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 Part I
That Messrs Lewis Brown, Edwin Melvin Snowe, Winston Tubman, George M. Weah, and other Liberian politicians can spew political venom at, and criticize the Liberian presidency so freely and openly, without fear of reprisals, is testimony to how far Liberia has come in terms of political maturity, thanks, in no small measure, to the very object of their scorn, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. Liberia now joins Ghana, and a handful of other African countries where criticism of the president is not a capital offense.
The sad but unfeigned truth is, if either of these men were allowed to have their way the gains of which Liberia boasts today would more than likely be reversed. If the veils were lifted off their political ranting and raving they would be hopelessly exposed for the hypocrites they really are.
To fully understand the motivation behind these political maneuverings requires an in depth exposure of the very fabric, and character of each of these individuals to expose them and their attempt to perpetuate political fraud on the Liberian people. These are all failed politicians in one form or another. Several are corrupt to the core and are attempting to rehabilitate their image by castigating the only Liberian politician on record for standing up to the status quo, and very nearly losing her life in the process. We have purposed a long time ago that we will not remain silent while evil attempts to overthrow good. As a firm subscriber to Sir Edmund Burke’s, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”, we herewith cast our lot with those who would like to see Liberia rise up from the ashes of degradation to take her rightful place amongst the comity of nations.
Hence we begin our expose with Lewis Brown, a failed politician par excellence. In other words, one could not achieve a higher degree of failure even if one tried, unless you are one of those who subscribe to the belief that the end justifies any means possible, including murder. Failure, in this context is not measured by how big a house one builds, rather how profound an impact one may have on the positive development of his fellowman.
One of Charles Taylor’s principal lieutenants, Lewis Brown, along with several others, presided over the destruction and pillage of Liberia and her resources, ending up as Foreign Minister in the quasi-legitimate government of The Butcher of Liberia, Mr. Taylor. For all intents and purposes he (Brown) should be on trial for his role, active or passive, in the wanton destruction of lives of innocent Liberians, as well as for the massive amounts of financial resources of the country he expropriated to himself. To suggest that Mr. Brown and his cohorts were corrupt would be an understatement of immense proportions, because that would seek to clothe their activity in some semblance of legitimacy, thus pretending to be the exception, rather than the rule.
It would be more appropriate to say these men were part of a criminal enterprise akin to the Mafia, Mob, Yakuza, whatever name ascribed, but criminal nevertheless. That enterprise was called “Liberia under Taylor”, and was used callously, wantonly, and unscrupulously for the enrichment of few at the expense of many, to the extent that it was the instrument of destabilization for the entire West African sub region encompassing Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast and Guinea.
The massive mansions built and maintained by Mr. Brown and his cohorts are evidence enough of the size and nature of the criminal enterprise he was a part of. Mr. Brown was well known to many Liberians, including myself, prior to the war which brought him to this level of prosperity at the expense of nearly 250,000 innocent Liberians. He was not born into a so-called wealthy family, (no fault of his, as majority of Liberians fall into this category, including myself). Neither is there evidence to suggest that he engaged in any business ventures of any kind which may have catapulted him to this level of wealth, thus accounting for how he became one of the rich and powerful elites of Liberia. I submit that the one and only explanation of how Lewis Brown became so notably “well-off” was through his participation in the criminal enterprise of Charles Taylor.
Many of Mr. Taylor’s former partners-in-crime seem to have adopted an appreciation for their roles in the destruction of Liberia, and have wisely chosen to remain quiet. One thing that is crystal clear is that, whether they realize it or not, these men lack the moral authority to ascribe criticisms to even the simplest Liberian, still worse to dare criticize the one individual that is attempting to resurrect the country from the level of tyranny and destruction to which it had sunk under their rule. Bucking that trend are few who refuse to simply shut up. One of these is Lewis Brown.
Mr. Brown masquerades as a squeaky-clean individual, launching scathing attacks upon Madame Sirleaf while she attempts to reverse the effects of over a decade of damage inflicted on the country by none other than he and his partners. This is a glaring affront to the Liberian people, and should not be allowed to go unchecked. Does he think the people are stupid? Or because Liberians are a forgiving people has he chosen to flaunt his ill-gotten gains in their faces? It is no less shameful when other Liberians join this fraud of a man in raining insults upon the president. One such Liberian institution is the Liberian Legislature. Shame on them for granting this agent of evil an audience to “Testify before them”, and to castigate the efforts of the one person who, single-handedly, has restored the image of Liberia after being in office for just four years. Mr. Taylor, Mr. Brown and their criminal enterprise were “in office” for six years. Shall we compare and contrast what they did in six years versus what has been accomplished in just four by this president?
It would be an effort in futility, because, as mentioned before, theirs was not a real government, rather it was a criminal enterprise, a failed state, so they did what criminals do best – steal, rob and kill.
What would they do differently if given the chance for leadership? Liberian males have dominated Liberian politics since the country’s existence. We have witnessed, with devastating consequences where that leadership has brought the country. Most former Liberian male politicians have lavish foreign bank accounts, the result of stolen resources from the country. Since a child growing up in Liberia, I have watched in puzzlement and amazement one politician after another, loot the country’s resources and move to the United States or Europe. I am now advanced in age, and I have yet to identify a rich Liberian whose wealth was not obtained at expense of the country and its people. I submit it is not enough to criticize without proffering some measure of how they would effect sustained, positive change more rapidly. So the challenge is extended to every would-be presidential candidate to present their development plan to the Liberian people, and spell out exactly what they would do differently and better than what is being obtained currently under the present administration. 1
I do not wish to communicate that it is wrong for members of the former criminal enterprise to seek to rehabilitate their image. However this effort should be done with a high degree of humility, deference, and gratitude toward the people for electing not to prosecute them for the crimes they perpetrated against them. It is disingenuous when criminals cavort as saints without repentance, as is the case of Mr. Brown. I marvel at the gall of this man who has no shame for his role in where the country found itself prior to the presidency of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. What is his claim to fame? His should rather be a claim to shame, yet he is speaking on behalf of the opposition. How appropriate, since the opposition has shown itself to be as culpable as any in trying to stifle the efforts of this president to move Liberia forward.
Lewis Brown’s so-called, “responding to the president” is simply an excuse to use the airwaves as an instrument to spread chaos and confusion, and to instill fear in the minds of the Liberian people about this government. I am sometimes puzzled as to why Liberians allow people to trample on their feelings to the extent of causing them grievous bodily harm, but are so willing to “Let-bygones-be-bygones”, simply to avoid confrontation. Were Mr. Brown and his fellow partners-in-crime in some other societal setting, they would be considered outlaws, outcasts, even criminals, but in Liberia they are part of the elite.
Beware Mr. Brown! Liberians, the world over, are watching you, and are fully aware of your efforts to destabilize the plans of this president to restore basic services to the people with or without assistance from those of you who wish her evil. Maybe it is your hope that Madame Sirleaf fails in her efforts to restore the country to its prewar status in the hope that that will set the stage for the return of Charles Taylor to implement a resurgence of his criminal enterprise. But let me remind you that you may be forgetting that Charles Taylor is going away for a very long, long time, and that, “Those who fail to heed the lessons of history are bound to repeat the mistakes”. You are not fooling anybody with your empty rhetoric, because you are like and empty drum with nothing to offer but sound. Given a chance you would restore Liberia to the days when people were killed for having an opinion, and that’s the honest truth.
Liberians everywhere, rise up and unite against the likes of Lewis Brown. Speak out on the issues. It is not enough to remain silent while men like this attempt to reverse the gains made in restoring the country to its rightful place. Every negative, idle word spoken against Liberia and the efforts to move in the right direction, which are left unanswered, opens the efforts of this administration to an unfair interpretation by the international community as to the true circumstances obtaining in Liberia.
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