The Standard Bearer of the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP), Alexander Cummings, has urged Liberians to resist the culture of impunity and mediocrity, and demand the highest standard of integrity and accountability of themselves and their leaders.
Cummings said Liberians must begin to set higher and realistic achievable goals and work assiduously with an absolute success mentality rather than harbor the fear of failure.
The CPP Standard Bearer, who is the Founder of the Cummings Africa Foundation, made the assertions when he served as guest speaker at the 97th graduation and convocation ceremony of the Lott Carey Baptist Mission, outside Monrovia. Eighteen students were awarded certificates, after completing the 12th grade.
Lott Carey Baptist Mission is a faith based institution, established by Christian missionaries 114 years ago in Liberia. Cummings told the graduates, there is no easy way or shortcut to success, and no amount of talking and wishful thinking can lead to success, without hard work, commitment and dedication to duty, backed by the acquisition of quality and sound education.
“Stop making excuses for nonperformance and mediocrity, develop the right mindset for success, believe in yourself and your ability in every undertaking in the journey of life,” Cummings challenged the graduates.
He commended parents for the financial sacrifices and commitment to invest in the education of their children, especially under the prevailing difficult economic conditions in Liberia.
The CPP Standard Bearer also thanked the faculty and staff of the Lott Carey Baptist Mission for their dedication and commitment to imparting knowledge under the prevailing difficult financial constraints facing most learning institutions in Liberia.
Cummings said teaching is a noble calling, and therefore, teachers must be trained, paid attractive salaries, and motivated to perform par excellence in molding the minds of Liberia’s children.
He said in order to achieve greatness and lift the vast majority out of extreme poverty, Liberian must break away with the past and the temptations of repeating mistakes and doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results.
Cummings said African countries achieving appreciable development goals and improving their citizens’ standard of living, are not smarter than Liberians, but because they have good and farsighted Leaders, who are held to the highest standard of integrity and accountability.
He said with the country’s vast natural resources, Liberians deserve better than the current harsh economic realities where the masses are living in extreme poverty, while few officials of President George Weah’s government continue to amass illegal wealth at the detriment of the people and nation.