Liberia-Late Nimba County Senator Prince Y. Johnson was laid to rest Saturday following days of consequentially heroic funeral ceremonies and protocols befitting his status, role and contributions to the people of Nimba in particular and the country in general.
Johnson died last December at the age of 72 following a very brief sickness, and after a controversial and complex military and political life that spanned several decades.
Senator Johnson’s heroically state-sponsored funeral held in the bustling city of Gompa or Ganta drew Liberians from all walks of life, including current and former officials of government, and shed light on what many said is a gloriously impactful life.
Even those considered in many quarters as his political woes saw reasons to pay their last respect by attending the red-letter funeral ceremony the people of Nimba described as unprecedented, and a recognition of his invaluable role and service to the democratic fabrics of the country.
The controversial figure who played politics in its typical faction left indelible marks in the same of time.
Political pundits have been arguing that his Nimba County could find it so tetchy to cope and grapple with his passing at such heightened political atmosphere occasioned by President Boakai pursue of justice for thousands of Liberians scarred and victimized by the late former warlord’s actions during the war.
Rather than being completely enmeshed in commiseration for Johnson’s passing, citizens of Nimba appeared emboldened and psychologically strengthened to keep his memories alive.
Nimbaians however used Saturday’s eye-catching eventful funeral to pledge full-fledged commitment to upholding Senator’s legacy of keeping Nimba at the forefront of politics and establishing it as a political force in determining political leadership in the country.
Vice President Jeremiah Koung minced no words, while paying tribute to his political maker, that everything the deceased Senator, whom the people of Nimba regarded as political godfather, stood for will be carried out in his absence.
He praised the late Senator as formidable character, a hero that stood firm in the cause of his people and nation building.
The Vice president also said the deceased was not a coward but someone who did not allow situations to pass him without action or response.
He adequately defended his late political maker on the controversial the issue of war and economic crimes court, saying the late Senator was in support of the establishment of such instrument and was prepared to avail himself.
“He was in support of war crimes court, that is why he signed the resolution,” Koung said.
Vice President Koung’s comments were in response to Senator Thomas Yaya Nimely’s regurgitation that the deceased former warlord was “troubled” by the establishment of the court by the Unity Party government he helped to bring to power.
Senator Nimely comments portray a smell of betrayal by the Unity Party administration to help to bring to power.
But VP Koung denied that the late Senator was betrayed by the UP, stating that he was not guilty because he was not tried by any court and found guilty.
“He was a hero and died as a hero, that is why people from all walks of life are, even those who said they would not speak to him and me,” Koung intimated in a very strong tune.
Political observers believe the Vice President’s comment were indirect reference to former President George Weah who had a foggy and shaky relationship with the deceased following the 2023 elections in which he (Johnson) supported the UP instead of supporting he (Weah) as he did in 2017.
VP Koung also used the occasion to elucidate how the Senator Johnson came to support President Boakai during the 2023 elections, emphasizing the decision stemmed from pleas by elders of Lofa, Bong and Nimba to support the former vice President bid for the highest office of the land.
According to him, the elders of Lofa initiated and facilitated the process when they first approached elders of Bong to lend their support to then VP Boakai. In the same vain, two elderly groups decided to reach out to elders of Nimba to also seek and encourage their support for the then UP candidate.
During the interactions, VP Koung disclosed that the elders of Lofa asked the elders of Nimba to put forth one of their sons to run on the ticket with the former Vice President; an arrangement that brought he Koung to the limelight.
The Vice President told the gathering of mourners that the late Johnson has left them (NImbaians) in the hands of President Boakai as their father, pledging to stand with the President as a demonstration of respect for the late senator’s wish.
He assured President Boakai that the people of Nimba will stand with him as their late godfather craved.
However was marred controversy as a result of a statement made by Grand Gedeh Senator Thomas Yaya Nimely that the current government of Joseph Boakia did not give protection to Senator Johnson which might have led to his death.
Flanked by elders of Grand Gedeh County, the Senator Nimely revealed that when the late senator was elected, he sought refuge with the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf government, adding that the Sirleaf government protected the late senator, and former president Weah did the same, but the Unity Party he supported in the 2023 elections did not give him (Senator Johnson) any protection.
According to him, instead of protecting the man who helped the party to win the elections went ahead with the establishment of a War and Economic Crime Court.
Sen. Nimely called on the Liberian government not to focus on the establishment of the War and Economic Crime Court as it has the ability to take Liberia back to war.
He gave a scenario from the Bible about the wife of Lot, who looked back as they fled the destruction, the Grand Gedeh lawmaker advised that any attempt for the government to look back, the consistency could be bad.
Nimely, who, too, is a warlord is one of those whose name is listed as those who bear the greatest responsibility for Liberia’s civil unrest.
“Prince Johnson was my friend. Our friendship was genuine” he stated.
The Grand Gedeh County senator used the occasion to call on both citizens of Nimba and Grand Gedeh to put aside their differences to unite. He also called for people who the late senator might have wronged to forgive him.
Both VP Jeremiah Koung and Speaker Richard N. Koon rebuked the Grand Gedeh County Senator.
VP Koung said, “Senator was not wrong. He was never convicted by any court in Liberia or anywhere in the world , he defended the people of Nimba.
“If the Senator was alive, he would have responded. Senator, I am responding because you would have done it” the Liberian Vice President said.
Senator Nyan Twan and other speakers from the County sounded unanimous in their pledge to continue the legacy of their fallen political godfather who lived a complex and controversial life.
Senator Twan warned those who may think that Senator Johnson’s passing will the county asunder to think twice, saying that the county will remain strong politically and developmentally.
President Boakai, in his panegyric, reflected on the fallen Senator contributions to the country, also describing him as complex character who impacted the political and social landscape of the country.
