-Liberia’s 177th Independence Day Orator urges Boakai to focus on achieving tangibles, goes fiery on Liberia-U.S. relations
By Jerromie S. Walters
Dr. Robtel Neajai Pailey, the Orator of Liberia’s 177th Independence Day Celebration didn’t just use the occasion to fearlessly speak on the sad reality that exists amid Liberia-U.S. relations but she was also emphatic about reminding President Joseph Nyuma Boakai that he was elected to rescue Liberians as such he must focus on achieving tangible goals.
President Joseph Nyuma Boakai won the November 14, 2023, presidential run-off election with 50.64 percent of the vote, while ex-president George Weah accumulated 49.36 percent of the votes. Boakai won with only a 20,567-vote margin. Weah had already conceded defeat days before the final results based on the results of more than 99.98 percent of the polling stations. President Boakai was inaugurated on January 22, 2024.
During Liberia’s 177th Independence Day Celebration, Friday, July 26, 2024, at the Centennial Pavillon in central Monrovia, Orator Dr. Robtel Neajai Pailey emphasized that while expectations are high, the government’s performance remains low. The Orator: “Liberians elected you to rescue. Expectations high but morale low,” she tells the President. The Orator continues, “Focus on tangible goals” She urged him to Institute reform that will cement his legacy if he wants to be remembered.
Friday, July 26, 2024, marks the 177th Independence Day Anniversary of the West African nation (Liberia). On this day in 1847, Liberian forefathers declared Liberia an independent nation, free from the shackles of colonialism and oppression. It was a momentous occasion that paved the way for the freedom and prosperity Liberians enjoy today.
Addressing President Boakai directly, Dr. Pailey questioned whether he wants to be remembered for being lawless or undermining the rule of law, pointing to the need for corrective action to regain the confidence of the Liberian people. Pailey: “Do you want to be remembered for being lawless or undermining the rule of law? A case study of the yellow machines I ask you to correct this before you lose the confidence of the people.”
She also highlighted the controversial historical relationship between Liberia and the United States and emphasized that Liberia has not benefited from the said relationship as it should. “Truth be told, the United States of America has taken more from us than we have received. Liberia is nobody’s stepchild.” She added, “Dignity should define us as a Country.”
Dr. Pailey called for the withdrawal of President Boakai’s War and Economics Crimes Court (WECC) Chairperson nomination, citing concerns about the appointment of individuals with questionable characters. She also urged the government to reverse the harmonization policy and recommended the creation of a website for both houses of government to enhance transparency and accountability.
Moreover, the Orator called on legislators to reduce their salaries by 20 percent and channel social funds to the counties. She emphasized the prominence of working towards the socio-economic transformation of the country and urged lawmakers to focus on their responsibilities rather than grandstanding on social media.
Her words: “Lawmakers Some of you have already started complaining about 2029, I urged you to stop now. Stop grandstanding on social media I urge you to do the work for the Liberian People. They will decide whether to retain you or not. Reduce your salary by 20 percent.” The Orator stressed the importance of dignity in defining the country. “You are a true Liberian if you consistently contribute to the socio-economic transformation of our Country.”
Dr. Pailey’s oration, titled ‘A Radical Agenda for Re-imagining Liberia’, aimed to inspire and incite change in the country. She called on all stakeholders to work together towards a brighter future for Liberia, emphasizing the need for accountability, transparency, and tangible results.
The Orator
Robtel Neajai Pailey is an award-winning Liberian academic, activist, and author with more than 20 years of combined personal and professional experiences in Africa, Europe, and North America. Having worked across a broad range of fields supporting universities, governments, media institutions, and multilateral, regional, non-governmental, and community-based organizations, she has practitioner-based proficiencies in qualitative research, capacity development, policy design and analysis, program management, report and grant writing, journalism and strategic communications.
Robtel has held positions in a number of different capacities, which include: speechwriting for the first elected female president of Liberia (and Africa), as well as diaspora policy formulation and bilateral scholarships streamlining at the Liberian Ministry of State for Presidential Affairs in Monrovia, Liberia; covering “new” news out of Africa as assistant editor of The Washington Informer Newspaper in Washington, DC, USA; research, teaching and curriculum development at the University of Oxford in Oxford, UK, the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), in London, UK, the University of Liberia and Stella Maris Polytechnic in Monrovia, Liberia, the Robben Island Museum in Cape Town, South Africa, and the Buduburam Refugee Camp School in Accra, Ghana; marketing and communications development for the American University in Cairo, Egypt; podcast interviewing/editorial writing for Fahamu Trust/Pambazuka News in Oxford, UK; and providing editorial guidance for the Sea Breeze Journal of Contemporary Liberian Writings as a board member and non-fiction editor. She has also consulted for ActionAid; the African Development Bank Group (AfDB); the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAid)/Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; the Ford Foundation; Search for Common Ground; the Social Science Research Council (SSRC); the Sustainable Development Institute (SDI); and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), amongst others.
Robtel has been recognized as a 2020 Grassroots Alternative Movement Outstanding Public Service Award winner; a 2019 Mary Chirwa Award for Courageous Leadership finalist; a 2016 Women4Africa International African Woman of the Year finalist; as one of the ‘25 Africans to Watch’ by the Financial Times in 2015; a 2014 Bellagio/PopTech Fellow of the Rockefeller Foundation; a 2013 ‘99 under 33’ influential foreign policy leader by Diplomatic Courier; a 2010 Archbishop Tutu Leadership Fellow by the African Leadership Institute; and a 2004 USA Today All-USA College Academic Second Team finalist. She completed BA degrees in African Studies and English Literature at Howard University, an MSc in African Studies at the University of Oxford, and a doctorate in Development Studies at SOAS, University of London, as a Mo Ibrahim Foundation PhD Scholar.
