IN RESPONSE TO HIS critics over difficult economic condition in the country, President Joseph Boakai said, “We hear a lot of criticism from people, but don’t mind them. They don’t live here, we live here. We know what we want for our people. When you are walking a long distance and you hear dogs barking at you and you stop to throw rocks at each dog, you will not reach your destination. Just move on, move on.”
CLEARLY, THE PRESIDENT was talking about Liberian critics, especially those living abroad who are critical of his administration’s handling of hard economic condition in the country. According to the president, these critics “don’t live here, we live here.” The reactions to the president’s use of this idiomatic expression have been fierce. His statement is been interpreted as the president comparing Liberians to barking dogs.
THIS IDIOMATIC EXPRESSION is credited to the war time British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill who responded to his critics in similar manner, “You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks.” As an individual and politician, Winston Churchill often made references to dogs in different situations. Whether we look at this from Churchill or Boakai’s usage of the idiomatic expression, in simple term, it means to focus on what you are doing and never mind the critics who may slow your progress. In other words, keep doing what you are doing if you know you are doing the right things.
TO PUT THIS IN THE right perspective, we must understand the criticism Churchill was facing at the time and compare that to the criticism President Boakai is facing today from his critics at home and abroad. In the case of Winston Churchill when he served as a war time British Prime Minister between 1940-1945 and from 1951-1955, he was mostly criticized for his racist imperial views, colonial policies, for being an elitist, warmonger and a poor peace time leader with outdated imperial views. He was also heavily criticized for famine in India. Critics blamed him for the death of 3 million people as he was accused of taking food away from starving people in colonial India to feed the European prisoners. That means he valued the lives of European prisoners over those of India which was a British colony at the time. Critics argued that there was a need for social reform in domestic policcies. During his second term between 1951 to 1955, critics argued that he was too old and he wasn’t at his best due to his old age. As such, they argued that he was not able to navigate through the changing post war world.
AS FOR PRESIDENT BOAKAI, one may ask, what are his policies on the economy, health care, energy supplies, unemployment, job creation, the bread-and-butter issues for everyone, especially the common people and are Liberians’ lives much better under his leadership versus the CDC leadership that preceded his? On all these issues, his critics will say things are not moving in the right direction. Such criticism is nothing new from the past to the present. President Boakai’s party was a vehement critic of the immediate past regime of George Weah. The criticism was like everything had fallen apart under the six-year rule of President Weah and his campaign was the “rescue team” to “rescue the country” from what was characterized as the misrule of George Weah. Now the question is, have we been rescued from the “misrule” of the Weah administration? Are we better off now than we did then? While President Boakai and his party may talk about the progress being made, there are many going to bed hungry, can’t send their kids to schools or go to hospitals when they are sick without begging someone for help. Critics will clearly say that the people are suffering and that the president’s economic policy is not working for everyone.
DOES THE PRESIDENT THINK his government is performing far better than his critics are willing to admit? Was that in his mind when he compared his critics to barking dogs to be avoided while he focuses on what he is doing? Perhaps, the way the president meant it did not come that way to most people. In a political environment, words can be twisted out of context. This is not the first time this has ever happened and will certainly not be the last time. It's part of the political discourse. One has to be careful with words and their meanings and how they can be framed for better or for worse.
ACCORDING TO THE RESPONSE put out by the Unity Party Youth Congress, the president’s idiomatic expression was not meant to insult Liberians but a call for “constructive engagement.” The release accuses the opposition for twisting the president’s words out of context to achieve cheap political gain. The release continued that “President Boakai has never, and will never, dehumanize the very people he has sworn to serve. His parable was a metaphorical call for dignity in public discourse not an attack on Liberian citizens.” It further went to say that the president was referring to those “who engage in reckless, noise-driven criticism without offering solutions.” According to the UP, it’s a distortion to interpret the president barking dog reference as dehumanizing Liberians and calling them dogs.
THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER is that whether it was presidents before him or those that may come after him, there will always be critics and as long the economic conditions of the people are not properly and positively addressed, they will always point fingers at the government. When people are going to bed hungry, when they can’t send their children to schools, when they have no money to seek treatment at the hospitals when they are sick, when able body men and women are roaming about on the streets with no jobs and incomes, the blames will go to those in power and as the saying goes, the bucks stop with the president. The president was once a critic and now he is the subject of criticism. That’s how we see it at Public Agenda.
