By Gibson W. Jerue
Part II: Koije’s Dangerous Rant Will Boomerang
I sat stupefied listening to the Mayor of Monrovia Jefferson Koijee rant. He was in his campaign mood that he should have been disrobed off nearly two years ago. For Koijee, although his party won the presidency and now referred to as the ruling party, it was not enough. He is yet to understand that campaigning was over and it is time to govern. He vows tooth for tooth, blood for blood, bone for bone, if the opposition elements attempt to disturb our democracy. What a raw invitation to the opposition to make trouble!
Mr. President, it’s glaring that opposition politicians are making your restless. They will make governing hell for you. They stage protests one after another. They mock you and write scathing articles. They insult you, you wife, you mother, and everyone who bears your name. Some even call for sanction against your administration. They do not like you. All that is annoying to say the least.
When you sit in your office what runs through your mind about these opposition figures? You think they hate you. It’s understandable. This may be the reality. There are some who genuinely hate your gut. For others, they just want to replace you in that office. It does not mean they hate you personally. But what kind of opposition they would call themselves if they do not highlight the slightest of your errors. The game is clear. When you make mistake, they will highlight it. When you don’t speak, they will say are “boo-boo”. When you speak, they say you don’t speak good English. When you build one road, they say it’s “substandard”. When you wear your nice African suit, you are imitating some other African president. Anything you do is a ground for agitation. It won’t stop.
Recently, we have seen protests and threat to hold more of them. Protest is the language of the aggrieved. But today, it is now the playbook of the opposition. Your CDCians are masters of that too, though. So, you see, they will always stage protest to achieve three things:
- They want to confuse you. Protest has a way of fixing your attention on it. You don’t want normal business to break down. That is what they want. You don’t want the international media to herald your administration as insensitive to the plight of the people. That is what they want. Deep down in your heart, you want to alleviate the sufferings of the people, but it’s being tough finding our how. They will not understand.
- They want to energize their base. Think about June 7th. It was a protest timed rightly to give the victory Darius Dillon is enjoying. Each time the opposition host a protest, they reawaken their members and supporters. For you, there is no way you can reawaken your supporters in that manner. That hurts.
- They want instill fear in your base. Any time the opposition succeeds in putting huge number of people in the streets, those who support you think you are getting unpopular and the opposition is. That is a common tactic. You should be aware of all this because you have a lot of militants in your ranks and they know it.
Now, how come Jefferson Koije is buying into the playbook of the opposition. When Koije announced that he will mobilize CDCians to confront opposition protesters, he was simply was playing into their hands. He just invited more trouble. That is what they have been praying for to see a counter-rally that will turn violent. When it does, they will make that town ungovernable for you, sir. They are resolved to keep making things hard for you. They don’t want you to achieve anything. That way they get to tell their supporters and your supporters that you failed to deliver. Is this the kind of thing that Koije wants to confront?
Sir, you should tell Koije to stand down. He cannot scare these people. No amount of threat of CDCians confronting the opposition will scare them. That is what they want. How long would Koije and others continue confronting opposition elements? You have six years, and your supporters are already saying you are going for 12. Does this mean Koije and CDCians for the next 12 years will confront protesters each time. Wouldn’t that make Monrovia ungovernable? It will boomerang in the face of your administration. It is not necessary. Let them stand down, and you continue working on your priorities. That is what matters!
Let’s talk again tomorrow, sir.
