If you have been following
the news about Nimba County
lately, you might have read
the headline as “Refugee
Returns Creating Ethnic
"Time Bomb." This
is in reference to the
continuous illegal
occupation of houses and
other properties belonging
to the Mandingoes by some
Manos and Gios in Ganta and
other places in Nimba
County. And this headline
and the news contained in it
were reported by IRIN, a
news agency that is part of
the UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs.
The report states that
"Mounting ethnic tension in
Liberia's eastern Nimba
County could spark a new
round of fighting as members
of the minority Mandingo
ethnic group claim to be
struggling to recover their
lands and properties upon
return from refugee camps in
Guinea." One Sidiki Donzo is
quoted to have said, "I just
returned from Guinea during
the Christmas season and I
am intending to stay in
Ganta, but all of the three
houses I inherited from my
father after he died in a
refugee camp are now being
occupied by some brothers
and sisters of the Mano
tribes and they are refusing
to leave." For his part, Mr.
Neidoteh Torbor, leader of
the Movement for Peace and
Reconciliation in Liberia, a
peace advocacy group, said,
"This situation of the land
dispute has placed Nimba
County on a time bomb that
could explode at any time."
Against this background, one
may wonder whether our
President, Mrs. Ellen
Johnson-Sirleaf is following
the news there in Nimba
County. Sometime last year
after some fracas over the
same situation, she set up a
17-member committee to
handle the matter. Up to
now, we are yet to hear from
that committee. We haven't
heard much from the
president either. Is it
because she has been busy
with some other important
agendas that are far more
important than paying
attention to an issue such
as the Nimba illegal land
seizure that could plunge
the country into another
conflict?
Recently, the president has
been receiving some very
important dignitaries from
around the world. Among them
are the billionaire and
philanthropist George Soros
of the US, and Queen Noor of
Jordan. The fact that the
president is able to use her
international star power to
woo these very important
people to Liberia is
something very good and
positive. As she receives
these very important
visitors, she must take them
to places in the country to
showcase the good job she
has been doing since she
became president.
All this is good except that
her choice of Nimba County
was ill-advised and
ill-timed because Nimba
County cannot be considered
a positive example of good
things happening in Liberia
since Mrs. Sirleaf became
president. Nimba County is
where there is still the
case of the illegal
occupation of lands, homes
and other properties of
other Liberians by other
Liberians. This makes Nimba
County the case of "might
makes right." There is the
iron-will on the part of the
illegal occupiers to hold on
to what they seized
illegally during the war and
have proven defiant to the
very committee the president
set. As a result, the
committee has not produced
the desired result as
expected by this time.
By taking her international
guests to Nimba County
against this background, we
can only conclude that
either the president has not
been reading the news, or
she is completely ignoring
the plight of those who have
been bared from entering
their homes to enjoy the
peace we all are yearning
for. It is because of peace
Mrs. Sirleaf is in the
Executive Mansion. While
she enjoys peace there,
there are thousands of
others who have been
deprived of the opportunity
to live in peace in their
own homes. This is not fair
and for the president to
ignore this is unfair and
totally unacceptable.
About the author:
Nvasekie Konneh is a nine
year veteran of the US Navy
and the author of the book
of poetry, “Going to War for
America.” He’s the chairman
of the Liberian Writers
Network (LWN) and Editor in
Chief of the Limany website.
Besides writing, Nvasekie
Konneh is a music
producer/promoter and CEO of
the KonnLove Entertainment
and Production. Nvasekie
Konneh is the Executive
Producer of the Positive
Force’s CD, “Liberia, Land
of the Free,” and Massebe
Kamara’s debut CD, “Dengo.”
Contact info:
KonnLove@aol.com
or 215 869 2463.