Voice of Liberia
Fighting for Justice for all Liberians
Politics
DILEMMA OF THE ‘CHECK-BOOK’ PRESIDENCY
Debunking the tomfoolery of a scoundrel.
BY MULBAH K. MORLU, JR.
The tragedy of our world is not the existence of diabolic mix-breeds living amongst us mortals. Rather, the presence of these several mortals walking around the planet aimlessly without understanding the ‘Purpose’ that propelled their existence is the greatest tragedy. By purpose I mean, one’s reason for living.
It is said, purpose is the only reason for living. Without it, we do not only make life a miserable affair, we also affect the aura of our environment with tragic spillovers that are inevitable outside of a purpose-driven life. The only thing without a purpose is the one that does not exist, otherwise, to everything there is a purpose. The rats are fulfilling purpose daily; they must eat the spoiled bread left in the cupboard thus reminding the bread winner of the need to obtain fresh ones. Even the cannabis sativa (marijuana), when properly utilized, is a pharmaceutical product that is useful though, its abuse is common place. Hence, the fact that a thing’s use is not discovered does not means it lack purpose. Yet, so many of the brethren roam purposelessly without an attempt to soul-search why they made it to earth in the first place.
The creator of all things, the Almighty God, a purpose-driven master artist, could not have reproduced himself in us for the sake of the amusement. Every existing mortal, irrespective of color, is a product of a divine design ushered into this world to achieve one thing; purpose. Hence, the first task of the wise “Being” must not be reduced to an overblown tendency of how to make money or amass wealth for the pleasure; this is a part of our tragedy for money and wealth in itself is a passing fancy that soon becomes vain when gathered without purpose.
Guided by these true precepts of life, I could not afford to miss out on a discovery of my reason for living, purpose. This was my first task; launch a discovery into why I am here so that, when my time is done, my tombstone will read: “here lies our beloved brother, who spent his entire life advocating for the betterment of his African Brethren”
Yet, the unrepentant attitude of a lot of our peers is most disgusting; like Japanese youngsters, they devote their precious 5 hours a day watching Television so that by the time they reach age 60, they would have spent 10 years before the screen! However, none will appreciate a tombstone that reads: “here lies Forkpa Quayquay, Who spent ten years watching TV!”
Unfortunately, this subtle self-inflicted curse is most dominant in the Diasporas where most of our brothers have chosen to seek greener pastures, if not the quest for academic acquisitions.
How many have left en rote the RIA and returned months later totally transformed for the worse; departed with belts properly fitted to trousers, returned years later with baggy jeans dragging down naked butt, speaking self-ridiculing jargons known only to ghetto dwellers.
But as long as the ongoing habit remains unchanged, there shall be no end to the unfolding histrionic. For how will the melodrama ends, too many of our friends have refused to read, a few of the readers barely analyses what is read, and how many understands the power of thinking? We must be careful not to mistake everyone wearing human skin for man. There are people amongst us walking the streets who should better be categorized as robots than, men! Though many are privileged to have human heads covered with thick hair, their coquettish approach to everything render their skulls a host of mud instead of brains. To this, it can be said that every head that does not take the time off to properly think, reason, analyze given issues and make prudent decisions, is nothing but a mere pusillanimous tomfool. And for a Sam K. Zinnah et al to rank high in this category is one reason we shall proceed with the catharsis.
And so it was on a given day, having navigated the cyber information highway, as it is a part of my daily routine, I suffered momentous mental torment trying to decipher how some of the brethren had allowed a cheap trade of their intelligence. It was all laid bare before my eyes on my laptop, two semi-essays bearing the nom de plumme of one Sam K. Zinnah and a brain mate referred to as Bartum Kulah. The two worked under separate headlines and yet the nescience and illogicality of their con’s pieces quickly betrayed their independence, bringing them on a single path as two fools seated on the moribund bench of namby-pamby. As a matter of fact, the homogeneity between the two rascals cannot afford me the time to deal with them separately; I’ll treat them as a single viper bearing two heads.
These two caitiffs, perhaps still struggling to regain mental balance after a week-end of wine-feasting and belly-dining on free food at friends’ homes and beck’s bars, hurried to the computer, come across a posted “Ellen Impeachment” headline, without thoughtfulness, hasten to write with such unsophisticated intellectualism.
“I think Mulbah Morlu is developing some psychological problems that need serious attention…” is the way one of the scalawags opens up, obviously speaking with mouth quite wider than his brains, clearly not understanding the flaws of his intuition. This has become a serious tragedy for the new
The same Sam K. Zinnah, who, yesterday struggled enormously, placing calls here and sending emails there in search of my personal contact In order to commend my efforts, has turned out to be a fierce opponent. Reasons, why should an organization petition the House of Representatives to petition President Sirleaf? This sends a clear signal that these from-state-to-state hustlers are yet to receive the democratic baptism of tolerance and nationalism which surpasses any individual interests. But how can they, when they are always on wheels, no time to think, nor analyze neither reason; they are the types better labeled as microwave intellectuals, always in a hurry but getting nowhere!
However, if my applauders of yesterday are now categorizing me as “developing psychological problems”, then we need to know what individual action constitutes the confessed psychological problems. Which rational mind equates adherence to the rule of law and due process as “developing psychological problems?” The logic that flows out of the conversation of this dastard suggests that our basic political document (the constitution) may be flagrantly violated by the higher-ups at any time and the governed (the people) is confined to silence forever! Anyway, this is the way the begetters of the current moguls defined the role of the people in aristocracy: obey, obey and obey.
But what this intellectual dwarfish is less aware of is the fact that
The disoriented and disjointed analysis of the misfit reveals itself in the statement, “In Liberia, people find confusion as a means of getting VISA to other Western countries”, suggesting that my purpose is to obtain a VISA to the west, joining the Sam Zinnah kind of workforce, babysitting and cleaning the old folk’s faeces for US$10.00 a day!
I would have had no need to discuss my many past trips to industrious European nations and back, trips planned to experience the richness of various continental cultures, unlike the one-legged Sam Zinnah resettlement contract trip which cannot insure him a return ticket. But, to some extent, the swindler is right; he is referencing the techniques of his seniors who had to “find confusion as a means of getting VISA to other western countries”, certain to return, ever determined to reign havoc everywhere, in order to grab power. Now that they are in power, the fear of seeing others outsmart them in their backyard game, has created a state of monomania in their political psyche. But such fear is unnecessary given that the factor of violence as a means to the end is an absolute commodity of the “last dons” now in power, not the masses herd; had the masses being partakers of lawlessness, a hundred and thirty years would not pass by quietly while they groaned under the oppressive tendencies of the elite forces.
Nevertheless, I cannot waste precious time discussing half-baked utterances dished out by the one squatting under the tutelage of charlatans and wastrels. But what is there to respond to? Thinking the issues of the impeachment petition would remain highlighted for an objective engagement, evasiveness is employed as the intellectual fugitive runs everywhere without sticking to a subject; he drags Gyude Bryant into the farce, not leaving out Charles Taylor; suddenly, he runs wild into the jungles of Lofa unguided, touching a subject he can barely discuss; he then, hurries and grab Edwin Snowe by the tail of his coat, hauling insults here and there.
Unfortunately, I am yet to see the rationale behind the hodgepodge and why would a Sam Zinnah drag me into a debate that can never be traced in any of my literary pieces. Do I wear a badge or brassard bearing the identity card of the characters you are confronting? Didn’t you (just recently) email me a commendation letter appreciating my role in seeking to prosecute criminals and corrupt officials responsible for the pillaging of our resources? How then could you allow yourself to be a subjected mechanical monster, playing the devil’s advocate to your own peril? I await answers, obvious to return with a second portion of this rejoinder.
Now, I must of necessity delve into the essentials, the purpose that must have drawn my guests of pretense into a conversation they know so little about. Sam K. Zinnah, the charlatan who has lost contact with his own masses identity, freakishly chasing after strange political baptisms, attempts to define “Gift and Bribe.” Hear him:
“To help Mulbah better understand the word gift, let me take my time to explain to him other than the way we use to understand it (Gift) in the upper Lofa County Villages that we grew up before the war. Mulbah is probably calling the gift bribe because it was wrapped in a nice design wrap. He probably thought the gift was wrapped to hide the content. Mulbah, in the modern society, gift can or could be simply defined as a piece of surprise that will keep the recipient briefly wondering about the content. In order to get that done, one has to wrap such in a nice design paper “like the one the president recently used.”
If we are to make sense out of the above Sam K. Zinnah presentation, then we can conclude that he assumes the writer here does not have the least rudimentary understanding of the “modern city definition of “Gift.” He also attempts to sell the idea that every gift is a surprise; and that it is necessary for the recipient to be left in awe, which is why every gift must be “wrapped in such a nice design paper, like the one the President usually used…” However, the lad quickly unveils massive weakness, failing to realize that, contrary to his view that every gift is a surprise, there are promised gifts which sometimes get announced to the intended beneficiary but never gets delivered until months or years afterward. But let’s prepare the appropriate burial of the ‘perkin’ in a quiet way: a few days ago, a current government employee invited his distant fiancée to launch at Mona Lisa. After the launch, they drove to a nearby downtown goldsmith shop where the official of government gesticulated to his shakira girlfriend, “look in the counter and select the gold chain of your choice I promised you last year.” She immediately seized upon the time and selected a set that cost US$3,000.00, he paid on the spot! The question is, was the gift “wrapped in a nice design paper”, Sam? Or, was she surprised, knowing that she had been waiting almost a whole year for it?
I could go on and on sharpening the voluminous contradictions of the bluster who did not reason before attempting to “hunt what he can’t kill.” Notwithstanding, I take more serious the need to provide an appropriate alternative definition of the subject matter, in contrast to the comical endeavors of the interloper.
To get a more comprehensive understanding of gift/bribe, we ask: do all gifts amount to bribery/corruption? Of course not; buying my son a bicycle for his academic brilliance at the end of the school year is a gift that is clearly distinct from bribery/corruption. There are many other examples of gift-giving that may be cleared of bribery/corruption.
Consequently, in order to draw the line between bribe and gift, we must delve into the definition of a Bribe. By definition, a Bribe is any valuable thing given or promised, or any preferment, advantage, privilege or, emolument, given or promised to public or private servants with an intent to have them violate set standards, for the purpose of improperly influencing their behavior in the performance of their duty. Or, ‘the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of something of value for the purpose of influencing the action of an official in the discharge of his or her public or legal duties’.
The expectation of a particular voluntary action in return is what makes the difference between a bribe and a private demonstration of goodwill. To offer or provide payment in order to persuade someone with a responsibility to betray that responsibility is known as seeking ‘undue influence’ over that person's actions. When someone with power seeks payment in exchange for certain actions, that person is said to be “peddling influence’. However, regardless of who initiates the deal, either party to an act of bribery can be found guilty of the crime independently of the other. I am sure this is one of the many reasons why several media institutions returned their checks. Bribery is no doubt a creeping virus we must all resist for our good.
Arnold Toynbee, a great historian and writer once proclaimed: “some twenty-seven civilizations have risen upon the face of the earth. Almost all of them have descended into the junk heaps of destruction.” Toynbee continued, “the decline and fall of these civilizations was not caused by external invasion but rather internal decay caused by corruption…” This statement sum totals our dread of the practice we seek to expel.
There are moral high grounds for which we must all fear the virus of Bribery:
(1) The act of bribery corrupts our local economic system. In
(2) Bribery produces acrimony and lack of confidence in existing institutions. It destroys people's trust in the integrity of professional services, of government and the courts, of law enforcement, religion, and anything it touches. There is good evidence that societies which allow bribery tend to have social unrest and revolutions. The one, who dare visit some current judicial courtrooms, comes face to face with this fact.
(3) Bribery is a complete sell out to the rich. In such cases, it is those with the most loaded pockets and fattest accounts that prevail. It certainly helps corrupt the system where the wealthy and powerful will find a way around the law. How come the alleged murderers of SSS personnel Emmanuel Williams, are still free men?
(4) Bribery treats people as commodities whose honor can be bought and sold. It thus tends to degrade the respect we owe to other human beings, especially so when we succeed for once in having them dance to our wishes through dished out currencies. This is the reemphasis of President Sirleaf, though she violated her own judgment when attempting an unusual “gesture” to the press.
With this information being provided supra, I am sure all will now understand why we are leaving no stone unturned in contributing our quota in the fight against corruption. For us, our antagonism for the virus knows no bound. We are prepared to take on whatever system or personality, irrespective of status, class, culture, creed, Religion or, sex. This is why we are fearlessly seeking the impeachment of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf whose actions in the check-book bribery scandal, constitutes an impeachable breach of the constitution (Chapter VI Article 62).
But, for the sake of satisfying the curiosity of truth seekers, we will inquire: does president Sirleaf’s “goodwill gesture” of enveloped checks constitute bribery? Well, let’s find out through an objective presentation of the facts.
Excerpts of President Sirleaf’s speech when she served as guest speaker at the Graduation ceremonies of the
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf;
“…Liberian journalists are doing severe damage to journalism in the country by allowing pages of their newspaper and contents of their broadcast to be contaminated by messages of little or no information or redeeming social value…
-good professional ethics has been substituted for checkbook journalism and “Kato” often after interviews or news conferences…
-in the Liberian media, sensationalism has replaced sensitization and in some instances, “outright lies and half truths are preferred to accuracy and truth.”
-it is time that the Press Union of Liberia and other watchdog organizations step up to the plate, and set and enforce the level of ethical professionalism that would restore the standard of journalism deserved in the country.”
Objective interpretations of her statements:
If President Sirleaf actually meant what she said at that graduation, then we can say with all frankness that;
- She did not believe most of the media was helping her achieve her policy agendas in anyway;
- The media was fighting a proxy war, being used by anti-progressives (‘by allowing pages of their newspapers’) to corrupt (‘contaminate’) her drive in her campaign to restore our ‘social value’;
- There are almost no ‘good’ or ‘professional’ media institutions in the country; when the Press goes to cover news conferences or, conduct interviews, they do it for pay (checks);
- The President has a serious problem with media institutions and calls on the Press Union to “enforce the level of ethical professionalism” on the Press.
- All this amount to one thing; The President is convinced that the media is only seeking ways to earn money, so with the problems she’s having with them, the new banknotes contradictions pending address, she quickly goes into solitude with a few confidantes. She comes out with an idea: “These are check-book guys; I will wait till the need for finance is high during Christmas, and then I will write checks…that’s the easiest way I’ll catch them to dance to the sound of my drum beat.”
Besides, it is totally inconceivable that President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, one with no public record for giving free gifts, will dish out monies so easily, spreading thousands of
Besides, what is the difference between Madam Sirleaf’s enveloped checks designated for media institutions and Mr. Harry Greaves enveloped ‘gas slips’ designated to human rights advocates? However, days after Mr. Greaves attempted bribery scam; Madam Sirleaf described his action as ‘wrong.’ Yet, a few months later, she has come in repeat of that which was characterized as “wrong” and expects all of us to padlock our mouths? The man in me has no room for cowardice and I am glad my institution, not me as an individual, has taken up the issue. The step is legal, the motive patriotic which creates in me a high commitment to stand up for it no matter who disagrees. I guess the likes of Sam K. Zinnah will not understand this line of national service and commitment to state; they are the kinds falling for anything as long as it pleases some distant corrupt bureaucrat they will call mentors and, in the end, they stand for nothing. Such is the burlesque of the act of pseudo-intellectualism, a pretentious affair that leaves the earth an unwilling host for worthless wastrels.
The actor is Mulbah K. Morlu, Jr. and can be reached at godsprince2001@yahoo.com.Cell: 00231-77-268-265. He resides in
