And The Threat of Drugs And Narcotics To Our Generational Future
PHOTO: The Author
Pero M. K. Kerkula
This article seeks to challenge political pundits and to sharpen our national discourse. Our goal is to transform Liberia into a wholesome society founded on competence, merit-based appointments, and inclusivity.
After 23 years of democratic governance, Liberia continues to experience a steep decline in education and healthcare, among other critical sectors.
What Do We Make of President William R. Tolbert’s Vision?
His words still echo today: “I Will Build Thee A Great Nation” “From Mats To Mattresses” “Total Involvement For Higher Heights”
President Tolbert spoke of a Liberia defined by inclusion, prosperity, and human dignity. Forty-six years later, we must ask: Have we built that nation, or have we surrendered it to greed, war, and now to drugs?
RETROSPECT: POLITICAL UPHEAVALS SINCE APRIL 12, 1980
- *Master Sergeant Samuel K. Doe and the PRC* – The violent overthrow of the Tolbert government
- *General Thomas Quiwompah and others*
- *Colonel K. Nicholas Podier*
- *Commander-in-Chief Thomas G. Quiwonkpa* and the November 12, 1985 coup attempt
- *Charles G. Taylor’s NPFL vs. the AFL* – The beginning of the first civil war
- *Charles G. Taylor’s NPFL vs. Prince Y. Johnson’s INPFL*
- *Charles G. Taylor’s NPFL vs. Alhaji G. V. Kromah’s ULIMO*
- *Charles G. Taylor’s NPFL vs. Alhaji G. V. Kromah’s ULIMO-K*
- *Roosevelt Johnson’s ULIMO-J vs. George S. Boley’s LPC*
- *Sekou Damate Konneh’s LURD vs. Anthony Yayah Nimely’s MODEL*
- *Chairman Charles G. Bryant’s NTGL* – The National Transitional Government
- *Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf’s UP/GOL*
- *President George Manneh Weah’s CDC/GOL*
- *President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s UP/GOL* – which continues today.
THE DECLINING NATURE OF LIBERIA SINCE APRIL 12, 1980
The events listed above are more than a chronology of leaders and wars. They represent the systematic erosion of our state, our values, and the very future of our children.
The Four Pillars of Our National Decline:
*1. NEPOTISM*
Merit has been replaced by family ties, tribal affiliation, and political loyalty. From the PRC to the present, government has been treated as private property. When institutions are staffed by relatives instead of qualified professionals, service delivery collapses, public trust erodes, and young Liberians learn that who you know matters more than what you know.
*2. PUBLIC CORRUPTION*
Resources intended for education, health, and infrastructure have been looted. From wartime plunder of diamonds and timber to peacetime “ghost workers” and inflated contracts, corruption has normalized theft. When leaders act with impunity, corruption becomes the operating system of government, and national development becomes impossible.
*3. REBEL WARS*
Fourteen years of civil conflict were born of exclusion and bad governance. Warlords weaponized ethnicity and poverty, turning young people into combatants. The wars destroyed our infrastructure, claimed over 250,000 lives, and entrenched a culture where power is seized by the gun rather than earned by the ballot. That culture of violence and impunity still lingers in our politics today.
*4. DRUGS AND NARCOTICS TRAFFICKING – THE ABUSE AND DECLINE OF HUMAN GENERATIONAL DEVELOPMENT*
This is the newest and most dangerous phase of our decline. Liberia is now a transit and consumption hub for narcotics. Kush, tramadol, cocaine, and other substances are destroying an entire generation.
Drugs attack the foundation of any nation: its youth. They rob our boys and girls of their minds, their health, their education, and their productivity. Families are broken. Schools are emptied. Communities are unsafe.
Worse, drug trafficking is financed by the same networks of corruption and impunity. It thrives where borders are porous, institutions are weak, and leaders look away.
When a generation is addicted, we do not just lose workers. We lose doctors, teachers, engineers, and future leaders. This is not just a health crisis. It is a direct assault on national development and on the “Great Nation” President Tolbert envisioned.
CONCLUSION
President Tolbert called for “Total Involvement For Higher Heights.”
Since 1980, we have instead witnessed total involvement in self-interest, which has driven us to lower depths.
We cannot build a great nation on nepotism.
We cannot develop amid corruption.
We cannot progress while glorifying rebel politics.
And we will not survive if we allow drugs to consume our youth.
The task before this generation is clear: dismantle the networks of corruption and drugs, restore merit and the rule of law, and reclaim our country for the next generation.
The Liberia we build now will be the judgment of our time.
*Pero M. K. Kerkula.*
Hotel Africa Vicinity
Lower Virginia
Montserrado County
Republic of Liberia.