Accusations of partisanship among chiefs, unequal development distribution, and growing mistrust between communities have only widened the divide.
VOINJAMA, Lofa County – While President Joseph Nyuma Boakai is receiving accolades for launching reconciliation initiatives in Grand Gedeh and leading a national reconciliation conference in Monrovia, a storm is quietly brewing in his own political and ancestral backyard, Lofa County.
By Emmanuel Weedee-Conway
It seems that the President is turning a blind eye to deepening cracks within Lofa’s political and traditional fabric, even as he takes center stage in healing national wounds.
In real sense, President Boakai’s house leaks profusely while he repairs other people’s homes” as what began as a cultural disagreement over the installation of a Paramount Chief in Wanhassa District has now spiraled into a broader political and familial conflict.
This comes on the heels of the abrupt dismissal of Cultural Inspector Aaron Armah Ndosoe and the subsequent appointment of his own brother, Kpehe Armah Ndosoe, to the same position.
This underscores the growing frustration over the President’s silence on the escalating disputes in his native Lofa, which is showing signs of internal breakdown, and many are wondering why its most prominent son remains quiet.
It can be recalled that a week ago, the President Boakai dispatched a high-level team to Grand Gedeh County to calm longstanding ethnic and political tensions.
He also hosted a widely publicized National Conference on Peace and Reconciliation, calling on Liberians to “forgive, unite, and rebuild the nation.”
But for citizens of Lofa, especially in Kolahun and Wanhassa Districts, those words ring hollow.
In Lofa, local leadership has plunged into chaos following the controversial move by county authorities to install a Paramount Chief without proper community consultation, flouting both tradition and the Local Government Act.
And despite the turbulence, President Boakai has yet to issue a statement or send a delegation to investigate. For a county known as his stronghold and birthplace, his silence has been interpreted by many as a betrayal.
“Where Is the Leadership at Home?”
Mr. said Paul Kanneh, a journalist and prominent son of the county, who spoke to this paper, decried the situation back home and the President’s failure to swiftly intervene into the matter.
“The President talks about national healing, but his own county is bleeding internally. You cannot preach reconciliation in Grand Gedeh while ignoring the cries from your backyard. That’s not leadership, it’s avoidance,” Paul stated.
Other community voices have echoed the sentiment, questioning why Boakai has prioritized symbolic national unity while allowing unresolved local conflicts to fester in Lofa.
Lofa’s Growing Disunity
Tensions in Lofa go beyond the recent traditional appointments. Since the 2023 general elections, the county has been divided along political lines.
Accusations of partisanship among chiefs, unequal development distribution, and growing mistrust between communities have only widened the divide. The cultural and traditional leadership, once a source of unity, is now fragmented and politicized.
The Paramount Chieftaincy dispute in Wanhassa is just one example. While community members call for democratic consultation in line with the Local Government Act, local power brokers aligned with the ruling party have instead moved unilaterally, thus prompting protests, accusations of bias, and now, violent threats.
Aaron Ndosoe, the ousted Cultural Inspector, insists his removal was not about misconduct but about silencing dissent.
“My only crime was standing up for tradition and resisting political interference,” he said in a recent interview. If President Boakai wants true reconciliation, he must start by addressing the injustices happening right here in Lofa,” he stated.
Political Risk or Missed Opportunity?
Observers believe Boakai’s hands-off approach may be political, an effort to avoid taking sides in a conflict involving traditional elders and local politicians. But others warn that the cost of inaction could be steep.
“Boakai risks losing moral authority on national reconciliation if he allows his own county to collapse into disunity,” asserted another prominent Lofian, stressing that this sends the message that reconciliation is a performance rather than a practice.
With disunity festering in Lofa, the President’s next steps could determine whether he is remembered as a genuine healer or a symbolic one. Citizens await not just speeches from the podium but real interventions where it matters most. And for many in Lofa, that starts with a visit, a dialogue, and decisive leadership in the place he calls home.
