The De-preservation of Kendeja Is Unpatriotic

NO EXCUSE, NO Justification, no rhetoric can blur and obscure the damage and the shame which the lease of Liberia 's only cultural shrine, Kendeja, has brought to Liberian heritage and Liberianhood. There can be no denying the fact that the government's mortgage for a few silver and gold of the premises of Kendeja, despite several options available, denigrates Liberian identity and birthright. It clearly demonstrates, on the part of contemporary Liberian leadership, not only a complete of lack of patriotism and Liberianism but also an unbridled obsession for money.

THROUGHOUT THE WORLD , including the United States which is the supposed home of the buyer of Kendeja, Bob Johnson, modern peoples are fighting tooth and nail to preserve clannish and national antiquities. Other peoples and nations are jealously conserving their cultural artifices, not merely as demonstration of national loyalty, but as a tribute to the days and peoples of the past who first brushed the sites they now call modern homes. And more often than not, some of these relics have even turned out to be substantive revenue-general hubs for other nations and peoples. Tourists from all nations and cultures make beaten paths through the cultural shrines of these sensible and patriotic peoples, paying in kind and cash.

HOW COME THIS generation of Liberians, specifically this political leadership of Africa 's oldest republic, has taken a contrary path? How come this so-called people-centered government has put penny above culture, above nation and above people? Could the thinnest or poorest African country, not to talk about mogul Johnson's United States , have ceded an inch of its territory so vital for cultural development for the largest volume of offshore money?

YES, KENDEJA MIGHT not be the holiest cultural spot in the country. Yes, it might have been encroached upon, underdeveloped, neglected and so forth. And, in fact, whose fault it is that these conditions have attended the country's only cultural center? Besides, despite these conditions, doesn't [or didn't] Kendeja stand as the only ready reference of Liberian culture? Has it not been the breeding ground of most, if not all, our cultural artists for many, many years now? Is it not the only known macrocosm of Liberia 's cultural artistry?

INDEED, THE EXCUSES , justifications and rhetoric for the sale of our only culture center are inexcusable, pathetic and unjustified. They are simply face-saving platitudes by the sellers to fill pockets and lick fingers. Also, the excuses and justifications are sheer attempts not only to defile Liberian culture and further render it inferior, but also a fulfillment of a mission by some alien-culture-obsessed second citizens to liquidate the remnants and last traces of indigenous Liberia culture.

LIBERIANS MUST resist the sale of Kendeja. They should object to the de-preservation of their only culture center. They should not rest with their opposition to the mortgage of Kendeja until one of the world's richest men, Johnson, is given another “ideal” spot on the shores of Liberia to build his four-star hotel. It is time for the rest of Liberians to show to the sellers and the buyer that Liberia 's culture is not cheap, even if the less-Liberian leadership in power thinks so. Our people must rise and say loudly that their culture worth far much than a hotel and all that comes with it as the sellers and buyer might think.