Filed in by Olando Testimony Zeongar – 0776819983/0880-361116/life2short4some@yahoo.com
MONROVIA, Liberia – The Managing Director of the National Port Authority (NPA), Bill Twehway, has asserted that the Federation of Liberian Youth (FLY), a youth organization, established to advocate for the well-being of young people in the country, has transformed itself into an opposition to the Government of Liberia.
Speaking Friday at the Monrovia City Hall, when he served as Key Note Speaker at program marking the installation of newly elected officials of FLY, while historicizing the formation of the youth group and juxtaposing same with what he referred to as Liberia’s checkered political history, MD Twehway averred that from a one-party dominant state, a military junta state, a pariah state, an interim arrangement state, a pseudo democratic state, a transitional state and a democratic state, in each phase of the state’s metamorphoses, the Federation of Liberian Youth has been active.
He explained that in an attempt to address the question of the youth in Liberia, the Urban Youth Council, a group whose activities were largely concentrated in urban areas, where majority of the young people did not domicile, was given birth in 1974.
But he hastened to add that “perhaps, in an attempt to address the anomaly, an Act of the National Legislature in 1978 settled the legal question, when FLY was enacted into law, thus attaining a truly national character.”
However, Mr. Twehway noted that “paradoxically, the Federation of Liberian Youth came into existence during the era of the one-party dominant rule, wherein the political ecosystem was very intolerant to dissenting views in which people bump into barriers or face disappointments, and then readjust their course.”
“Moreover, simple logic reveals that there can be no anti-thesis without the existence of the thesis. So, what then is the thesis? From the context provided supra, thesis connotes “the regime in power or status quo with all its antecedents and functionaries,” Mr. Twehway added.
“Interestingly, a youth organization, established to advocate for the wellbeing of the young people in the country, had transformed itself into an anti-thesis or “opposition” to the government,” said Twehway, who added that “the case of the anti-thesis is where our youth community fuelled hatred and extreme misrepresentations, provocations, anti-national development programs, anti- government and anti-officials, as well as the rise of anti- government groupings. That which empowers the minority and disempowers the majority of citizens.”
“Throughout my political conscious years, the Federation of Liberian Youth (FLY) has garnered a kind of reputation that is akin to a “resistant” organization, well off tangent of its core mission,” said Twehway, who disclosed that the intent of his speech was to hold a frank discussion with the view to arriving at a new paradigm, that would position FLY as the contemporary premier youth umbrella organization in the country.
Elevating his argument regarding the youthful population of the country represented by FLY transforming itself into opposition to government, Twehway then blamed the dreams of the young people not being realized in Liberia upon what he called extreme contempt for successive administrations, stating that negative agitations by the young people against constituted governments, may have set the stage for the brutal, barbaric and unprecedented overthrow of the Tolbert Regime, vis-a-vis the fourteen (14) years of civil war that resulted into the loss of thousands of lives and unimaginable destruction of properties in Liberia.
“The reality that we all have now come to grapple with, is that poor and innocent citizens pay a very high price, owing to the manner and form activism has been directed and carried out,” Twehway maintained.
‘Instrument used to fight government’
Retrospecting on Liberia’s political history, Twehway insisted that FLY, as well as other youth organizations in the country, became an instrument that was used to fight government, lamenting that such fight which was externally induced and orchestrated, was never about the interest of the young people whose business FLY was created, but politicians who desperately wanted the youth group to serve their parochial self- interest.
The NPA Managing Director further accused FLY of over the years, seeking to protect the agenda of those he referred to as a few political elites, adding that the group had also professed that until those elites had obtained state power, any regime other than the one produced by those elites, albeit democratically elected, was often opposed.
“This modus operandi had not translated into viable transformation of the organization, let alone the upliftment of the young people for over four (4) decades yearning for quality education, youth empowerment and job opportunities,” Twehway said.
Twehway added: “It is easily discernible that FLY had stuck with its god fathers even though the signs were visible that the latter’s activities and conduct were incongruous with the national interest, and represented an existential threat. Yet, FLY was prepared to provide support at whatever cost necessary, and unmindful of the consequences.”
Moreover, Twehway is of the opinion that in time past, FLY, as well as other youth organizations, agitated for “regime change” or “any change”, stating that extreme hatred for the status quo, made FLY to hate government and hail armed insurrections.
“In their “wisdom”, being the anti-thesis to government served the students’ vital interest, even when the government does good,” said Twehway, who spoke to an audience of jam-packed Monrovia City, where his boss President Weah was in attendance.
“After all, there was this indoctrination that government was set up to do good, and so, when the government does good, it should not be praised because it was part of the social contract. This indoctrination sparsely continues today. That is why a handful of our students will hatefully, with the highest degree of venom, find fault with government,” he emphasized,
Twehway continued: “Therefore, they are programmed, indoctrinated and hypnotized to condemn everything: when the government announced the waiver of tuitions and fees at the University of Liberia and all public universities, THEY WILL CONDEMN!”
“When Government builds feeder roads in their swampy communities, where some of them rode wheelbarrows to access the main street, THEY WILL CONDEMN!”
“When Government introduces a digital registration system at the University of Liberia, which is unprecedented, THEY WILL CONDEMN!”
“When Government places 2,000 health workers on payroll and sends some doctors abroad to specialize, THEY WILL CONDEMN!”
“When Government underwrites WASSCE exam fees, THEY WILL CONDEMN!”
“When Government constructs the first military hospital in the history of our country, with the biggest laboratory in West Africa, THEY WILL CONDEMN!”
“When Government provides $3 million United States Dollars to our mothers and sisters to improve their businesses, THEY WILL CONDEMN!”
“When Government complements academic excellence by sending the seven (7) top performers abroad for further studies, THEY WILL CONDEMN!”
“When Government implements the Coastal Defense Act by saving D. Tweh High School and other coastal communities, THEY WILL CONDEMN!”
“When Government institutes strong security measures thereby minimizing armed robberies, THEY WILL CONDEMN!”
“And when Government arrests top officials and prosecutes them, thereby setting up a solid foundation in the fight against corruption, THEY WILL STILL CONDEMN!”
“Resistant” philosophy meaningless”
Twehway informed his audience that the political ecosystem that had existed under the one-party dominant era no longer exists in Liberia’s contemporary body polity, and therefore, it is meaningless to maintain what he terms “resistant” philosophy.
He said under the one-year rule of President Weah, the semblance of youth empowerment being witnessed is a clear manifestation that the policy environment is now different in the country, with youth development programs taking center stage in government’s policy interventions, something he bragged of being a far cry from the environment that FLY was thrust into yesteryear.
“Notwithstanding the new policy environment, there are still those who see themselves in the same perpetual anti-thesis stance, and are labeled, rightly though, as trouble makers by the Liberian People,” said the NPA Managing Director, saying, “the records are there, that for over the last three (3) decades, the Liberian People have resolved not to entrust them with state power.”
Twehway citing an example that proponents of the anti-thesis stance against government have been denied state power for decades, said the 1997 elections spoke volume for the perpetual anti-thesis proponents, when statistically, 90 percent of them could not obtain 3 percent of the votes.”
“Also, similar trends were repeated in the 2011 and 2017 general elections. Some of them could not win votes in their own villages, and for the sake of survival, some of the anti-thesis gurus became door boys, ‘SOJA” boys, security guards and watch men to those very leaders they had criticized.”
He intimated that the electorate who those labeled as troublemakers, had branded as unsophisticated and illiterates paid them back at the polls, stating, “yesterday, the streets were clogged when they made forays, as people were ecstatically and fanatically aroused by their presence; but today, they had dissipated from the political stage with a facade of heroic progressivism.”
“What does this tell us? That our people do recognize destructive advocacy and that perpetual anti-thesis agitations can result in relegation of status, and diminished political influence in society,” he added.
‘Investment in youth population’
Twehway having exhausted what he called a frank assessment of FLY’s activities over the years, noted that the question that still lingers on is “how do we invest in youth and mobilize the population to action? I shall now attempt to carve the synthesis to the thesis and anti- thesis, which I believe offers a new era of hope and renewal for FLY.”
He said the way to begin was to look forward, particularly considering what he calls the new outlook that takes into account Liberia’s current political ecosystem, vis-a-vis the aspirations of the young people.
Firstly, Twehway warned that if youth investment will be facilitated in the country, what he termed the toxic mindset that had characterized FLY’s activities over the years, which he said saw government and its functionaries as enemies, must be cleansed.
“This administration under the dynamic leadership of President Dr. George Manneh Weah can never be an enemy to the young people of Liberia, especially having enjoyed immense support from within its ranks and files, Twehway stressed.
Therefore, the NPA boss cautioned that FLY must readjust its culture in exchange for a new sustained course for youth engagement, empowerment and advancement.
“Secondly, new ideas, grounded in empathy for the disadvantaged which takes into consideration youth-driven practical programs, immersed in deliberate policy interventions by government, should be the new modus operandi,” he said.
“Thirdly, FLY should not assume the contradictions of past leadership that had remained largely impervious to change, especially with the changing dynamics, because the current political ecosystem is vast different. A government overwhelmingly elected by the Liberian people, of course with support from your membership – the young people, is amenable to you.”
Fourthly, Twehway boasted that President Weah and the CDC-led government in the shortest possible time, has provided more opportunities in the governance architecture of the state for some members of FLY, saying, “what this reality demonstrates is that those young people, most of whom voices were not heard and which were the bases for unleashing the anti-thesis venom, are now pretty seated at the decision making table of the country.”
Hear Twehway: “Remarkably, this CDC government has manifested the “future leader” doctrine within a relatively short period of time. Today, unlike the past where others incorporated youths in government who were highly connected, those currently rendering services to the state represent the faces of majority of you – the young people.”
“Fifthly, many of you are also quite knowledgeable that Liberia is a signatory to many youth conventions and protocols, but “domestication” has always been a stumbling block. By domestication, I mean those protocols and conventions signed by Liberia must form part of our statutes.”
In conclusion, Twehway noted that he was of the belief that FLY’s call to action postulates that the young people in Liberia will constructively engage government and do so in a collaborative spirit, and advance the causes that the youth hold dearly, as well as projecting young peoples’ hopes to national leaders and development partners in the spirit of dialogue and constructive engagement, which he said is equally important, because it solves youth powerlessness which often leads to violence.
He said that the CDC-led government is giving the young people a louder voice and an unprecedented seat at the decision-making table, while at the same time making appropriate policy interventions to addressing their wellbeing.
“That was why President Dr. George Manneh Weah and the mighty Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) government provided tuition-free tertiary education to all public universities, and foreign scholarships to students in various disciplines. These are demonstrable outcomes of this government’s commitment to the youth of this country,” said Twehway.
‘FLY’s role’
He informed FLY that its role is to partner with government to make society better and not to be an opposition to the status quo, saying, “this is the synthesis and call to action. When we delve into negativities against our own country, especially in this era of technological advancement where information, real or fake, is obtained at a heartbeat, development takes a nose dive because foreign direct investments are stalled, and our international development partners pause whatever development assistance to the country.”
“In other words, FLY’s role is not meant to create a bad picture of government, because it stifles progress and no one wins,” Twehway stated.
