By Blonkanjay Jackson
Author, Scholar, Development Specialist
Thinking Thoughts
In my thinking thoughts I considered the recent political gimmicks, and reminisced events before and after the signing of the Farmington Accord intended to ensure a non-violent peaceful legislative and presidential elections come October 10, 2023.
Then I reflected US Ambassador Michael A. McCarthy’s branding as “nonsense”, the invasion of Evangelist Prince Y. Johnson’s church by a short-sighted army of CDC-NPP partisans, and how PYJ being a former AFL soldier, a highly trained guerilla and a war-lord, had vowed to mobilize 500 men to protect himself. It is scaring, how in recent times, so many armies have been formed just for these elections. So, I wondered, “When all of those armies cross over, will the day of October 10, 2023 at the polls be a time of rejoicing or chaos, grief, and disruption in Liberia?” God forbid!
Wake Crusher Army Crossed Over
My Brabbies, just come with me to back in the day when we were young students who formed our army that crushed wakes in Liberia. Those days when somebody died, there were two wakes: family wake and church wake. The casket would be taken to the home of the deceased, and family and sympathizers would hold an all- night vigil marked by tributes and songs. Unlike today’s so-called “silent wakes” glutted by drunkards, drug addicts, and unfaithful husbands who use the occasion to lie to their wives to spend nights with their desecrated side-chicks (and vice versa), wakes back in the day were solemn occasions marked by preaching, tributes, singing old time hymns, and Americo-Liberian (Congau) songs. We ate home-bake biscuits and drank coffee to stay awake march around the casket until day broke. Those days, if a family did not maintain a constant flow of coffee and biscuits, the singing would grind down, and sympathizers would leave one by one until only the casket with the family would be left behind. People would say, “The wake did not boil mehn, those people na shame?”
Brabbies, my group was an army of who attended wakes whether we knew the deceased or the bereaved or not, so we were referred to as “wake crushers”. When we appeared at a wake with our roach coats, we would go straight to the family or event manager to introduce ourselves to serve as song leaders and volunteered to stay all night from 8 pm to 6 am. Our special share of coffee and biscuits was put aside to keep us popping and singing until day. Despite the respect the family gave us, we still collected the general biscuits, ate some and hide some in our pockets and behaved and acted like we had not received. At one occasion, I hid six biscuits in my coat pockets that night, so I was careful that nobody leaned against me so that they could not crush my biscuits. The five of us had only two “roach coats” and I was the one designated to keep all the stolen biscuits that night, so I wore one of them. Ayyy Lord, hunger and poverty!
Brabbie, we usually positioned ourselves around the casket, read few verses and our wake crusher leader would raise the first song:
“Sheepfold, sheepfold, you know the road oh? Yes, my Lord I know the road (2x).
If a religion was a thing that money could buy; Yes, my Lord I know the road.
The rich would live and the poor would die; Yes, my Lord I know the road.
I praise my God it just not so, because the rich and the poor together will die…”
Another person would jump in with:
“Go down Moses, way down Egypt land, tell old Pharaoh, to let my people” Before that could end, you hear, “The Lord will provide, the lord will provide, some way or the other the Lord will provide. Well, Abraham said to Lot, I see the time to part. You and I are brothers, so it almost breaks my heart, you take the River valley, I’ll take upon the hillside, some way or the other the Lord will provide”
Ah, yes, our wake crusher army would be clapping, marching, and dancing around the casket like we knew the person who died. Alas, how I always wished those days would return, but in vain. Albeit, one song we usually sang at 6 am was “The Army Crossing Over”
“The army, the army Lord uh; army crossing over; the army, the army luh luh;
Army crossing over; Two white horses, side by side; Army crossing over;
one of them goinna take me home; army crossing over. I have not been to heaven,
but I have been told; the streets of up yonder ae pave with gold; army crossing
over….and so on” We would, dancing and rejoicing and spicing the song with..”…de arm, arm, arm de army luh luh. De arm arm arm, de army luh luh”
Upon that song, we would pray and close the wake. Having stolen good number of the bereaved family’s biscuits, we had the audacity to ask them for our small transportation. Sometimes we were shamed when the family gave us transportation and added, “Oh, we got some more biscuits for ya’ll here ooo!” Shamefully, we collected the balance biscuits, our wake crusher army would cross over to our one room occupied by 5 of us public-school students, laugh at our disgraceful selves, and count our loot of biscuits for breakfast. Hmm, ayyyy yah, poverty can make people do plenty thing O!!
Nonsense Armies That Crossed Over
You see my Brabbies, recently there has been rumors and revelations that there are several armies in Liberia which are lurked and perched to cross over in October 2023 during the elections. One thing we must not lose hindsight is the devastations that occur when irregular, ethnic vindication-driven, unreasonably rebellious, partisans-coerced, and nonsensical armies cross over.
On April 12, 1980, Master Sergeant Samuel K. Doe’s disgruntled and coerced small army of non-commissioned soldiers of the armed forces of Liberia (AFL) crossed over from the BTC Barracks on UN Drive to the Executive mansion as the People’s Redemption Council (PRC), assassinated President Tolbert and executed top brasses of the True Whip Party (TWP) government among whom were Liberia’s best and brightest. When the PRC morphed into a Krahn ethnic autocracy, and a son of Nimba, General Quiwonkpa, attempted to resist with his own army, trouble for all Gio and Mano people ensued; whether they were related to, or knew Quiwonkpa, they were pursued and exterminated even if they hid behind church pulpits.
Using the bitterness and grief of the Nimba people, Charles Taylor’s nonsense rebel National Patriotic Front (NPFL) crossed from Ivory Coast into Butuo with a throng of disgruntled, cajoled and coerced Gio and Mano boys grossly branded “freedom fighters” They sought and killed Mandingo and Krahn people and destroyed all and sundry infrastructure. As a spillover effect, several other nonsense armies were birthed. Prince Y. Johnson’s INPFL that brutally murdered President Doe was a break away from the NPFL; Alhaji Kromah’s rebel ULIMO-K known for eating human hearts crossed over from Guinea in retaliation to Charles Taylor’s action on Mandingoes and Krahns, and destroyed hundreds of Lofa people; Krahn Roosevelt Johnson’s lawless butt-naked warriors ULIMO-J, broke away and a fierce battle ensued in the very heart of the city. Francois Massaquoi’s Lofa Defense Force (LDF), broke away to battle Alhaji Kromah’s Mandingos and got crushed; even George Boley who was banished from the United States and won legislative seat for Grand Gedeh had an army that crossed over and also got crushed. Finally, the LURD rebels crossed over from Guinea and bathed Monrovia with hundreds of rockets until Charles Taylor resigned.
My Brabbies, when those armies crossed over into a village hell broke loose. Women were raped, men executed, homes looted, and mayhem and chaos became the order of the day. Yes, the armies crossed over with vengeance as bitter as jologbo, wormwood and gall. Today, our once peaceful Liberia still bears the marks of those nasty, and “nonsense” dogs of war.
Nonsense Armies to Cross Over in October
Fellow citizens, you might agree that recent trend of events indicates the same thing could happen again if we do not “nip it in the bud” at the onset. A year or two ago, it was reported that the CDC was training an army to “protect” CDCians when they go to campaign for the elections. As threatening as this news was to our national security, the CDC, the Justice Ministry and the Government remained silent and did not speak to the nation. In response, former rebel Hon. Yekeh Korlubah announced he had also trained hundreds of men to protect opposition folks. Prior to that time, when Henry Costa was attacked in Monrovia, former NPFL top brass Benoni Urey sent out a warning that if Costa were ever attacked again by tiny-tiny and bourgeoisie CDCians, he possessed the ability and capacity to place an army of 100 men in the CDC yard to disrupt activities under the sycamore tree. On a certain holiday, an army of Zogoes averred that because Finda Bundo did not give them gifts, they crossed over and ransacked business and attacked peaceful citizens all over this Christo polis of Monrovia.
As if to put gasoline on fire, a sitting representative of Liberia, Acarous Gray, under the guise and justification that he was going for lunch at the University of Liberia, and after being cautioned of the tension that lurked, with much arrogance and intransigence, led an army of thugs, zogoes and muscle men and invaded the sanity, and serenity of that citadel of knowledge; in retaliation another sitting representative, recalcitrant Yekeh Korlubah also led his own nonsense army for lunch and chased out the Acarous Gray army and chaos ensued. As if those incidents did not send messages, a nonsense army of NPP cum CDC partisans recently invaded and disrupted PYJ’s church service. It is an open secret that PYJ who profess to be asking for peace, has positioned an army of 500 men perched to crossed over when duty calls, as he had vowed. As we approach the crossing line, who is certain if Musa Bility Liberty and Charlyn Brumskine or Nyonblee Karnga Lawrence and Darius Dillon will not form an army to protect their respective Liberty Parties? We fall down inside Oh!
What A day October 10 will be!
As those nonsense armies are being formed, the Council of Churches or Muslims, Civil Society, Liberian Student Union (LINSU), Federation of Liberian Youth (FLY), Civil Servant Association, political parties, labor and transport unions, and other groupings have slept and not amalgamated their voices to take decisive actions and disband the nonsense armies. If we continue in this path, what United States Ambassador McCarthy referred to as “nonsense” situation will be repeated all over the country. This being the case, when we all get to October and have elections results announced, will it be a day of rejoicing like the 17th Century son writer eulogized? Or a day of confusion and clashes among nonsense armies? Brabbies, your guesses are just as good as mine and your thoughts are sacred in this matter.
Benediction
My fellow Brabbies, when those armies cross over they will not loot biscuits and ask for small change for transportation like our wake crusher army did back in the day. They will vandalize, maim and kill. As we anticipate the days of the election activities in wake of the present tension and fears with all kinds of armies being formed and lurked to cross over, I enjoin you to be remain prayerful, reflective, sober, yet vigilant. To those ends, please join me to reflect using the sick and shut in 17TH Century songwriter Eliza Edmunds Hewitt’s hymn
“WHEN WE ALL GET TO HEAVEN WHAT A DAY OF REJOICING THAT WIL BE” (Note the 2nd and 4th stanzas).
1 Sing the wondrous love of Jesus,
Sing His mercy and His grace;
In the mansions bright and blessed
He’ll prepare for us a place.
Refrain:
When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus, we’ll sing and shout the victory!
2 While we walk the pilgrim pathway; Clouds will overspread the sky;
But when trav’ling days are over; Not a shadow, not a sigh. [Refrain]
3 Let us then be true and faithful; Trusting, serving ev’ry day; Just one glimpse of Him in glory
Will the toils of life repay. [Refrain]
4 Onward to the prize before us!; Soon His beauty we’ll behold;
Soon the pearly gates will open–; We shall tread the streets of gold. [Refrain
Simply Thinking Thoughts/June 3, 2023
About the Author
The Rivercess man, CEO, and founder of the foremost teacher training institute in Liberia, the Diversified Educators Empowerment Project (DEEP), Mwalimu-Koh M. Blonkanjay Jackson holds a Master of Education from Harvard University, and a Master of Science in Mathematics Education from St. Joseph’s University; he is a Yale University Teachers Initiative Math Fellow and UPENN Teacher Institute Physics Fellow. Mr. Jackson served the government of Liberia diligently for four years and returned to private practice as community empowerment specialist, Development Specialist and Education Engineer. The Mwalimu-Koh can be reached at 0886 681 315.