*Our people want a new path to greatness

By Jide Ajani,   Deputy editor

Presidential candidate of the National Democratic Coalition, NDC, of Liberia, Professor Ambassador Dew Tuan Wreh Mayson, says October presidential election in the country would be a golden opportunity for the people to define a new path to greatness and unity.

Mayson  also stated that an administration led by him would ensure that Nigeria begins to reap the dividends of her contribution to the enthronement of peace and stability in Liberia.

Mayson, who is the candidate of the opposition coalition comprising eight political parties in Liberia, disclosed to Sunday Vanguard in an exclusive interview, that Liberians were more poised now, than ever before, to re-direct their destiny for the better and were in the mood for a re-birth which the opposition coalition is bringing to the table.

“The present administration led by President Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson promised so much in words but delivered so little to the people of Liberia in the area of reconciliation and unity”, he  explained, stressing that the regime of disillusionment  being foisted on the innocent people of Liberia “is the driving spirit behind the massive angst and rejection of the president and her Unity Party”.

The opposition presidential candidate explained that14 years of civil strife did not do any good for Liberia and the relics of the very reasons the country went to war still abound in some instances.

“But the policies of this government have not led to the reconciliation that we seek.

“We went to war not because we didn’t have roads in Liberia; in fact, we had more roads before the war than we have now.

“We went to war not because we didn’t have good schools; in fact the schools we had then were more and better than what we have today.

“We need a government that would make the reconciliation of our people a central issue so that we can avoid the type of uprising that we witnessed in the Arab world.

“I have no doubt in my mind that if backward policies continue to underdevelop the nations of Africa, definitely, the people will rise up, too and the only way to avoid that is to work towards the satisfaction of the material and spiritual needs of the African people.

“Our people in Liberia are prepared to do just that at the polls on October 11 because the mantra now is that the day of election should come quickly so that this administration can be voted out”, he said.

Asked what the average Liberian should look forward to from the opposition coalition,  Mayson  outlined his vision for the people of Liberia.

Firstly, he said in general terms, the best of what the Sirleaf-Johnson administration has provided would be the least his administration would give the people.

“Liberians should expect the next six years to be far better than what they got in the last six years.  The unemployment situation in our country shall be tackled head on.

“85% of our people are unemployed and when a man is unemployed and he’s not able to provide for his family in terms of healthcare, good food and school fees of his children, he becomes frustrated.  What is more, for me, such a man then begins to lose the dignity of his being as a man and that is our number one economic policy, JOB CREATION.

“Yes, the government says it is doing something but what is it doing”, he asked?

The presidential candidate answered the question himself:  “This administration practices a policy of taxation.

“And for me, I would be asking a company that comes to set up shop in Liberia not how much tax it would pay but how many jobs that would be created.  So, the creation of jobs would be our number one policy, much different from what this government is doing.

“After 165 years of national independence, only 15% of our people are literate.  We plan to tackle that too because a people that is educated can provide development”.

On the role of Nigeria as a stabilizing nation on the continent of Africa and in Liberia, specifically,  Mayson said:

“Thank you to the Nigerian people and the Nigerian government because of the support they’ve always given Liberia, and especially because there is no other nation that has done so much or spilled more blood to ensure that there is peace and stability in Liberia than Nigeria.  Nigeria is the only country that has devoted the most resources.

“That is why we urge the Nigerian people and the Nigerian government to continue to look into the activities in Liberia.

“It is our sincere hope and belief that the Nigerian government would begin to participate in the dividends of peace that this nation has helped to restore in our country Liberia.

“Unfortunately, the present government has not looked to Nigeria in terms of opening its doors to the country.

“But the few Nigerian businesses that have been set up in Liberia have been through our own efforts, companies like UBA Bank, GT Bank, EMZOR Pharmaceuticals and Mutual Benefits Assurance, an insurance company.  But on the whole, when the present government is looking for business, it thinks of Europe and United States of America.

“But our government would look to Nigeria so that the industry and expertise that abound in this country can also be replicated in Liberia and we would strengthen the relationship”.

READ FULL INTERVIEW NEXT SUNDAY.