SOURCE: JALLAH E. GRAYFIELD, III
When he was finally declared free from political bondage and captivity,
the erudite state man Benoni Urey voiced out his quest to contest the
Liberian Presidency come 2017.
He sees himself as the only man on the ground who stands ready to
succeed Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and fast track the development of
the country from where the female president will stop. This he has
indicated in the loudest tone on local and international media.
But is Urey really prepared for the first job in the land, can he stand
the headache, the political pressure and all the wahala associated with
the presidency, what kind of president does Liberia really need in the
first place?
There are in fact many people who think, Urey is a “Congo Man” and that
he is no different from the Tubmans, Tolberts, the Sirleafs and their
likes, and giving him state power would be like putting old wine in new
bottles.
Mixed views have emerged, and continue to emerge since Mr. Urey
announced his presidential ambition; many see him as an associate of a
detained war crime convict Charles Taylor who was the master of
destruction and death through wars in the MRU basin.
But others see him as a very good man who can better stir the affairs
of the state after madam President. He is being considered by many as a
patriotic Liberian who has lots of investments in Liberia that are
benefiting the ordinary people through employment, as well as his
investment in the human resource of the country.
Since he declared his presidential bid, Benoni has come under
suppressive political fire, that he is not the right man at this time
and he should be politically baptized and natured, while waiting for the
election after 2017.
Their argument is Benoni has got no orientation in politics and might just be learning on the job.
Granted that he is not a politician by birth, which of course any well
minded person might think that politics is not tied to people when they
are born, but they are schooled to be veteran politicians, and not even
all the brains who read politics are the best politicians, but yet
economist and people in other fields can be the very best politicians
one could ever imagine.
When Augustine Kpehe N’Gafuan was appointed as Foreign Minister by
Madam President Several years ago, not many persons knew he could have
performed exceptionally well as he is, the arguments were, he is not a
diplomat, he is not schooled in the area of diplomacy and he could be a
failure, I personally differed with those arguments, astoundingly
Ngafuan proves to be one of the best the foreign Ministry had ever
produced and can boast of.
The Liberian politics is often surrounded by loud mouth criticisms,
like Urey himself criticizing President Sirleaf for abandoning Liberians
in the face of an Ebola outbreak in Liberia, but contrarily, Urey had
not assumed the presidency, but a little reaction from the seat of the
presidency on his criticism of President Sirleaf had sparked out harsh
words between his team and the presidential spokesman Piah.
Urey’s team had not allowed sleeping dog to lie, nor hear Liberians
response to Jerolimix Piah’s comments and description of Urey as a
farmer, jumped and threatened Piah with a law suit. That from whence I
saw it was wrong and did not show tolerance from the camp of a heavy
weight political figure who wants to lead our country. That was more a
like a political sycophancy which should not be condoned nor supported
by Urey himself, because supporting such, will send different message
to the voting populace which could imperil Urey’s presidential ambition.
Leaders need to be tolerance, that’s one of the paramount attributes of
anyone who is called to leadership, not only the presidency, but in
all spheres of society. My experience with Urey for the last six years
as Manager of His Love FM 105.1 and TV-Channel 7, had so far put me in a
position to believe that the man has a good level of tolerance and
stands a better chance for the big job.
Even with his ringer face that scares many people coming in contact
with him for the first time, he does not easily turn down people even if
he disagrees with their positions on things. Howbeit, Liberians are
concerned about Urey’s political life and his educational surroundings.
A western magazine quotes Urey in this manner:
“At this point in the live of our nation, we need somebody with the
requisite experience and know how to run the country. I have worked in
several governments; I have both political and business experience. I
have the requisite ability, and I have been able to show that I can use
all of these things to run the country” Urey told the African News
Urey a Congo Man:
It is clear that Urey was a Taylor’s associate, and that he is a
Congo Man born of a Kpelle woman and grew and schooled in Bong County,
there is no doubt about that, but what matters now is that Liberians
have to be cautious about this divisive politics and concentrate on how
to build their war tattered state.
There have been, and there still are comments by many Liberians that
Urey is a Congo man just like Tubman, Tolbert, and even Ellen who are
responsible for the backward state of our nation and we should not
entrust him with the presidency.
From whence I see it, this is divisive and borders on huge sentiments
of tribalism, for I believe that Liberia has only one set of people, and
that the state is not divided between Congo and native. I truly believe
that when one gets the requisite education, get a great degree of
civilization and live an appreciable life, Liberians consider such
person as Congo.
Benoni is a native Kpelleh Name. Benoni in the kpelle Vernacular Means
to drop the Rice grain down, in the village when kids are growing up,
they eat in the same dish pan, usually a law is passed by the oldest
with the consent of the others, that anyone who drops a grain of rice
will sit and watch his friends take one handful each, to deter the
others from wasting the food.
That’s the historicity of that name Benoni. No doubt that Urey speaks a
very good Kpelle. Tubman was a native of Cape Palmas in Maryland
county, he spoke the local vernacular, but yet he is considered today by
many as a Congo man even after empowering disadvantaged Liberians to
make ends meet and make them rise from their slumber. From 1944-1971
Tubman’s presidency was marked by great changes in the economic, even
though he is still being considered an “elite Congo man.”
Urey a Taylor Associate:
Let’s agree that Urey was an associate of the former President Charles
Taylor, so were many of our public officials including the Head of state
President Sirleaf. Do you know that the Madam was a close friend to
Taylor when Benoni was nowhere around, where was Urey when Madam
President and her likes at the African Sub Committee Meeting in
September 1989 in the US planned to overthrow Samuel Doe, so is he more
an associate than Madam President?
I certainly believe that one thing that continues to divide us as a
people is labeling a group of people as associate of our past
governments or leaders, that has left many people dead and continues
to hunt many and make them suffer even in this new dispensation.
After the 1980 coup in Liberia, Master Sergeant Samuel Kayon Doe, the
Military coup leader and his men, labeled Liberians who had fought for
the improvement of the Liberian state as Tolbert’s Followers, officials
of government were killed indiscriminately and others made to flee to
exile. When Charles Taylor won the 1997 election, he set up a system
that only those loyal to him got the biggest Jobs and make the biggest
money at the disadvantage of the majority poor.
After him, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf still see people who were close to
Taylor as threats to her regime, she puts many of them though qualified
aside and picked few who had been long time friends, many of those
Taylor’s associates are today around without jobs, those who could not
make ends meet in Liberia went into self imposed exile.
Now toady a close Taylor Associate, Urey has declared his intention for
the presidency, but yet we hear people say, he is a Taylor Boy and
should not be entrusted with the presidency.
If we say this, then Madam President should not be in the driver’s
seat today, reason been, she was a founder of the NPFL rebel group that
created carnage for our people, she admitted given ten thousand dollars
to the NPFL as humanitarian support, even though the NPFL was not a
humanitarian group but a executioner establishment.
But there are few things that many of us don’t understand. Do you know
that Charles Taylor was overwhelmingly elected in 1997 as president of
Liberia because the Liberian people pardoned him in spite of the mayhem
he caused them, why do you think Liberians lined the street to welcome
Taylor from Gbarnga in the mid 1990s? These are questions to ponder
In 2005, when Liberians including me stood under the scorching sun to
vote Madam sirleaf to power, meant that the Liberian people had forgiven
her, in-spite of her contribution of ten thousand dollars to rebels to
kill and destroy our land…
Senator Prince Y. Johnson, now an evangelist, in September 1990,
slaughtered and mutilated the remains of ex-president Samuel Doe, but
yet he was elected, that speaks of forgiveness and reconciliation
amongst thyself.
I certainly, feel that it is about time to carefully examine these
names that are surfacing in our political terrains. Urey is just one of
the few, though the Mills Jones’ presidential story is not clear, many
names would surfaced just at the birth of 2017 like Speaker Alex J.
Tyler who had begun touring the country on a political mission.
In 2005, Liberia recorded the largest presidential candidates in its
history, 22 Persons were eyeing the presidency, but some were dropped
along the way because they were not qualified, in 2011, the Number
reduced and a female president was produced.
Eighty –five percent of those who were recorded for these presidential
contestations were from the Diaspora, they were completely
disconnected to their ancestral land and their own people, and as such
they could not just fit in the political land space in Liberia, their
distance connection, and their simply lack of understanding of the
Liberian geo-politics made them complete novices to the politics of
land.
From these Experiences, and from whence I see it, I think Liberia
really needs a “ Made in Liberia President”. A man or woman, who had
resided with his or her people, know their problems, feel those problems
and had helped to solve the Liberian people’s problems.
I think Liberians are tired with these brief case politicians who come
from America and other parts of the world vacationing only to take part
in elections.
This is why I would like to salute President Sirleaf, when she lost the
1997 election, Madam President did not totally abandon her people, even
though the country was hostile and politically charged, Madam Sirleaf
organized an NGO called Mesuagon that operated in several counties in
Liberia.
That NGO, Mesuagon touched the lives of Liberians who I believed even
remember the name of madam Sirleaf on the 2005 ballot box that made her
president.
Unlike other Liberian politicians, they usually abandon their
constituents and hurry back abroad dashing the hopes of their
supporters, where is Madam Masangie Cecelia N’debe, the Loud speaking
female politician who said Ellen stole her votes, Dr. James Gueseh, GD
Galapor and others. They promised to build bridges where there were no
waters for Liberians if they won the presidential elections, where are
they today?
From whence I see it, I think choosing a Liberian from the soil to make
him or her our president would be a great thing, and I have no doubt
that one person who is capable for the job would be Urey, his
contribution to our nation’s economy is enviable, his impact on the
lives of the haves-not is incalculable.
Since the evolvement of the middle class in the 19th century, Liberia
had not had a middle class, but today Liberia can boast of the emergence
of such class by mentioning Urey, Dr. Kpoto, and Ambassador John
Gbeisay amongst others. Outside of government employ, Urey like Dr.
Kpoto John Gbeisay and even Cyril Allen continues to provide thousands
of jobs for destitute Liberians who don’t see government job as the only
means of survival.
With his refined education, a salaried professional and a manager above
all, Urey remains a blessing in putting the human resource of the
country back on course with the infusion of more dollars in the
education of young people in all spheres of life.
Born on June 22, 1957, Urey is a Graduate of Cuttington University, and
holds a master degree From the University of southern California, and
married to Mai Bright Urey
Just as Africa’s biggest Freedom Fighter Nelson Mandela never wavered
in his devotion to democracy, equality and learning, despite terrible
provocation, and that he never answered racism with racism, neither did
he fight the white man for suppressing the blacks when he took over as
President, so I think Urey can
What is expected of the businessman turned politician, and all other
politicians eying the high seat in the land , is to remain an
inspiration to all Liberians who are oppressed and deprived; to all
those who are opposed to oppression and deprivation, this Nelson
Mandela’s style of leadership if followed, can bring a better result.
To those who are throwing their hats in the presidential race
including, like the scholarly Benoni Urey must take also take this
advice from General Collins Powell.
“Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through
argument, debate, and doubt to offer a solution everybody can
understand.”
Be the first to comment