Compiled By: Foday N. Massaquoi
Honestly, I wrote this piece doubting my earlier ideological belief as a curious high school boy. Seventy-five percent of politically inclined young men in Liberia grew up admiring the vibrancy and potency of the former Vanguard Student Unification Party (SUP) throughout their high school days.
Before proceeding any further, let me remind you of the fallen heroes and heroines of SUP, whose legacy has been compromised and destroyed today: Michael G. S. Dolo, the founding chairman of SUP; Frederick Gobawolee, the first standard-bearer of SUP; Swanzy Elliott, former chairman of SUP and the man who crafted the word “massacracy”; Irene Nimpson, a member of the women’s wing, killed by a stray bullet during the April 14, 1979, street protest against the increase in the price of rice; Benedict Garlawolu, a member of the Central Committee; Wuo Garbe Tappia, former chairman and former standard-bearer of SUP, killed on August 17, 1990, by government forces on the Capital Bypass; Tonia Richardson, killed by rebel forces in Fendall; Weewee Debah, the great writer of SUP, who was killed by government forces on Ashmun Street in 1990; and many other fallen comrades. These people didn’t die for SUP to become a proxy group for a specific political party. That is not what SUP was formulated for. But today, the struggle has been politicized. The former active movement is now cherry-picking what and when to struggle for. How dare you think SUP is a pick-and-choose enabler? SUP should and must be for the suffering masses, no matter their tribe, lineage, or political understanding. But those values are dead and gone. SUP is now operating for its political benefit, positioning itself for the job market through cowardly compromise.
We were all SUPists from elementary school. That admiration filled our hearts and made us proactive until we entered university. No matter which university one attended—public or private—they were SUPists at heart, following the movement only because it was made to be believed that it would always be a party of the masses, not an auxiliary of any political party. That has changed. The movement is now a Unity Party SUP. Thousands of SUP admirers and supporters have never set foot on the University of Liberia’s main campus, yet their support for the party is visible in their communities and even in the hinterlands.
I was converted to SUP while in Sinje Town, Grand Cape Mount County, as an elementary student. I voted for SUP in a student council election, and our candidate won. We sang, “We like our SUP business. Ah yeah, ah. We like our SUP business. Ah yeah, ah!” When I matriculated to Monrovia, I became the standard-bearer of the Mighty Student Unification Party (True Vine Institute version of the party), won elections, and even became the longest-serving and most development-oriented leader of the student populace at True Vine. That’s how much SUP formerly lived in our hearts and minds—until today.
The recent exposure of Jusu Kamara, former secretary-general and chairmanship candidate of the party, now Senior Director for Public Affairs at the National Port Authority (NPA), is a generational indictment that has destroyed and demoralized the former ideological movement—unless the militants on campus act urgently to correct this dilemma. Only a halfbaked militant will stand with the greedy dwarf. He lied to his friends that they protested yesterday that he’s making less than 1k, only to be exposed that this incompetent greedy dwarf makes USD $4,000 when nurses cannot see their USD$150 salary.
Firstly, I believe in the theory of being truthful to oneself without distorting reality. Isn’t this the same Jusu who protested against the free tuition policy instituted by Weah’s CDC, which benefited over 63,000 university students? Isn’t this the same Jusu who insulted and accused decent young people such as Leader Millias Z. Sheriff, Alvin Wesseh, Emmanuel Johnson, Eddie Trawallay, and Mohammed Bamba, calling them unqualified, incompetent, and academic delinquents—even though some of them held bachelor’s and master’s degrees in their areas of specialization? Can this greedy dwarf reach half of these brilliant men above?
Today, Jusu—whose biggest credential outside his questionable BSc includes a series of unfinished credits—wants us to accept that he is a qualified professional. What a mockery! What competitive process did this greedy dwarf go through to be promoted twice while still on probation at the NPA? For him to boastfully brag about making $4,000 USD while thousands of qualified Liberians are jobless is an insult to competence. From battle cries and chanting to staging Unity Party protests, to Senior Director—this is political patronage, nothing more.
But this isn’t about Jusu. This is about using a practical reality to remind our people. The SUP we grew up admiring was weakened and destroyed many generations ago. The recent generations of SUPists have proven to be a breeding ground for the Unity Party. Seven out of every ten militants of SUP today on campus go straight to the Unity Party before they even leave campus. The Unity Party was founded from the True Wing Party, so why do SUPists run straight to the sons and daughters of the oligarchy and into its party structure that shot veterans of the movement to death? The answer is simple: the recent generations of SUPists are pretenders of history. They admire the fantasy of today more than reading ideological materials. They are being funded and heavily guided by Unity Partisans and their alliance members. That’s why SUP was so bitter yesterday under Weah’s CDC. Jusu and his kind were playing their auxiliary role on campus. From campus, straight to unmerited positions—positions bigger than their reasoning.
Fellow Liberians, the SUP we once knew has lost its vibrancy due to political compromise. The SUP that was bitter and condemning the free tuition policy is now inviting the regime’s lying machine, Jerolimeak Piah, to campus to honor him. Is SUP that short of veterans to inspire them? SUP is silent when Boakai’s police kill citizens in the Kinjor massacre. SUP cannot speak about a police officer, Boimah Massalay, shooting 17-year-old Favor to death and being released by Gregory Coleman. SUP today is limiting itself to campus only to save face. We have come to uncover the brutal betrayal of the former masses movement.
To the comrades on campus: The current opposition does not need a student group to fight its political battle. There are thousands of courageous and conscious party militants capable of confronting Boakai’s hegemony.
To any young student or youth reading this, I say: Doubt your belief in SUP yesterday and question the current generation on campus. Do not be fooled. When you subtract “Student” from SUP, what remains is “Unification Party”—another way to say “Unity Party.” Therefore, go out and join STUDA or PROSA if you want to struggle for students’ rights and protect the masses’ interests. PROSA and STUDA are conscious institutions that Boakai’s Unity Party fears—that’s why the police brutalize them while remaining lukewarm toward SUP.
To conclude, for the first time in history, the SUP gimmick of scheming has been exposed. The Student Unification Party is now a Unity Party auxiliary. Their veterans and party representatives are stealing massively and protecting their jobs with Mr. Boakai, while SUP remains toothless. But let it be known: The silence of SUP must remain until the day their veterans’ influence has depreciated around the presidency. Then, they’ll want to use the students to protest and raise unnecessary debates against Mr. Boakai. We will resist that to the core.
The party is self-destructed by supporting the cabal of recycled squanderers in the Unity Party, and we encourage them to continue the honeymoon. Until then, the SUP I grew up admiring for its restless independence has failed me and thousands. Dashing the party to Mr. Boakai for jobs and inclusion is an ideological abomination—but we hope this lasts long. Anything else tomorrow, and SUP will be standing on its own. Nobody controls the masses. The CDC and the current opposition do not need a proxy group to fight their political welfare. The people’s social and material well-being will push them into history.
About the Author:
Foday N. Massaquoi is a Columnist, political analyst, Inspirational Speaker, and Youth and Civil Rights Advocate. He is a proponent of Liberia’s progressive forwardness and currently serving as the National Chairman of the CDC – Council of Patriots; Liberia’s foremost and biggest political civil rights movement. He can be reached via: somboson23@gmail.com
