation, the government of Liberia declared curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Why will young people choose to express their concerns in such a gullible manner? Why will state authorities not avoid such happenings? When will some group of people learn how to express their concerns responsibly and when will authorities listen to these concerns and find a common ground, if any? When will Liberians respect the laws and state authorities? Is there something fundamentally wrong with our society? Is lawlessness prevailing in Liberia? Indeed, lawlessness is prevailing and Liberians in general need to understand who they are, where they come from, where they are presently, and where they want to go. Since the government of Liberia, through the Monrovia City Corporation, declared Christmas package for students,the selection process, which I witnessed, I felt it would have ended in a complete hullabaloo. The selection process incorporated non-students, most of whom were wayward street boys, which was against the nomenclature, “Vacation Job Students.” I also noticed some older men and women who have passed school going ages, demanding their stipends. This is totally unacceptable! State authorities need to be cognizant of administrative malpractices in any given situation. It was also noticed that many of the protestors did not work at all but are now demanding their benefits. THIS IS HIGHLY UNFAIR! How was the monitoring of workers done? Were there concerns about attendance and absenteeism? In my opinion, everybody involved is to be blamed as authorities need to learn how to begin and end processes in an orderly manner and aggrieved persons need to respect authorities and the laws and channel their concerns peacefully. If Liberians must restore the national systems of order, the law MUST prevail at all cost! When lawlessness prevails, these are the results to expect:

Sellers Versus Buyers - A Game worth Playing

This time of the year in Liberia is usually marked by interesting exchanges in many forms between sellers and buyers. As sellers chant over their goods to attract buyers, buyers get confused as to who to buy from and how to avoid buying duplicate or poor quality products. Many low priced and poor quality goods are imported into the country at this time all because of the Christmas and New Year celebrations. What to buy and what to sell are the biggest questions buyers and sellers ask themselves as they go out to engage each other on a field with no referees. As I walked in the midst of a thick crowd in the Red Light market, I only saw myself surrounded by nothing but sellers. Their stinging breaths coupled with offensive sweat scents made me nauseated, but I could not hold my breath as I was curious to snap a photo of sellers and buyers using their intellectual bargaining powers to overcome each other. “Buy your whole year eating”. Buy it fifty; don’t buy it hundred, that whole year using”. “Buy clothes; don’t buy food”. “Spend money on clothes; don’t act cheap”. “How much, how much move from here”. These are chants that are usually heard in the jam packed Red Light market of Paynesville where many petty traders converge for their daily chores. Despite the courage and enthusiasm to sell, many sellers seem to be challenged by the huge number of sellers concentrated in one locality and selling mostly the same goods for very insignificant profits. Interestingly, not all sellers are real sellers. Some are defined criminals! The RULE OF THUMB IS DON’T SELL IF YOU CANNOT BUY, AND DON’T BUY IF YOU CANNOT SELL. In short, sellers are buyers as well as buyers are sellers.

"Pem-Pem Man Na Do it Again"

Pem-Pem motor cycles are a huge benefit to the transport industry in Liberia, but how ordinary Liberians consider pem-pem riders might be far from reality. A lot of accidents involving pep-pem riders occur on a daily basis in Monrovia, and the general conclusion is, pem-pem riders are always responsible. The perception many people have about pem-pem riders have shaped the thinking of even health workers who attend to injured pem-pem riders, yet these struggling people transport market women, professional people,students, and police officers to work, school or other places.sometimes the police often use pem-pem rders to track traffic violators. . Despite all of the good things about pem-pem riders, many still label them as criminals, careless drivers and more over NONE LIVING THINGS. Some who drive light and heavy vehicles are serious rivals to pem-pem to the extent that they [pem-pem] are delibrately knocked down while in the traffic. Some drivers claim that pem-pem should not be on the main road. All of these have been said based on today's incident which involved a truck driver and a pem-pem rider along with an immigration officer riding in the Duala area when suddenly a truck, TT 467, knocked the two down with the immigration officer, a lady, was seen with an injured leg and claiming that she could not walk all by herself. The pem-pem rider jumped and escaped while the lady suffered the consequences of a careless and wicked truck driver.Interestingly, I was also on a another pem-pem when I arrived on the scene, few seconds after the incident had occured."Pem-pem man na do it again", someone said from a crowd of onlookers. Guilty was the name of the pem-pem rider immediately after the accident. In monrovia, once an accident occurs involving a pem-pem rider, a conclusion is that pem-pem caused that accident. This is not fair and justice should be given to these hard working man who are a big help to the transport industry.

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While it is true that pem-pem riders take advantage of the jammed traffic, some drive recklessly and even cause injuries to their passengers and sometimes pedestrans. Many issues surrounding traffic violations and passengers and drivers rights are yet to be addressed by the Liberia national Police. Professional judgement should not be based on how people in general feel about pem-pem riders. A fair play is needed!

Saki is Back to the Bloggosphere!

I have been in the midst of many things and working and schooling at the same time. Since last year, I haven't been blogging on my personal blog and Ceasefire Liberia which I had used to get my stories and personal experiences to the outside world. However, I AM BACK! After graduating from college last year, i had to find a job, plan for graduate studies and work on other personal agandas. For these, I had to abandon the bloggosphere and a lot of things that connected me to people, places and events. Interestingly, I will be blogging from the eastern part of Monrovia, where i am originally from but i stayed away for five years in Paynesville City which is on the north of Monvovia. After five years of my stay in paynesville, I was able to link my social and professional life to the outside world through blogging, grassroot community actions, academic promotion and many more. I salute everyone who may have contributed to my stay in Paynesville. Memories will continue to live on especially the shared experiences during the 2011 elections period and the days of WOCYMES. I am back to the bloggosphere as a physically, emotionally and professionally changed man with experiences in promoting education, environmental advocacy and campaign, health promotion and politics. My social life should not be questioned as i am an atom of an omnipresent social molecule. Blogging controls part of my life, so let's get started again! Let me say thanks to Shelby Grossman and Ruthie Arkerman, founder of Ceasefire Liberia for inspiring me. Hats-off to you all!