President Akufo-Addo has called on the leaders and people of the West African state of Liberia to do everything within their power to consolidate the democratic experiment on which they embarked 20 years ago as they go to the polls in October to elect a president.
Speaking as the special guest of honour at the 176th Independence Day celebration in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, on Wednesday July 26, 2023, President Akufo-Addo said Liberia is a unique country in West Africa that has shown resilience and the will to persevere in the face of many challenges and obstacles.
Deepen cohesion
Being the only country on the African continent that did not suffer colonisation by a foreign country, President Akufo-Addo said, Liberia has a present generation of leaders and citizens who have a duty to ensure that the country does not lapse into its painful past of war and instability.
Today’s leaders and citizens can do this by ensuring that their choice of rule of law and democratic systems of governance is maintained and strengthened.
“Giving your people hope for a peaceful, violence-free election, the theme for this celebration imposes a sacred responsibility on each and every Liberian to contribute [his] quota to the construction of a happy, prosperous Liberia in which all Liberians, particularly the youth, the women and the vulnerable in society, will have equal opportunities to realise their potential and build lives of dignity.
“That is when the country’s independence will continue to be meaningful. Giving our people hope means you must always bear in mind the words of the oft-cited maxim which says; ’That which unites us is far greater than that which divides us,’” President Akufo-Addo told the leaders and people of Liberia.
“So, whether you are Bassa, Gio, Grebo, Kpelle, Kru, Via, Krahn, Gola, Gbandi, or from any other ethnic group, I appeal to you to look beyond from where you have come. You must deepen the cohesion among you and promote the spirit of reconciliation for the sake of your beloved country, its progress and prosperity,” President Akufo-Addo added.
Accra Peace Agreement
In his address, President Akufo-Addo recalled the role he played in 2003 in the search for peace in Liberia. He said that 20 years later, it will be worth celebrating the signing of the Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement in order to ensure that Liberia maintains the peace.
“Before spending eight years in the political wilderness as the leader of Ghana’s opposition, I had the privilege and honour of serving in the government of the outstanding Ghanaian statesman [and] second president of Ghana’s Fourth Republic, His Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor.
“As Ghana’s minister for foreign affairs between 2003 and 2007, and on behalf of President Kufuor, who was in that period chairman of our regional body, ECOWAS, and of our continental body, the African Union (AU), I, as chairman of the mediation and security councils of both the regional and continental bodies, was a leading participant in several efforts made at ensuring peace in Liberia,” President Akufo-Ado recalled.
“Intense negotiations ensured finally the coming into effect of the Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which, as its name signifies, was negotiated and signed in Accra. Indeed, Accra became briefly then a microcosm of Monrovia, as virtually the entire Liberian political class resided there.
“This agreement established the postwar two-year transitional government which by consensus named the late Charles Gyude Bryant as interim chairman.
“The foundation for lasting peace in Liberia was made ultimately by the peaceful departure of the former president Charles Taylor from office and the country, and by the conclusion of the Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the successful implementation of which brought about the election of the first female leader in the history of the continent, Her Excellency President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and subsequently made possible a peaceful transition of power to President George Weah after two terms in office of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf,” President Akufo-Addo said.
“It is appropriate that next month, the month of August, we commemorate the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement. It was imperative at the time and still is that Ghana involve herself in seeking the peaceful resolution of regional conflicts, resolutions that invariably sought to promote democratic outcomes.
“For we believe that the more Ghana gets involved in enhancing peace and democracy within our region, the more we guarantee ours at home,” President Akufo-Addo further said.
