In her memoir, entitled "This child will be Great", Ellen Johnson Sirleaf spoke about her life before and after becoming Africa's first female president. If you think that Margaret Thatcher was tough and sturdy in the face of many great troubles, take a look at Ellen.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading her memoir, she actually bares all for the world to know. She challenged the African male dominant psyche at every turn in her political life, an unthinkable thing to do, which could have literally cost her dearly, her life and wellbeing of her loved ones.
A particular experience she narrates gives me chills each time I read it. To dare to be brave was no longer an option, but a matter of life or death, a necessity.
In her memoir, she writes (my comments are in red):
"I had been invited to Philadelphia, to a meeting of a group called the Union of Liberian Associations in the Americas. The meeting was to mark Liberia's independence day, and I was asked to give the keynote speech. As usual, I spoke my mind". If anything, Ellen is well know for speaking her mind, and thinking of the consequences later. I won't go into the details of the speech, however you will get a full picture of the emotions the speech invoked as you read on. What happened after she arrived back in Monrovia is what intrigues me, the way she kept her resolve and composure is a testament of the Iron lady. It also speaks volumes about the way educated women, especially African women were and still are perceived and treated. After all, Africa has only seen two female presidents thus far.
She continues: "When I reached Monrovia, a surprise was waiting for me. The Liberian ambassador to the United States at the time, General George Toe Washington, was in Philadelphia and had reported back to Monrovia on the speech. A few days after my arrival home, I was summoned to appear before General Doe, in his mansion. The soldiers who came also demanded my passport. Of course I had no choice but to go. At the mansion, Doe kept me waiting for more than hour, the better, I suppose, to raise my anxieties. Finally I was called into his office, where I was met not only by Doe, but by several of his generals and top ministers.
Doe sat fidgeting as his desk, I could tell he was unhappy. "I hear you gave a speech", he said. I did not deny it, there was no point in doing so. Doe turned to his minister, who was holding papers and ordered him to read the speech. Looking back now, the situation is almost comical, but it was far from funny at the time. When the minister reading the speech reached the line in which I said "All the nicest words and the biggest promised written by someone trained in the use of the pen and read by someone trained in the use of a gun, are taken for what they are - words. Doe cut him off.
"Oh! So you are saying we don't know book?! Doe yelled. He was on his feet now, furious and no longer hiding it. "We just know guns! That is what you are saying!" He turned to his cronies - They think I am stupid, they think I don't know book!"
Doe became acutely sensitive about his lack of education, without meaning to, I had struck a raw nerve. Then the minister read the line about the country was being run by idiots - meaning the very men who now surrounded me in the room. "Oh! You think we are idiots?!" yelled Doe.
That I was in serious trouble this time became crystal clear. In their fury, the men in the room began to taunt, curse and berate me. Some of their taunts can not be repeated here, but among the tamer ones where these: "Red faced stupid woman! Congo woman!"
Doe now prowling the room accused me of plotting against him, and working with group to kill them all. I denied it of course, but by now most of the men were urging him to take care of me once and for all. Ellen was put under house arrest, passport confiscated.
If you are familiar with African politics, you know that going against the ruling party is asking for trouble, and is a death sentence in many cases.
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was in office from 16th January 2006 - 22 January 2018. Africa's first female president. Liberia, a war torn country then, desperately needed a to reconcile the people, to heal the nation, a mother figure to nurture it, as only a mother can do. She galvanised the
women, put them in governmental positions, encouraged peaceful dialogue between fighting factions.
However, Ellen has been accused of failing the African feminist agenda, by not appointing female minsters when "they" thought she should have. She was also accused of nepotism. Just days before she was due to step down after a historic 12 year in power, Ellen was expelled from her political party.
Bibliography
"This Child Will be Great, 2009 by Harper Collins, by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, page 121
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