Published: April 2, 2025
MONROVIA – The stakes remain uncertain as to whether President Joseph Nyumah Boakai will fulfill his campaign promises of lifting Liberia from the list of the world’s poorest nations to one of enviable progress and sustainable development.
Cllr. Jerome J. Verdier, Sr., former Chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), is the latest prominent Liberian to weigh in on the current state of affairs. He believes President Boakai is entrapped and risks failing to bring about meaningful change unless certain individuals around him are removed to make way for well-intentioned actors.
“Boakai is trying. I analyzed his situation and I think he is just entrapped by people who don’t mean well,” Verdier said.
According to Verdier, a key disadvantage the President faces is his advanced age, which he believes has diminished Boakai’s strength and ability to act decisively.
“It looks like nothing is happening, but things are happening — and they are getting worse. Things are deteriorating. Corruption is on the rise. Impunity is on the rise,” Verdier emphasized, speaking on Spoon Talk’s One on One with the CEO.
On the rule of law, the former TRC Chairman said he chose not to praise President Boakai’s move to establish a War and Economic Crimes Court just yet, as he is watching to see how serious the commitment is.
“What are the intentions? Is it to quell the momentum, or to fulfill the obligation and pledge made to the Liberian people during the campaign? So, we’ve decided to just sit and watch,” he said.
Verdier expressed disappointment in former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, under whose leadership the TRC hearings were conducted and recommendations made. He criticized her refusal to support the implementation of the TRC Report.
He argued that Sirleaf failed to act as a stateswoman because she was found complicit in the war that resulted in the deaths of over 200,000 people and the destruction of property worth millions of dollars.
Regarding former President George Weah, who ascended to power on a wave of hope and promises — including the establishment of a War and Economic Crimes Court — Verdier said Weah’s leadership was appalling and unworthy of mention.
“People want to conclude that it is over because of the sad passing of Senator Prince Johnson. No, it is not over. The pursuit of justice is never over. The fight against impunity is not over. Every now and then, we hear of people stealing money, but there’s no real commitment to justice,” he said.
He noted that the root causes of Liberia’s civil conflict still exist — namely inequality and injustice.
“Since 1822, it has always been about those who have and those who do not. Most of the wealthy acquired their riches by exploiting public resources, and to this day, nothing has changed,” Verdier asserted.
President Boakai had vowed to tackle corruption head-on, but several corruption allegations — including those involving close allies — remain unresolved or ignored, particularly cases of financial and transactional wrongdoing.
Cllr. Verdier said he finds it difficult to describe Liberia as a post-war country because the same conditions that led to war persist today.
A recent human rights report on Liberia suggests the country is making no meaningful progress in addressing human rights violations.
“We don’t know who we are, and we don’t know where we are going. We have no vision for the state. We are not united, and we lack consensus on fundamental national issues,” he added.
Verdier also pointed to political patronage, nepotism, and the disregard for meritocracy as systemic problems that perpetuate the cycle of poverty in an otherwise resource-rich country.
He blamed illiteracy for many of Liberia’s conflict-sensitive issues but warned that even some educated individuals have lost sight of their responsibilities and behave worse than the uneducated.
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