Editorial: Dr. Robtel Neajai Pailey In Polarization Quarters

DR. ROBTEL NEAJAI Pailey, Assistant Professor of International Social and Public Policy, London School of Economics (LSE), United Kingdom (UK), has added her voice to the long list of postwar leaders, policy makers, stakeholders and intellectuals seeking solutions to the numerous challenges confronting the recovery and building of Liberia. Among Dr. Pailey’s outstanding recommendations are that lawmakers should revise the Decent Work Bill and change the monthly minimum wage from US$143 to at least US$250, and reverse the so-called “harmonization policy”; enforce the Liberianization Policy by protecting Liberian businesses from the monopoly of foreign cartels; shift attention away from the extractive industries, which make the nation vulnerable to the vagaries of global capitalism, and focus instead on developing the nation’s creative industries; cancel contracts with poorly performing multinationals and renegotiate concession agreements that violate Liberian law; leverage increased domestic resource mobilization from the revised concessions to pay off internal and international debt and clear arrears at regional institutions that the nation founded, such as the AU, ECOWAS and MRU; lead a ‘values-based revolution’ against corruption; strengthen judicial bodies and integrity institutions by populating them with impartial patriots, name and shame those found guilty of evading public trust, force them to restitute stolen funds and then send them to jail; and remove corruption-inducing expenditure from the national budget, such as inflated salaries for elected and appointed officials, imported vehicles, fuel and scratch card allotments, and reallocate the funds to incentivize doctors, nurses, teachers, and police officers who serve under-resourced regions of the country.

HOWEVER, THE ORATOR moved into polarization quarters with her radical examination of the nation’s history, particularly in the context of the United States of America. In the speech, titled, “A Radical Agenda for Re-imagining Liberia”, Dr. Pailey described Liberia’s Independence Day as “In Defiance Day”, because the declaration of independence on July 26, 1847 was a revolutionary act of defiance. She recounted that 177 years ago, the Founding Fathers and Mothers defied the odds to declare independence nearly a century before independence movements began in earnest across the African Continent. She challenged Liberians to “build back better” and to “build back differently” by re-imagining what it means to be “one nation indivisible”, proposing a radical agenda for achieving this very lofty goal. 

SHE SAID TO achieve the goal, Liberians should reconceptualize and redefine Liberian citizenship (What does it mean to be a citizen in this post-war moment?); tackle the twin development challenges of “structural violence” and “unfreedoms” (How to enable all Liberians to realize their fullest potential?); and prioritize nation-building as much as state-building (How to build relationships between individuals and institutions of government to serve the collective good?)

SHE EXPRESSED CONCERN about the outsized influence of the United States in Liberia’s transitional justice process and recommended that Liberia forge new strategic partnerships based on mutual benefit and disabuse the notion that Liberians have a “special relationship” with America. “Truth be told, this so-called ‘special relationship’ only exists in our imagination. Lest we forget, the United States was one of the last countries to recognize our independence. Lest we forget, the United States has taken more from us than it has given. Lest we forget, the United States will always serve its own interests above all else. Once we accept these truths, we will appreciate that a re-imagined Liberia can never be anyone’s ‘stepchild’,” Dr. Pailey warned.

HOWEVER, HER OUTBURST on Liberia’s “traditional ally” was not warmly greeted, as the Chargé d’Affaires of the US embassy walked out of the hall, with the embassy releasing a statement to address the concern. The US embassy accused the orator of introducing divisive rhetoric and unfounded accusations, as the United States and Liberia share a unique history and democratic values.