What appears to be a war of words has begun to unfold between President George Manneh Weah and ex-President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.
As the Hot Pepper’s investigation goes, it all started during the just-ended December 8, 2020 senatorial by-election when ex-President Sirleaf took a sudden turn against the team she supported during the 2017 general and presidential elections, the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), and began to descend on President Weah and his officials, allegedly putting her head on chopping board for him but in return he allowed the Monrovia City Mayor, Jefferson T. Koijee, to describe her with all sorts of names.
Apparently, ex-President Sirleaf sees President Weah’s new song, “Mr. Liar Man”, as a personal affront against her character, especially so when he took to his Facebook page asking for female dancers to be in his newest hit single (“Mr. Liar Man”) video. She shared the post on her Facebook Timeline, but with a response, “Let’s do it diplomatic way…So just make my appointment!”
After President Weah officially lit the National Christmas Tree and Cantata, ex-President Sirleaf, too, took to her Twitter page and twitted, “The opulence displayed at the lighting of the Liberian President Christmas Tree was indeed impressive, but with the country’s difficult economic climate it is an affront to the thousands who have not been paid and are hungry.”
Not being satisfied with his immediate predecessor’s statement, the Liberian President replied, “Madam Former President, let me refresh your memory about what opulence is. Opulence is when Chevron gives US$10 million as CSR and you gave it to your son to squander; opulence is when you have US$4 billion in foreign direct investment but leave Liberia in abject squalor and poverty; opulence is when you have 11 budget shortfalls in 12 years; opulence is when you spend over a million dollars for Oil Law consultations only to bring your high school student grandchild to speak to experts; opulence is when after 12 years of billions of dollars of foreign aid you still leave the country with US$1 billion debt, that my government is now paying back.”
According to him, “There are a 1,000 more examples, but let me leave you with these for now. Opulence is not when you use an old Christmas Tree and Choirs to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus.”
In response, ex-President Sirleaf replied to him yesterday via her Facebook page also, saying, “I said what I said; I don’t care how you reply to prove a point, but I know exactly what I’m saying! Kudos to the person that wrote the reply anyway. It ain’t bad y’all.”
Ex-President Sirleaf further threatened President Weah that she was “just waiting for you to sing on my name, I will make you an album (opulence) featuring pop smoke and Shatta Wale….”
Also responding to President Weah’s latest Facebook post, in which he said, “Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Opulence is when you sell our oil blocks to enrich you and your family,” ex-President Sirleaf wrote, “And that’s the same money paid your papa salary, made your Christmas epic, give you good electricity and traffic lights and other great things. You better carry your rusty dreadlocks on that side. You sat there and bought Camry, Corolla and Ford for girlfriends and people’s wives and you say what? Don’t let me start oh!”
Regrettably, the Hot Pepper is yet to ascertain whether or not these social media jibes are of serious matters between the two Presidents, as being viewed by many in the public, or only poetically crafted to reduce the political tension in the country and flex the muscles of the mind. Investigation continues.