by George Woodtor
A couple of days ago, I woke up to news of Guinean soldiers crossing into the Liberian side of the border in the Foya Statutory District of Lofa County. They reportedly de-hoisted our flag and replaced it with theirs. Prior to this incident, they halted the work of a Liberian company, BK Enterprise Inc., and seized their equipment. This company was mining sand in the Makona River for a road construction project near the Sorlumba border crossing. The soldiers defended their actions by claiming the sand-mining area was within Guinean territory. This, in my view, was nothing less than provocation and open disrespect toward the Liberian people.
I don’t blame them!
It would be remiss not to mention that, as the second oldest independent nation in the world and the oldest on the African continent, Liberia deserves respect. Furthermore, Liberia’s multifaceted role in championing the liberation of Africa from the colonial yoke is a reason she should be honored by all nations on the continent—Guinea included.
I don’t blame them!
As a matter of fact, about 40% of our land was taken away during the 19th and early 20th centuries. These lands were seized by France, in favor of the territories now known as Guinea and Ivory Coast, and by Great Britain, in favor of what is today known as Sierra Leone. In these three neighboring countries, many of the areas inhabited by ethnic groups belonging to the 16 tribes of Liberia were originally part of our nation. I am talking about tribes such as the Kpelle, Loma, Mano, Gio, Kissi, Grebo, and Krahn.
I don’t blame them!
These reductions of our land mass, which benefited today’s Guinea, Ivory Coast, and Sierra Leone, were formalized by treaties in 1892 and 1903. In a broader sense, Liberia was placed under immense pressure by France and forced to sign the 1892 treaties that transferred large areas to French colonial rule.
I don’t blame them! I blame our past leaders for failing to make the necessary sacrifices to defend our territorial boundaries. And today, I blame our current leaders for not doing enough to beef up the strength of our military—to at least 30,000 well-trained personnel—and for failing to heavily equip them with modern weaponry procured from the United States of America.
I don’t blame them!
