The 14-year civil crisis, which started on December 24, 1989 and ended in August 2003, did not only take away lives and destroy properties; it also ravaged the economy, split families, proliferated prostitution, drug, crime and disobedience, and left children to fend for and groom themselves without parental guidance. It then became normal for a 12-year-old boy to have a fiancé, smoke and disrespect an elder—mostly because they were gun-carriers. Children began to bear children and give unto themselves the responsibility of fathers and mothers. Twenty (20) years after, Liberia is now wearing the scar of the past, with the streets of Monrovia congested with “zogoes”, street thugs, uncontrolled prostitution and total indiscipline.
The administration of former President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf implemented the Disarmament, Demobilization, Rehabilitation and Reintegration (DDRR) program to redefine the youth and instill skills in them for the future. However, many of the affected youth refused the opportunity and, bent on what they had learned during the crisis, perhaps, failed to give their children a proper upbringing.
However, it is not too late to turn the tide and save the state from such unwanted traits and behaviors, but would require individuals with the required knowledge and technical know-how, and with the requisite experience in dealing with drug and crime. Ambassador Joseph Boakai is on record for bashing the Weah administration for not paying attention to the future of the young generation and for not striving to curtail drugs. To add insult to injury, the government was defeated in a US$100 million drug case, which was busted after a tip-off from the United States embassy, even though there were challenging evidences for the state prosecutors to tap on for the court to bring down a guilty verdict on the suspects.
Now that Ambassador Boakai is about to take the helm of power, the citizenry is beginning to yearn for a safe state and the return to the good old days when one walked through downtown Monrovia without being followed by “zogoes” or pick-pockets; when one would leave the street anytime of the night without fear of being harassed or harmed; and when state security provided full protection for life and property without excuses for lack of logistics and manpower.
There are names being speculated in the public to head the entities with direct oversight over the malice, mainly the Liberia National Police (LNP), with the name Abraham (AB) Kromah sounding the loudest and sending fear into the nerves of criminals and defiant youths of the society.
It is a fact that Col. AB Kromah is a no-nonsense security expert who left an enviable and indelible security impact when he served as Deputy Police Director for Operation (102) in the Ellen administration.
Kromah is one of the finest products the security sector can boast of, who instilled sanity everywhere he has served from his first day climbing the ladder of trust as a narcotic agent, CID Director and Deputy Director for Operations. He busted drug rings, curtailed the spread of dangerous drugs, the infusion of discipline among the pen-pen boys and greatly minimized the proliferation of crime, while ensuring that those apprehended were prosecuted under the court system.
He holds a bachelor of arts degree in sociology and triple masters from leading universities in the USA, including one from Seton Hall, New Jersey, and John Jay College of Criminal Justice, University of New York, where he earned a master’s degree in Criminal Justice with emphasis in Police Administration and Operation.
Kromah’s return to head the Liberia National Police (LNP) could greatly help the Boakai administration in clamping down on narcotics and bringing sanity to the streets of Monrovia.
Like him or not, he is feared, respected and knows when to take action. Security experts who have keenly followed the workings of AB Kromah have told the Hot Pepper that Kromah may be the only name that could revive the unruly situation of the country, as he is familiar with the big names on the streets and know their hideouts.
They say it will be difficult to dislodge these ruthless murderers and hardened criminals who have grown and added to their expertise during the Weah administration, without AB Kromah leading the effort.
According to them, if indeed Ambassador Boakai is sincere with his fight against drugs and crime, he will not find it difficult in appointing Col. AB Kromah as Inspector General of the Liberia National Police (LNP), as he already available, supported the cause of the people during the elections, and affiliates with the All Liberian Coalition Party (ALCOP), headed by Lusine Kamara, which supported the Unity Party (UP) during the run-off election. They however warned that an attempt to name another individual to the position may be a recipe for continued, if not heightened, criminal activities in the city, its suburbs and outskirts.