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As we say in our local Ghanaian parlance; “Thing for you, never loss”. 

Who says the mafia work done by the “International Forces” to prevent George Oppong Weah from becoming President of Liberia at his first attempt, was going to prevent the football star from ever becoming the President of Liberia?  

Way back in Kotoka Primary School in Burma Camp, where I had my primary school education, I was taught a poem in class 2 titled, “Try Again”.  “Try again, try again. If at first, you don’t succeed, try again then your courage will appear. If you persevere, you will conquer.  Never fear, try again”.   


George Weah must have also learned to recite the “Try Again” poem so after he lost at the first attempt, he persevered and tried again and he has conquered.

Out of sheer tenacity and a determined will to lead his people, George Oppong Weah did not relent in his march to occupy the highest office of the Land of his birth. 

Who can deny the fact that George Weah has proven to be an achiever? 

From the streets of the slum areas of Clara Town in Monrovia, where he was born on October 01, 1966; to his struggling days as an amateur footballer, through his successful career as an outstanding and extremely accomplished world class footballer, George Tawlon Manneh Oppong Ousman Weah, has, through dint of hard work, self-sacrifice, perseverance, and a strong believe in who he is destined to be, become the 25th President of Liberia.  Praise the Lord!!!!

At his birth; during his naming ceremony; during his infant days of wetting and soiling his pants; through his growing up in the slum areas of Clara Town; which of his family members would have believed that Goerge Weah would one day become the President of the Republic of Liberia?

During the heady days of what looked like a seamless and endless civil war; who would have believed that Liberia would one day walk up the path of accepted democratic norms to witness the kind of smooth handing over ceremony the world stayed glued to as President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf finished her two successive terms in Office, and handed over the baton to President George Oppong Weah? 

I listened to the victory speech (not a plagiarised speech), of President Goerge Oppong Weah, and I respected the tone and tenor of the speech.  

I was particularly enthused by the fact that the Speech avoided too many wild and unachievable promises. 

President Weah chose his words carefully and stayed on the straight and narrow, as opposed to walking on the path of wild promises and endless big loose talk.  

While focusing a lot on foreign policy because of the need to properly position Liberia amongst the comity of nations as a result of the country once perching on the precipice of being a “Failed State”, President Weah did not run away from the promise to give meaningful existence to his people by building on the beginnings of his predecessor, and working to ensure that the “rebuilding process” continues so that sustainable jobs can be created via an enticing and enabling environment. 

President Weah also promised to FIGHT CORRUPTION. 

Fight Corruption? Phew!!!! 

I honestly pray President Weah does not pay only lip service to the fight against corruption and shall give more meaningful meaning to his words.

The victory is over; it is now time to roll up his sleeves and dig his feet very deep into the work of administering Liberia and giving a new lease of life to his people, and I am sure that President Weah has braced-up for the steep hills he is going to be climbing as he breathes life into his promises as well as cement the trust and confidence reposed in him by his people.

President Weah is very much aware of the enormous responsibility that has been dropped on his shoulders by his people via the massive endorsement that gave him the victory, and he CANNOT afford to disappoint his people and his country. 

Listening to the rapturous and deafening cheers and chants from the Liberian people in the chocked Peynsville stadium to witness the swearing-in of their new President, any cursory observer must have noticed the deep levels of expectation etched on the faces of the masses.  

As a footballer, George Weah endeared himself to his people and continues to remain their icon.  

I ask; As a President, will George Weah continue to remain an icon in the eyes of the people of Liberia? 

Would he? 

I honestly pray he does because if he fails, all the iconic mileage he gathered as a footballer SHALL wither away and pale into insignificance.   

I worked closely with sons and daughters from Liberia between 1996-1998, when I worked with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (Ghana Office), as a Social Services Assistant, and I can say for a fact that, Liberians can be “difficult”. 

I use the word “difficult” advisedly, but it is the word that comes readily to mind.

Maybe the “difficult” side of the Liberians I dealt with, was as a result of the civil war that ravaged their homeland and forced them into becoming refugees all over the world. 

I must say that President George Oppong Weah has a very DIFFICULT task ahead of him as he has to deal with the cage-less and very wild expectations of his “difficult” kit and kin.    

There is no doubt that George Weah rode on the crest wave of being a “Man of the People” or a “Veranda Boy”, and so the masses identify with him and believe that he also identifies with them hence the very high expectations from the grassroots. 

I heard one Liberian on BBC say that “George Weah cannot afford to fail us; if he does, then Liberia is doomed forever”; and I believe that sums up the overwhelming belief and feelings of the masses who are looking up to President Weah as a Saviour and their Messiah. 

A greater part of my joy for the emergence of Goerge Oppong Weah as President of Liberia, is rooted in the fact that his Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) Party, belongs the Centre-Left of the political divide. 

As a Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), which is also a Centre-Left Political Party belonging to the Socialist International (SI) Group of Social Democratic Parties, it is a source of pride, that, another “child” has been born into the FAMILY of Social Democratic Parties worldwide. 

Indeed, the NDC worked behind the scenes to support the CDC in various ways, and I salute all my colleagues in Leadership position, who contributed in diverse ways to support our “new born baby” to come out of the womb in Liberia. 

Politics and political alliances, is all about numbers; and the NDC is happy that we have added to the numbers in terms of Social Democratic Parties in the West African Sub Region in particular, and in African in general.

As a Vice President of the Council of African Political Parties (CAPP), and also as the President of CAPP in West Africa, I stand on the authority of the Council and also on the authority of my own mandate, to salute the People of Liberia for doing themselves and Africa/West Africa proud via the peaceful election as well as the very peaceful transfer of leadership.   

I salute President George Tawlon Manneh Oppong Ousman Weah (quite a long name huh?), for ascending to the highest Office of his Land and for convincingly flying on the wings of the extreme confidence of his countrymen/women into the office of the President of the Republic of Liberia. 

The road has certainly not been an easy one; and it is going to be even more rough as he is now firmly in the saddle. 

Having had the humble opportunity to serve Mother Ghana at the Presidency under the astute Leadership of the late President John Evans Atta Mills, I know how difficult the terrain of running the affairs of State, can be.  

Managing the affairs of State is not a Tea Party, and can be very arduous and thanklessly excruciating, and President George Weah will have to wake up to that reality and face the storms as the ship of State gets buffeted sometimes on a daily basis.  


In his bestselling book “No Easy Walk To Freedom”, Nelson Mandela wrote “There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere and many of us will have to pass through the valleys of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountain tops of our desires …”. 

It has certainly not been an Easy Walk for President George Weah as he sweated and straddled the Liberian landscape to get to where he has gotten to, and he is now going to walk through many valleys of the shadows of death before he will eventually get to his mountain tops of his desires to better the lot of his people and give new meaning to their collective existence as a People called Liberians.   

As a Christian who believes that God is the Captain of our destinies (at least mine); I know that even before Goerge Weah became a clot of blood in the womb of his mother, God had predestined that he SHALL one day become President of Liberia; and it has come to pass.  

It is my prayer that the God who has begun good works in President George Weah, shall surely accomplish it.  Amen!!!!

I sincerely wish President George Tawlon Manneh Oppong Ousman Weah, all the best and Godspeed, as he MANAGES the affairs of Liberia. 

If President Weah sticks to MANAGING the affairs of State, and does not RULE and lord it over his people, I have no doubt that President Weah will succeed.

If on the contrary, he permits the African virus of RULING rather than SERVING, to seep into his system and he becomes a megalomaniac who gets addicted to the trappings of his High Office, then President Goerge Weah will have nobody but himself to blame if his people SPIT on his grave. 

Once again, AYEKOO to the people of Liberia and a big AYEKOO to President George Tawlon Manneh Oppong Ousman Weah. 

May God bless the people of Liberia and make them GREAT and STRONG!!!!

Shalom!!!
 

Koku Anyidoho

Deputy General Secretary, National Democratic Congress (NDC)

Vice President, Council of African Political Parties (CAPP)

President, Council of African Political Parties (CAPP) West Africa.    

Founder/CEO, Atta Mills Institute (AMI)