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B N W: Biafra Nigeria World News |
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Liberian embassy not for sale
"BLEED Liberians Bleed" at the merciless hands of boys trying to be men, as they continue to pillage the nation's meagre assets at the expense of the destitute populace. A precedent must be set in our attempt to curtail unpatriotic activities at this crucial point of our national distress.
A strange and evil malady has become endemic in the management of national assets, when the order of the day should be proper inventory and consolidation of the nation's wealth. We take note that in previous administrations, commencing from 1980 to present day Liberia, the country's wealth continues to be plundered by non-patriots in government. Precisely the following embassies in the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, South Africa and most recentely Nigeria, have been sold under questionable circumstances, bereft of proper due process and accountability.
The pertinent issue at hand should not be sale of our meagre treasures but the restoration of peace and the commencement of sustainable national development; especially so when foreign governments are utilising their own taxpayers' revenue to assist in the restoration of peace in post war Liberia; which makes such actions counter-productive. Looking around us in Lagos today, thousands of Liberians sleep in make-shift dens of offices and abandoned buildings. Soon embassy diplomats will join ranks with destitute by the recent sale of the embassy of the Republic of Liberia at 3, Idejo Street, Victoria Island.
The selling of our embassies abroad without proper legal accountability is what has distinguished the boys of today in present day Liberia from the men of yesterday. The boys of today aggrandise themselves in the de-facto role of superficial politicking and the loot of public funds leaving the people to scavenge. Whereby, the men of yesterday's magnanimous roles form part of African history. The men negotiated in the independence of present-day Namibia, Zimbabwe, brought international awareness of the Nigeria-Biafran war to the UN, and the list goes on. They were men who were true to the mission of an independent Africa, who steered their people with a defined direction, respected by their co-equals around Africa and the world and whose voices were heard and heeded to. Where are they today? They've been long gone. And today Liberians in Liberia and the Diaspora bleed. They continue to bleed because these very boys have robbed them of their dignities and subjected them to scorn and destitution.
Finally, there was a sense of national pride and prestige by our great men to have our foreign missions situated alongside other great nations " hence the idea of sale was never fathomed. So dismal is the present situation, we seek for answers to whom and from whom? In view of the above, we question, whether there is any constitutional provision prohibiting Liberian government officials ever from indulging in such behaviour as selling the people's assets or whether this present interim administration may exercise the legal authority in the sale of the country's assets abroad?
Research and findings indicate there is no constitutional provision ever. However, there are regulations and guidelines for such transactions. In so doing, the Legislature is informed of the Executive attempt to appropriate sale by proper documentation in an open process of bidding, etc. The Ministry of Justice as an arm of the Executive dealing with such transactions should work openly with the Ministry of Public Works, thereby creating the transparency of their actions and accountability to the people.
It is however observed, that the legal bidding process was lacking both in Nigeria and Liberia. There was and has not been any public notification to the effect which must be had within a time frame, which renders the sale illegal, and null and void. From all indications regarding the present day sale, this transaction commenced in 2002. The continued drive to sell extends to the present interim period of two years. Is the present interim executive aware of the sale? Information gathered aver that except for a handful of legislators, the present administration is blindfolded. Hypothetically, if we may presume the executive being aware, the action to sell does not constitute legitimacy of sale because of the lack of transparency in the bidding process. And if the executive is involved, it is still accountable for its lack of transparency.
The only resolve is to put estoppels to the sale of the embassy in Nigeria, which should serve as a precedent against all further sales henceforth. To do so, human rights lawyers in Liberia must take on the cause and institute legal actions against the culprits. The action of estoppels must be engineered both in Liberia and Nigeria. However, now is the time for Liberians living in the Diasporas to exercise their rights and rise in peaceful protests against the robberies and request for accountability.
One would think that if even the government was in murky waters financially, to offset the construction of an embassy in Abuja would be to lease the one in Lagos for a lengthy period of time under the Lands act of Nigeria. Instead Liberians continue to bleed as the country's wealth continues to be plundered. Where do we go from here?
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