BY: Shallon S. Gonlor
NIMBA COUNTY:- Liberia’s 26 President, Joseph NyumaBoakai, Sr. has been widely extolled for exerting efforts and resilient to maintain peace and security during his first year in office.
On Saturday, citizens and residents of the country’s mostly populated county, Nimba made the public statement here during a year end interview by our reporter, focusing on peacebuildingand sustaining peace to address the aspects of conflict prevention in the poor African territory.
Thank you, Mr. Journalist. We would like to thank President Boakai for playing a very pivotal role and his valuable contributions in peacebuilding and sustaining peace to address the aspects of conflict prevention in our country, Liberia.
Speaking, the citizens admonished President Boakai for a responsive leadership, calling on him to continue to implement a strategy to prevent conflict and promote stability as the country made a successful crossover to the next year, 2025 under his gavel as President of the Republic of Liberia.
This is a very timely and important issue. It is our strong belief that you will strengthen efforts on conflict prevention, urging your government’s A R R E S T agenda to prioritize peace and security in enhancing the nation accelerated growth and economy.
According to them, President Boakai, in year one of his six years, has demonstrated a roadmap, tailored to each county and citizen, a sustained, coordinated actions that will help address the root causes of conflict and build peace among Liberians, including key actors in the state governance process, the local leaders and stakeholders who are best positioned to drive effective and long-term change in their communities.
The call arrived at a time where Liberia is experiencing historic level of chaos and destruction of properties which are being fueled by political difference between lawmakers at the House of Representatives up Capitol Hill, worsened by Representative Jonathan Fonati Koffa removal as speaker of the lower house.
Now, the condition is serving as enablers for conflict and destruction, which can in turn lead to destabilizing peace and lose of lives.
Instead of waiting for instability to escalate into conflict and then reacting after the fact, the citizens, however, launch a passionate appeal to President Boakai to continue to work with international partners, including the ECOWAS to proactively address root causes and prevent conflict before it starts.
They further stressed that his peacebuilding efforts have been driven by the collective supports of local and international communities, amplifying marginalized voices and improving governance as essential to promoting stability and prosperity.
Recommending that the president governance system should be shaped by unprecedented collaboration and hundreds of consultations, not just across the U.S., but with partner government representatives, community leaders, women’s organizations, youth coalitions, academics, and faith leaders.
Critically, their call recognize that it’s time to shift power and trust to those most directly impacted by problems to guide the vulnerable community, Liberia to solutions.
They noted that just as everyone benefit from peace, all must help to create peace, stating that investing in peace and security, hand-in-hand with the mostly aggrieved people, a step toward a more democratic and peaceful country for future generations.
They added: “Mr. President, you have a key role in paving the path to sustain peace and security. However, the highest number of ongoing violent conflicts and record high numbers of casualties among civilians, police and political actors should serve as a wake up call to strengthen efforts in preventing conflicts, setting up measure to ensure no reoccurrence of 2024 turmoil, while his presidency enters year two in 2025.
Inclusive peacebuilding that prevents the reoccurrence of violence and builds resilient societies is essential to sustaining peace.
Early warning and early action remain key for timely action to prevent an immense human suffering, spare entire generations from the burden of conflict and ensure that development is not hindered or set back. It is worth repeating in terms of human, developmental and environmental loss, there is no better option than prevention of conflict. The security council, Ministry of Justice should do more to prevent the escalation of threats into armed conflict and to strive for their peaceful resolutions. Full respect of and compliance with the UN Charter and international law, including international human rights law, is key”.
Highlighting that effective prevention requires comprehensive and tailor-made approaches that reflect the needs and views of population on the ground. “The president should tackle the root causes and drivers of conflict and violence. No one is better placed to identify these risks than people living and working in vulnerable communities”. Stressing further that meaningful engagement with the civil society, which is usually the first to notice any worrying changes and processes, has proved to be key.
Mr. President, we conclude by saying that in the era of new and more complex threats, prevention of conflict is essential, providing for stability, resilience and sustainable development in fragile societies. In this light, the pact for the future and the review of the peacebuilding architecture in 2025 should present an opportunity to advance prevention and peacebuilding for sustainable peace.
Liberia peacebuilding and sustaining peace is still in practice after the country gains peace over the past 14 years. Many of the root causes of Liberia’s conflict remain unaddressed,including the imbalance in the provision of public services persist as sources of discontent in the country, land disputes, corruption, and concession-related tensions continue to be the main triggers of violence.
Peace can only be sustained where sustainable development is achieved; and development gains will always be at risk without sustained peace.
