MONROVIA — In a searing letter not from exile, but from deep reflection, Rep. Musa Hassan Bility of Nimba County District 7 has broken his silence with a heartfelt plea: “We cannot go back.” Bility titled the message, posted to Facebook, “Letter from Saclepea.”
His remarks come as the rule of law is once again under pressure, with high-profile lawmakers—most notably J. Fonati Koffa, the immediate former Speaker of the House—now in pretrial detention. Koffa and others are accused in connection with the December 18, 2024, fire that gutted the Rotunda of the Capitol Building.
Bility, political leader of the newly formed Citizens Movement for Change (CMC), used his letter to condemn Liberia’s political landscape. He described a system gripped by desperation and division, where leaders cling to power, the opposition imitates the past, and ordinary citizens are left to suffer in silence.
According to Bility, his appeal is not a partisan cry but a moral voice calling for a “Third Lane”—a new path for national redemption.
A Call to Break the Cycle
“The cycle of abuse and betrayal must end,” Bility said, urging the Liberian people to embrace quiet, principled leaders ready to fight sincerely for progress. “Liberia must not return to her abusers,” he added. “This is not just a choice. It is a test of national memory.”
Bility contested the Speaker position against Montserrado County District 11 Rep. Richard Nagbe Koon following Koffa’s resignation. Koon, with the backing of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai and a majority of lawmakers, assumed the speakership despite questions over the legitimacy of the process.
According to Bility, the effort to remove Koffa—an opposition figure from the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC)—was politically motivated. Koon himself reportedly admitted during a speech in West Point, Monrovia, that the goal was to ensure a regime-aligned speaker was installed.
Is Bility’s Voice a Better Option?
Bility, who once led the Rule of Law Caucus in the Legislature, insists his critique of Liberia’s direction stems from national concern—not politics. He has presidential ambitions and is laying the groundwork for a 2029 bid, starting with major investments and development projects in his home county of Nimba.
“Will we go back to what failed us, or forward to what frees us?” he asked. He positions himself as an alternative to both former President George Weah and the Unity Party-led government.
A Controversial Past
Despite his ambitions, Bility is not without controversy. He has faced allegations of economic sabotage in his leadership of the Road Fund, and he was banned by FIFA from all football-related activities for 10 years and fined €455,000 (about $500,000) for financial misconduct during his presidency of the Liberia Football Association (LFA).
His wealth and influence remain subjects of debate. Many question his claim of being Liberia’s richest man—surpassing even high-profile figures like Benoni Urey, George Weah, and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
In Liberia’s political landscape, Bility argues, morality has become irrelevant. Power, he says, belongs to those with money and tribal allegiance.
A Different Path Forward
Still, Bility sees himself as a viable alternative. He appeals to Liberians to look past tribalism and historical loyalties and to envision a national rebirth.
His rhetoric is not unfamiliar—Liberians have heard promises of change before. Yet, he insists that the present moment demands something different.
“Liberia is 178 years old but remains without basic social services,” Bility noted. “We are ranked among the world’s poorest countries despite our vast natural resources. Corruption remains our biggest challenge.”
In his letter, he offered a damning portrait of the country’s two dominant political parties:
“To my left, those who govern—so desperate to cling to power that they crush dissent, rewrite truth, and trade the country’s soul to stay in charge. To my right, a fragmented opposition—more interested in vengeance than vision. They mimic the system they claim to oppose. They speak of change, but their hands are heavy with the past.”
Bility revealed that the letter was not, in fact, written from Saclepea, as the title suggests, but from an undisclosed location where he says he is quietly reflecting on Liberia’s future.
“I am somewhere quiet, yes, but not cut off,” he wrote. “I am fully awake, fully burdened, and fully heartbroken by the sound of a nation gasping for breath.”
He warned that Liberia stands at a crossroads and must choose a new way forward.
“The Unity Party and CDC are no longer deserving of our trust,” he said. “We are caught between those who will do anything to hold power and those who will say anything to take it.”
The Third Lane
Bility is rallying support for what he calls the Third Lane—a political movement outside the traditional parties.
“There are men and women, quiet, uncelebrated, uncorrupted, who are ready to rise,” he wrote. “They are not perfect, but they are principled. They are not loud, but they are listening. They are shaped by sacrifice and are waiting—not for permission, but for recognition.”
He concluded: “The future is not in the usual place. It is in the Third Option. The Third Lane. The one we’ve ignored because it isn’t paved with party colors, tribal comfort, or war-era fame. But it is real. It is rising. And it is ours—if we dare to see it.”
Bility declared that “Liberia cannot be rescued by those who broke her. She cannot be healed by those who traded her wounds for wealth. And she cannot be led by those who see leadership as entitlement.”
“It’s time,” he said, “to reject those who failed us—and those who came back on the promise of rescue but are already falling short.”
Discussion about this post