Since the death of President William Richard Tolbert, Jr., and the inception of indigenous Liberian presidents, President Joseph Nyuma Boikai is the most educated and experienced statesman to enter the Executive Mansion. He is also the eldest of the other two indigenous presidents, Samuel Kanyon Doe, and George Manning Weah.
President Boikai is the bridge between the True Whig and Indigenous rulership. He possesses the wisdom and stagecraft to restore the statecraft the True Whig regime possessed and that the new cadre of indigenous leaders before him lacked. Hence, traditionally speaking, it is safe to say that President Boikai is the Old Mat we must sit on to weave a new National Mat.
President Boikai possesses wisdom; he is humble and he acknowledges the contributions of patriotic citizens as President Tolbert did. He also speaks “good English” says U.S. President Donald Trump, and he represents Liberia diplomatically at international fora. All of these qualities are worth emulating and we must not take them for granted because they help to reconstruct a wholesome functioning society if we all provide positive support towards the realization of national peace and unity.
Therefore, we must not allow detractors to distract us from the path of peace and reconciliation to return to war, violence and lawlessness, just to please the egos of a handful of self-centered politicians who do not have the interest of the masses at heart. Nonetheless, the process of national transformation, and promotion of national unity, peace reconciliation, and rule of law, cannot be continually attained with a weak information, cultural, touristic and communications strategy.
Weak Information, Broadcasting System and Cultural/Touristic System
The Information Ministry and the Liberia Broadcasting System, as well as the culture and tourism wings of government must perform 100 % better in order to adequately inform the Liberian populace about GOL domestic and foreign policies. They must be rapid, expedient, and fair in disseminating information to the citizens so that Liberians do not rely on private communications networks to feed them with misinformation that are geared towards keeping Liberia in a chaotic and lawless state.
Additionally, the heads of these strategic public relations institutions must be open-minded, friendly and willing to embrace well-meaning Liberians who have creative talents to enhance and disseminate GOL’s domestic and foreign policies in multifaceted forms, through music, dance, theatre, literacy, community engagement events, etc.
In other words, the Ministry of Information, Liberia Broadcasting System, and Culture and Tourism are supposed to be the “PUBLIC RELATIONS” wing of the government of Liberia, but in my opinion and based on my interaction with heads of these government institutions, they have a very poor public relations rating. Therefore, there is a dire need for President Boikai to move swiftly in addressing this matter before Liberians become overdosed with misinformation which may lead to loss of confidence in his administration and the loss of the developmental gains that have been made thus far.
For instance, a “weekly Information Press Conference” will not cut it. An LBS that is unwelcoming and unfriendly towards creative Liberian content creators just for the sake of personal job protection will not cut it. And the dormancy of these two strategic government information and communications agencies means there will be continual widespread of misinformation, chaos, and a direct sabotage of all the good efforts the Boikai administration is undertaking to implement major reforms and national development.
Difference between Past and Present Information, Culture, Tourism and LBS Gatekeepers
During my days at the University of Liberia when I newly established Dehkontee Artists nearly fifty years ago, the Ministers of Information Johnny McClain, Dr. Edward Kesselly, and J. Jenkins Peal, and Deputy Minister for Culture, Bai T. Moore (my father and mentor) were very friendly, respectful, and motivational. They went scouting for young Liberian talents to help them promote GOL domestic and foreign policies and to empower the youth and ordinary Liberians to have a voice in national development.
I was one of those employed by Johnny McClain as a cadet at MICAT. Dr. Edward Kesselly, J. Jenkins Peal, Bai T. Moore attended DATI performances, and they created a line of communications between the President’s office and DATI. All attempts to establish rapport with the current Minister of Information is completely zero. We have a “I will call you back” relationship. Maybe I may receive a call for solid discussion on how the Minister of Information can collaborate with Dehkontee Artists Theatre after President Boikai leaves office or after President Boikai appoints a new Information Minister.
At LBS T. Kla-Williams, Director-General of LBS, Eustace Smith, Omodele Bright-Greaves, Wilmot Stubblefield, Martin Brown, warmly welcomed and collaborated with local artist groups, National Cultural Troupe, Dehkontee Artists Theatre, Trotro Artists, Cultural Ambassadors, Womtee Theatre, E. J. Roye Drama Group, Malawala Balawala, University of Liberia Players, Cuttington University and University of Liberia Choruses, etc.
We ran television and radio drama series. We worked as one family of creative individuals who promoted the image of Liberia to the outside world. Today, what LBS does with its airtime and what their relationship is with Liberian artists in terms of providing airtime to promote Liberian culture and history remains a mystery to me.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also played a significant role in uplifting my work on the international scene.4
On July 26, 1978, Ambassador Joseph Morris, then Liberia’s Ambassador accredited near Freetown, Sierra Leone, had the opportunity to watch “The Chains of Apartheid” at the State House in Freetown. As a representative of Liberia, he immediately sent a telegram to President Tolbert, urging the President to watch DATI’s performance of his foreign policy on the Liberation of Southern Africa on stage. Within weeks, Speedy invited DATI to the Executive Mansion to perform for him. Speedy did not stop there, he invited DATI to perform when Ghanaian Head of State Fred Akkuffo and Jerry Rawlings visited Liberia in 1979.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Honorable C. Cecil Dennis, Jr., one of Liberia’s most erudite diplomats, sponsored a performance of Dehkontee Artists Theatre at the Monrovia City Hall Auditorium for all diplomats accredited near Monrovia in 1979.
Mind you. I was not a member of the True Whig Party Youth Wing, and I am not Congau or Americo-Liberian. I was just an ordinary and creative Liberian youth and “Country Boy” that had something tangible to offer my country and patriotic Liberian government officials responded favorably based on my talents.
Government Officials Must Be Loyal to the President and Government in Which They Work
Government officials must be loyal to the President and government in which they work. The difference between the government officials of the old regime and the ones we have today is as vast as the difference between day and night. Back in the day, we could dialogue with our government officials and get things done but now, one can hardly get a phone call returned or answered. Back in the day, government officials were very loyal to the President who appointed them to office. So, they did everything within their power for their administration to succeed. I pray that Boikai’s appointed officials will be more cordial and receptive of the contributions of patriotic citizens who want to help develop their country.
I recall having a virtual meeting with the Director-General of the National Tourism Agency when she cut me off in the middle of my recommendation to explore ways in which DATI can assist the government of Liberia to provide effective cultural and touristic programs in Liberia. “We are doing everything you are talking about” and that was the end of the conversation. We cannot continue to put people in positions of public trust who are not willing to collaborate and/or who feel the government entities they run are their private properties. That is undemocratic. We must learn to sit on the Old Mat to weave a New Mat.
Rabbi Prince Joseph Tomoonh-Garlodeyh Gbaba, Sr., Ed. D.
September 6, 2026
