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Dec 27, 2005
Greensboro (December 27, 2005): --The Liberian History, Education & Development, Inc. (LIHEDE) has observed with keen interest ongoing public debates about whether or not the current president-elect of Liberia, Mrs. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, should be inaugurated on January 16, 2006 as the 22nd, 23rd, or 24th president of Liberia.
While LIHEDE believes that current public debates about the numerical ranking of Liberian presidents are healthy both for ensuring the accuracy of Liberia’s historical documents and supplanting a flourishing democracy in Liberia, it is disappointingly sad that after 158 years of our national existence as a nation and people, Liberian historians, politicians, and academicians are still unsure of the numerical ranking of the presidents of Liberia.
LIHEDE believes claims and counterclaims by a group of university professors, former Liberian government officials, and other groups of Liberians over such rudimentary national issue as the numerical ranking of the presidents of Liberia based on term of office manifest serious lapses in the political and educational systems of Liberia due to years of neglect and failures of the Liberian school system to teach the true history, culture, governmental structures, and other historical epochs of all the peoples and demographic groups making up the Liberian body politic.
LIHEDE believes neither claims that Mrs. Johnson-Sirleaf should be inaugurated as the 22nd president of Liberia based on the physical count of Liberian presidents, nor counterclaims that Mrs. Johnson-Sirleaf should be inaugurated as the 24th president of Liberia based on the inclusion of Vice President James S. Smith (1870-71) as the sixth president of Liberia can advance national unity, peace, and understanding in Liberia, let alone promote historical accuracy, without concerted national efforts aimed at teaching the true and comprehensive history of Liberia in Liberian grade schools, high schools, and colleges.
Hence, as part of its common desires and goals to promote, research, discuss, educate, and write about the true historical perspectives, cultural, linguistics, and development aspirations and progress of the people of Liberia, LIHEDE developed a Liberian Studies Program curriculum (BA to PhD) in 2004 for which it signed a memorandum of understanding with two Liberian universities in 2005 to begin the offering of a bachelor’s degree program in Liberian studies at the start of the 2006 academic year.
LIHEDE believes in order to promote national harmony, cooperation, and development in Liberia, it is imperative for Liberians to learn about themselves through their history and culture by establishing a comprehensive Liberian Studies Program at the grade school, high school, and college levels that emphasizes workshops, seminars, and field excursions relating to the written history, oral history, and other historical, cultural, economic, and political couriers of Liberia.
LIHEDE believes that without a common framework binding all Liberians together through the implementation of a rigorous and comprehensive Liberian Studies Program in Liberian grade school and colleges, the Liberian society may continue to be confronted by such rudimentary but mundane issues as the numerical ranking of Liberian presidents, as evident by the current controversy about whether or not president-elect, Mrs. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf should be inaugurated on January 16, 2006 as the 22nd, 23rd, or 24th president of Liberia.
These concerns and related attempts aimed at unraveling the mystery surrounding the historical role of Vice President James S. Smith in Liberian politics after the death in office of President Edward James Roye in 1871 demonstrate a woeful lack of knowledge about ourselves and our history as Liberians, so every effort must be expended to eradicate this historical and contemporary blemish on our national consciousness as a nation and people.
LIHEDE, therefore, proposes that in order to forestall any future controversies about presidential ranking and the accuracy of related historical documents in Liberia, a national historical commission should be established after the inauguration of the current president-elect to study all historical records of Liberia and make appropriate recommendations to the new chief executive for review and subsequent codification by the national legislature through a binding resolution or legislation.
LIHEDE finds no merits in arguments that suggest president-elect, Mrs. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf should be inaugurated as the 22nd president or 24th president of Liberia due to lack of sufficient collaborative documentation to substantiate these claims. The last president was legally sworn in as the 22nd president of Liberia, so Liberia cannot have two 22nd presidents nor can Liberia have a 24th president when a 23rd president has not been legally inaugurated.
LIHEDE entertains the hope that upon her inauguration as the 23rd president of Liberia, Mrs. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf will appoint a national commission of historical experts to investigate and bring closure to the lingering controversies about the death in office of President Edward James Roye, the disputed succession of Vice President James S. Smith to the presidency, and related historical issues.
Signed:
Nat Galarea Gbessagee
Approved:
Syrulwa Somah, PhD.
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