– Which side Is President George Manneh Weah looking at?
By Samuel G. Dweh, Contributing Writer
The issue of level of education of the various presidential candidates in Liberia’s 2017 elections vis-à-vis their abilities to take on the mantle of leadership featured prominently during the course of the campaign.
It was who knows book and who doesn’t. The rest of it is history.
So, with the victory of President George Weah and his Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) now, one wonders how is the issue of the “Bookish” and the “Educated” people issue playing up, as presidential nominees are now going to the Senate for confirmation hearings?
This article is divided into four phases: introduction, definition of ‘bookish’ and ‘educated’, difference between ‘bookish’ and ‘educated’, examples of ‘bookish’ people and ‘educated’ people, and recommendations to President Weah.
INTRODUCTION
From the day world football legend-turned politician George Manneh Weah entered Liberia’s Presidential contest, beginning from 2005, he has received tons of job applications from thousands of Liberian jobseekers who (believed) he would win.
And he won the contest in 2017. On his victory, the number of these job seekers has tripled or quadrupled in tonnage. Majority of these applicants are those who pumped huge sum of money into Mr. Weah’s campaign, or had shouted, “muyan!…muyan!” or “Ooooooooooosay!” as a means of grabbing the attention of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) candidate standing by.
These job applicants are divided into two categories: The “bookish” and the “educated” people.
Do you want me tell you the definition of “bookish” and “educated” and the difference between both words? I’ll do that, but it will in the ‘Liberian context’ or the connotative meaning (as perceived by most Liberians).
DEFINITION OF ‘BOOKISH’ AND ‘EDUCATED’
This word has a literal or dictionary meaning. Google.com defines ‘bookish’ (adjective) as “(of a person or way of life) devoted to reading or writing rather than worldly interest”.
The Liberian context of ‘bookish’ refers to mere talking by a person on his or her mere academic knowledge or brag (boast) on school certificates, but cannot put to practice (implement) the academic knowledge he or she brags about. Another meaning for ‘effect’, as used in this Google’s definition, means ‘action’.
Even the literal meaning of ‘bookish’, according to Google’s definition, implies a non-bodily action: “…reading or writing…”
“Educated”
In the Liberian context—or the connotative meaning—,‘educated’ (adjective) implies implementation or “action” (by a person) based on natural ability (talent) or skills acquired through self-teaching or coaching by another person.
DIFFERENCE: “BOOKISH” AND “EDUCATED”
Taking the Liberian context on both words, I will give only one difference. Here is it: The “bookish person” (insert ‘Liberian’) only talks plenty. He or she doesn’t put to practice what he or she learned from a school.
Simply put: He or she doesn’t implement. Another meaning of the word ‘implement’ (verb) is get one’s ideas or acquired knowledge working. Googlwe.com defines implement: “put (a decision, plan, or agreement, etc.) into effect”.
EXAMPLES OF ‘BOOKISH’ PEOPLE
During the leadership of Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, we saw several of these people on newspapers, on television’s screen, or at workshops.
At workshops, we heard their academic achievements being read by the program’s Master of Ceremony—sometime chopping off ten percent of the time allotted to the program.
One of the ‘bookish’ person (female) presented doctorate degree in agriculture to President Ellen Sirleaf for employment, was appointed as Minister of Agriculture (MOA), but Liberians couldn’t see her back-yard garden, the Country begged for rice (Liberia’s stable food) from foreign nations (especially USA, India and China) throughout her five years-plus tenure over the MOA.
Sometime later, the President pulled her off from her post—on lack of implementation of her ‘agricultural knowledge. But she appointed another ‘bookish’ person (mal)—doctorate degree holder in agriculture, over the MOA—whose ‘achievements’ were the same as his predecessor’s—lack of implementation.
Another ‘bookish’ man (known for loquacity on Liberia’s political advocacy field) was placed over the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs & Tourism (MICAT)—during Madam Ellen Sirleaf’s presidency—after he profanely addressed the Head of State on her personal life, saying she “desecrated the Office of the President…”
But Liberia’s cultural sector (especially the tourism industry) was dormant throughout his leadership of MICAT. The President pulled off from MICAT—on his lack of implementation of his ‘academic knowledge’.
Over the Ministry of Education—during Madam Ellen Sirleaf’s presidency—was another ‘bookish’ person (female) with a doctorate degree in Education. But the Minister couldn’t implement her ‘educational knowledge’
This was proven in the President’s description of the Country’s education system as a ‘mess’. So the Head of State sacked this ‘bookish’ woman.
These are the three people whose (theoretical) works in Government Madam Ellen Johnson I remembered when I was preparing this article.
EXAMPLES OF ‘EDUCATED’ PEOPLE
Being ‘educated’, to me, is not measured by a person’s ‘deep academic knowledge’, or the number of university degrees he or she has, but by the tangible economic, social structures his or her ‘academic knowledge’ has erected (implemented) to improve the living conditions of everybody of the nation.
On this understanding, I would always give the ‘achievement flower’ not to a ‘bookish’ person (in the Liberian contest of the word). Below are my picks of the flower.
George Manneh Weah—Liberia’s current Head of State
With the ideas of dribbling skills and scoring ideas he learned in football academies in Cameroon, England, France, and Italy, Mr. Weah—raised in ‘Gibraltar’, a slum neighbor of Clara Town, a suburb of Liberia’s capital city Monrovia, in the 1980s—raked all the top crowns in football in one year (1995): Africa Football of the Year, Europe’s Best Player of the Year, World Best Footballer of the Year.
Manneh apply bookishness (plenty talking) to win these awards, or to impress members of the FIFA’s body that saw him ‘qualified’ for each award—in consensus with Sports journalists (from different countries) who reached unanimity on ‘George Weah of Liberia’.
World’s conic footballers—like Roger Miller of Cameroon and Marco Van Basten of Holland—had been on the European football field before Liberia’s George Weah and many of them were ‘bookish’ (unlike Manneh) but his record surpassed that of each of these people This is implementation of the (football) knowledge!
Another of George (Oppong) Weah’s implementation of his ‘football knowledge’ qualified Liberia for the 2002 Confederation of African Football (CAF) tournament in Mali. The Lone Star of Liberia—under Captain George Weah—reached the Quarter Finals Stage. This was the first time Liberia reached this place in global football competition!
Mary T. Broh.
Madam Broh was not a ‘bookish’ person—didn’t have a university degree—when she was absorbed into President Ellen Kitchen cabinet. Some inner sourced gossiped that her class-room education she obtained in Ghana—where she had been raised—is below ‘university’ level.
But her implementation footprints—at the National Port Authority (NPA), and later at the Passport Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), and later at the Monrovia City Corporation (MCC), and later at the General Services Agency (the government’s logistical assets maintenance arm)—surpassed any of her other colleagues (government officials) who had bragged about their ‘academic knowledge’ and blew President Sirleaf’s head with such ‘great academic credentials’ for employment.
These two ‘implementers’ are my kinsmen—from Grand Kru County.
Samuel G. Dweh.
A High School graduate, Dweh taught President Ellen Sirleaf’s speechwriter (a doctorate holder in Language Arts) on grammatical errors in the President’s 2011 Independence Day speech. (Read the teaching-article in the July 29, 2011 edition of the Daily Observer Newspaper of Liberia). During that time he was the entity’s proofreader.
Samuel G. Dweh, who singled-handedly operates a 12-page education newspaper (Edu-Diary), has ghost-written books for some college degree holders (in Ghana and Liberia), and is the author of five books of fiction—the latest about education problems in Liberia’s grade schools and innovative solution methods (including the use of the mobile phone).
These three people are those whose (practical) works from their professional training I (saw) and remembered when I was preparing this write-up. That means there are thousands of other ‘educated’ Liberians! Omission of the other names for this article was not premeditated.
CONCLUSION
For those he has not assigned jobs, President George Manneh Weah should look toward the ‘educated’ section of the population. But he should draw out a ‘Task Satisfaction Agreement’, whereby the employee of the government would deliver in a specified time or get immediately fired from the job (with no back-pay salaries or severance benefits) for failing to deliver.
This kinds of Agreement would prevent any ineffectiveness (or lack of implementation)—a political by-product you somebody may call ‘Presidential favoritism. Some officials of the government willfully refuse to do the people’s job on the feeling that their employer (Head of State) would back them on political buddyism.
The President’s Terms of Performance Work for those who had been assigned jobs prior to George Manneh Weah’s swearing-in on the 22nd day of January, 2018, should be revised to ‘Task Satisfaction Agreement’ for those still awaiting placement (mentioned earlier).
No embarrassment for President George Manneh Weah or for his government would be worse than the fulfillment of his political opponents’ prediction of his government’s failures on campaign-time promises—all because the person the President placed over this Ministry or Agency of the Government has always been a ‘bookish’ man or woman—a person who couldn’t implement what he or she had boasted about knowing.
I strongly believe the Head of State will digest and act on this ‘advisory article’ for the goods of our country.
About the Author:
Samuel G. Dweh, a journalist, fiction writer and author, is an indigene of the Wedabo tribe of Grand Kru County of Liberia. He is a member of the Press Union of Liberia (PUL) and the Liberia Association of Writers (LAW)—and current president of LAW. . He can be reached via: (+231) 886-618-906/776-583-266; samuelosophy@yahoo.com