The former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Road Fund (NRF), Boniface D. Satu, has underscored the need for President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s first State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA), which will be delivered to the National Legislature on Monday, January 27, 2025, to rally the nation to a common purpose and reassure his commitment to deliver on his promise that brought his government to power.
Satu averred that the Boakai administration was voted on the mantra to “rescue” the nation, which he defined as freeing the nation from the confinement of poverty, improving citizens’ livelihood, and improving behaviors that pose threat to society. “According to the Bible, to rescue means to redeem, to ransom, to take out of one place and put in another place, to come to a person’s aid, and to save,” he stated.
However, the former NRF boss expressed mixed reaction over the Unity Party administration’s first year stewardship of governance amidst heightened divisiveness and continued fights in the Legislature, Executive and Judiciary, considering the fact that it campaigned on a mission to “rescue” the nation.
Reflecting on the Unity Party government’s first year, Satu noted that he cannot predict where the country is headed in the next two years or so, because the country is so noisy with so many distractions that adversely affect the development agenda, peace and security.
Satu observed that President Joseph N. Boakai was voted for because he was widely seen as the oldest statesman, a father who possesses experience and wisdom to move Liberia on the path of development, and one who could unite the people and uphold the Constitution through the respect for the rule of law. Unfortunately, he said, it appears like the President is contrastingly drifting away from the mandate of the people, and allowing his appointees to continue business as usual without the required checks and balances.
He however expressed hope that, as 2025 begins, President Boakai will recalibrate, realign and change the current mixed reaction of the people and restore confidence in the Rescue Mission. “Liberia must win, and I hope that this President will lead the country in that direction,” he further observed.
“As we begin this year, 2025, it is my hope and prayer that President Joseph N. Boakai focuses on bringing the country together by identifying a reconciliatory and development agenda that unites the country,” he said.
According to him, God has blessed Liberians with a great and rich country, but it will take leadership to lead Liberia on the right trajectory. He noted that the President cannot succeed with the level of division and hate in the country. “We need all Liberians to work together, despite the sides they support politically,” he added.
He then urged President Boakai to unite the country, irrespective of party, religion and tribal tides. “We are all Liberians, and the wealth of the country must be distributed equitably to improve the livelihood of its people and nation at large. Peace, love and unity are the recipe for a prosperous nation with God as the center,” Satu maintained.