A Critique of Alhaji Kromah and the 2011, Election--Can He Win the Presidency?Jun 25, 2009Varfley A. Dolleh Limany Political Columinist

As the political playing field in Liberia becomes muddy in the wake of frantic preparations for the “2011 Legislative and Presidential Elections”, one of the enterprising political messiahs vying for this contestable office will be Professor Alhaji GV. Kromah. With unimpeachable credentials, plus a vibrant and unique constituency, political pundits are speculating, “Whether or not he could win the pending Election”. What are his chances as we politically endeavor to elucidate?Profile of Alhaji Kromah:Mr. Kromah is a Mandingo by tribe, Moslem by religion and hails from Lofa County, Republic of Liberia. He is an astute academician with enviable credentials, in “Economics, Law, International Journalism and politics, from Liberia and America respectively. He held several prestigious positions, ranging from “Special Assistant to Former Vice President of Liberia, Bernard D. Warner, Minister of Information, Republic of Liberia, and Director General of the Liberia Broad Casting Station (LBS), and member of the Collective Presidency of Liberia in the Transitional Government of Liberia”. Presently, he is a Professor of Communication and Law at the University of Liberia.Unlike his adversaries, Mr. Kromah is seen as a liberator and a Freedom fighter akin to the like of “Nelson Mandela”, for standing against tyranny and championing the cause of the Mandingoes and non Mandingoes alike, when they were left in a state of limbo by the “International Community”. In short, the military redemption of the Mandingoes in Liberia is credited to his tenacity in initially defeating Mr. Taylor. This set the pace for subsequent engagements by other actors in the Liberian Crisis. When no one dare speak on behalf of the oppressed Mandingoes, he risked every thing and went to face the aggressor head on.On the other hand, Mr. Kromah is labeled as a “War Lord” by some of his critics who feel that his attributes deserves him being equated with Mr. Taylor. They blame him for wanton crimes and human right violations during his reign as Head of the United Liberation Movement for Democracy in Liberia (ULIMO). This brings to mind the concept of relativism, where in, one freedom fighter is another person terrorist. However, this aspect is left with historians to politically tag him.As the standard bearer of the All Liberian Coalition Party (ALCOP), he manifested him self as a staunch politician vying for the Presidency of the Country twice but to no avail. He is a charismatic politician with impeccable characters. But whether these positive attributes as mentioned supra could be translated leading to the Presidency is the subject of this discourse.Presidential Material:Indeed, from all account he is a Presidential material based on formulated hypothesis. His support is based with in the Mandingo and Moslem Community mainly. He wins overwhelming admiration from this constituency. All along even prior to the Civil War he was seen as a lone voice in openly identifying himself with his constituency. Unlike him, many of the Mandingo politicians went away from the community for fear of being stigmatize negatively. Many often, as a result of this back clash some changed their names, religion and even joined secret cult for the sake of acceptability. But such was not the case with Alhaji Kromah. So overwhelmingly, he could win a considerable number of votes from this unique constituency. But the problem is wining at such wouldn’t assure any one of the Presidency. It must be supplemented by other votes. In fact, don’t get me wrong, the argument is not that he is not popular with other segments of the community. What we are saying is that he may have a considerable portion of the Community as an exclusive domain to him self personally.“He likes too much of radicalism”, says Mr. Moses Wuleh, in Atlantic City, NJ. He maintains that while it is true that Alhaji Kromah is competent to be President, but he is concerned about the uncompromising nature of the fellow. In short, he is of the opinion that he is very stubborn and temperamental. Charting with a young political activist in Logan Town, Monrovia, Liberia, recently, argues that his problem with Alhaji Kromah is that he could turn Liberia to an “Islamic State”. Although, I responded casually that Liberia was not a “theocratic state like Iran”, yet he stresses that it was just his feeling towards him.On the Diplomatic front, we are told that Mr. Kromah wins considerable supports in the Western World, especially, America. However, a senior US Official who prefers anonymity put it this way, “He is a smart fellow, but can’t be controlled”. He will have to shift his political strategy in a new direction in line with the US Government, if he must be in the lime light of power. Any thing short of that would be illusive.Way Forward:As a result of an empirical investigation, we have come to surmise that an “Alhaji Kromah Presidency” can only be possible through an alliance with some other political parties. Considering his numerical strength, it would be in the interest of Mr. Kromah to form a sort of political marriage with one of the viabrant parties in order to go for the catch comes 2011. This hypothesis is not “Biblical nor Quranic”, but rather a political prescription that may help him in his quest for political power.To the contrary, my critics will argue that I am naive in my analysis of the issue. But the reality is, numerically, Mr. Kromah doesn’t have the number to go solo and win an election at this time in Liberia. There are deep seated prejudices and other vices against him ranging from, ethnicity, religiosity and militarism. For these and many more the way out is to give and take and later share the booty of the gain upon victory.Possible Parties of Interest: This could be hypothetical possible sceneries that could lead the way forward for Mr. Kromah comes 2011. Gauging his relationship with “Ambassador Weah” they could form a crack team that could make a difference, or possibly unseat the “Ellen Sirleaf Government”. The numerical strength of the both men combined could diminish the power base of the Unity Party led Government. With the scramble from the other parties, it may be too late if nothing is done soon.Another possible meager could be with the ruling Unity Party Government. There is a cordial relationship between Alhaji Kromah and the President Sirleaf personally. Mindful of the collective interest of the both camps it wouldn’t be a mistake if an arrangement of that sort is forth coming. Although, it must be noted that in recent time there have been concerted efforts on the part of the Unity Party Government to forge unity or possible alliances with some other parties, with the Liberia Action Party (LAP), being of no exception.Concluding:Whether or not he wins the coming election, one thing for sure he is a formidable political actor in the political stage of Liberia and will remain the celebrated Leader of the Mandingo Nation in years to come. Probably with the actualization of some of the prescription mentioned supra, he may as well win opening a new political paradigm.We want to hear your comments… Varfley1@yahoo.com/ (267)-338-9415, Trenton, NJ