Hours after the deliberation of Liberia’s 176th independent oration by Chief Zanzan Kawah, the National Democratic Coalition (the NDC) has sharply reacted to the orator’s speech, declaring it, as divisive, misrepresentation of historical facts as well as a pre-planned occasion focused on pre-campaign extravaganza to satisfy the naked quest of Liberia footballing president George M. Weah desperation of his dead-upon arrival second term presidential bid.
The NDC release said, “The orator’s speech was divisive in a sense that he wrongly historicized names that he believed are Settler names and were given to people on the practice of domestic work that they were doing (i.e Snowe was given to people on the basic that “native children who lived with settlers used to snowflake at night while sleeping and the name Waterson/Witherspoon was given to children because they used to fetch water). This, the NDC believes is a misrepresentation of historical facts and a recipe to reawaken the question of “Congau and native politics” just to justify the administrative ineptitude of Mr. Weah.”
The release further disagreed with the orator’s assertion that opposition leaders are not helping to develop the nation, but rather criticizing the government. “NDC notes in a conspicuous term that nowhere in the world that opposition parties have developed a nation as insinuated and craved by the orator, rather citizens inclusive of opposition figures paid taxes to the government and it is the responsibility of the government to use such money to develop the state, but instead, the Weah administration is using the taxes for personal gains at the detriment of the masses,” the release added.
The NDC, a coalition comprising two social-democratic parties that are signatories to the Peace Accord, reminded the orator that whilst there are no direct political prisoners in the context of his oration, however, he ignored the fact that there is a neo-tactics of political intimidation to suppress opposing views which have indirectly served as a squelching to freedom of expression, assembly and the exercise of liberty at the various government ministries, agencies and or commissions, etc. and that the orator grossly disregarded the facts and circumstances surrounding extra-judicial killings under Weah regime (i.e the death of auditors, whistleblowers and other unexplained gruesome deaths within the country).
“It is unbelievable and flabbergasting to see an independent day orator to the importance role education and educated people have played in the establishment of the foundation of our nation from 1822 to present, just to [ascribe to president Weah the “accolade of best president since the foundation of the state], although under the Weah led administration, not much has been done to bring happiness to the ordinary Liberian people,” the statement noted.