Unfit to be Commander-in-Chief?

The former Liberian football icon, George Oppong Manneh Weah, has entered the political universe, and it appears, for the wrong reasons too, following his “there will be consequences if…” threats in a run-up to the just-ended first round of the Montserrado County Senatorial by-election. Weah has been promoting the fear factor, but this is not the time to give in to fear.

He apparently spends more energy punching down -- that is, barking at the National Elections Commission (NEC), which he still blames for his terrible campaign performance in 2005 – rather than, say, laying out a plan for Liberia’s renewal. That brings me to a very important statement once made by former Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) President Joan Havalenge. He is on record as having said, “The losers always complain.” Weah and his ideological vigilantes must realize that numbers, not shouting, win the day.

His catty, get-even tale has prompted some media institutions to strike back, essentially claiming he is out of touch with reality. This is more evident in support of my view that life doesn't change much after junior high school.

Weah has eclipsed his party’s true captains in star-power. He is the conversation, and he commands attention whenever he craves it. Weah’s initial resistance to the candidacy of Mrs. Geraldine Doe-Sheriff speaks of an intra-party fight. For him, it’s just about sound bites and footage.

Weah, a player whom I covered as a sports writer for a decade and a half, wants to take the Liberian people for a wild football ride. Just before the first vote was ever cast, George Weah dribbled his way into the NEC’s defense and challenged them. He was so sure of victory in the first round that he started counting his chicks before they hatched. Weah should have known better that the first round would have never been a slam dunk for his party.

But the CDC does have a severe brand problem – one that’s been developing since 2005. If the CDC comes to be seen as a party of all threats and no vision, and as one that only thrives on its so-called popularity, that could well help President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and her Unity Party (UP) stave off an anti-incumbent wave come 2011, even though this administration faces lousy challenges with the continuing hemorrhage of corruption news in the media.

Weah’s reckless statements and threats are no boost to the credibility of a party if its most well-known presidential prospect is widely regarded as unfit for that office.

Let me tell Weah that unlike football, politics is a different ball game. Soccer 101 is not the same as Politics 101. In soccer, as Weah himself can demonstrate, you can dribble your way through and score the Golden Goal singlehandedly. But, this does not happen in politics. Politics is not child’s play.

Weah’s veracious and scathing attacks on Prof. Wilson K. Tarpeh while on the campaign stomp in the township of West Point only showed the immaturity nature of the former Liberian star’s brand of politics. Why would he whine and attack the character of a fellow Liberian? Any attempt to brand a fellow compatriot as unpatriotic is just as un-Liberian. Now Tarpeh’s supporters may now be gearing up to pay him back in his own coin.

Thanks in part to Weah, there is a plethora of activists and swing voters now fired up and ready to go. Even some of the folks in Weah’s CDC are quietly murmuring on the backlash that might well be on its way for running a negative campaign.

“Lady Zico,” as I used to refer to Geraldine Doe-Sherif during her hey days as a fine female soccer star for Lioness in the late 1980s, has seen some highs and lows in her campaign; but frankly she has a golden opportunity now to reign in her boss, George Weah.

About the author
Momolu V.O. Sirleaf is a former president of the Sports Writers Association of Liberia (SWAL). He covered George Weah for a decade and half, starting from Weah’s Invincible Eleven days to his A.C. Milan stint in Italy and literally witnessed the rise of Weah’s exciting career first hand. Sirleaf holds a Master’s degree in International Relations and Global Public Policy from University of Minnesota’s Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. He also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Financial Management from the National American University. He participated in former President Bill Clinton's National Security Council (NSC) staff member, Steve Andreasen's 'Crisis Management in Foreign Affairs’ and National Security Policy seminars and simulations at the University of Minnesota. He can be reached at sirleafmomolu@gmail.com.