WHO IS LIBERIA’S PRESIDENT ELECT? JOSEPH BOAKAI: A RACE CAR PARKED IN A GARAGE
WHO
IS LIBERIA’S PRESIDENT ELECT?
JOSEPH
BOAKAI: A RACE CAR PARKED IN A GARAGE
Joseph
Boakai was born in the remote village of Worsonga in Foya District, Lofa County
on 30 November 1944. He is married to Kartumu Boakai and they have four
children.
Boakai
is a Baptist and a deacon of the Effort Baptist Church.
Boakai
previously served as the 29th vice president of Liberia from 2006 to 2018,
under President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
In
the 1980s Mr Boakai served as Liberia's agriculture minister under President
Samuel Doe, who was violently murdered in 1990.
One
of his earlier projects took place in his old village, where he supervised and
personally financed the construction of a new seven-mile (11.2 km) road.
He
has worked with others to build a school for 150 students and a clinic for a
community of 10 villages.
As
vice president, he was the president of the Liberian Senate and presided over
plenary sessions of that body for two days each week. He also performed
supervisory functions over a number of institutions and agencies including the
Liberia National Lotteries (LOTTO), the Liberia Marketing Association (LMA),
the Liberia Agency for Community Empowerment (LACE), and the National
Commission on Disarmament Demobilization Resettlement and Reintegration
(NCDDRR)
Before
serving as vice president, he consulted with a number of institutions including
serving as Chief Technical Advisor on Agriculture Policy, Ministry of
Agriculture.
Boakai
reviewed and evaluated the Liberian 1986 proposed Green Revolution and FAO
World Bank 1986 Agricultural sector Review Document and evaluated AMSCO,
Amsterdam Funded training program for projects in Uganda in 1994 and Tanzania
in 1996.
Boakai
ran for president in 2017 but lost the election to George Weah.
The
78-year old opposition candidate who describes age as a "blessing",
has been congratulated by the incumbent after Liberia's closely fought
presidential election.
The
latest results give him an unassailable lead against former football superstar
George Weah in the tightest poll since the country's civil war ended.
He
is known by critics as "Sleepy Joe" after reports of him falling
asleep at official events, but Mr Boakai has promised to restore hope in
Liberia and prevent the country "from falling over the cliff".
Having
served for 12 years as vice-president under Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first
elected female African head of state, he is familiar with running a country.
He
will officially start in January 2024 when he is sworn in.
Mr
Boakai famously characterised himself as a "RACE CAR PARKED IN A GARAGE,"
a phrase which trended during the 2017 elections, in which he was defeated by
Mr Weah.
He
has said that description related to him wanting to do more as vice-president.
His
website lists 58 achievements, ranging from championing community colleges to
reconciling various disputes around Liberia.
The
biggest achievement from his time in office, however, was an entirely peaceful
tenure, following almost 15 years of war.
Born
into what many have called "humble beginnings," Joseph Boakai grew up
in the remote village of Worsonga, in Liberia's northernmost county, Lofa.
His
parents could not read or write.
Mr
Boakai studied at a school in the neighbouring
country of Sierra Leone and graduated from the College of West Africa, in
Liberia's capital, Monrovia.
He
then went on to complete a business administration degree at the University of
Liberia.
In
a radio interview, Mr Boakai said that as a young man, he walked from Wonsonga
to the capital in search of "a better life".
Mr
Boakai also oversaw the programme to decentralise agriculture by creating
regional hubs - a flagship project in Liberia, where many people are
subsistence farmers.
After
losing the 2017 election, Mr Boakai was determined to try again.
In
the first round of this election, neither Mr Boakai nor Mr Weah secured the
more than 50% required for victory, so they faced off in a second round.
Mr
Boakai's campaigning focused on agriculture, while accusing Mr Weah's
administration of "mismanagement". Mr Weah dismissed Mr Boakai's
allegations.
Speaking
to the BBC about his aims before the election, Mr Boakai explained that he
wanted to focus on fighting corruption, boosting agricultural production,
bringing down the cost of food and improving the country's roads.
He
said: "Our people need to have a country that they can call their own, a
country that they can respect and corruption has been an impediment."
He
promised there would be a "sword drawn against corruption".
"In
the first 100 days, we are going to make sure that no vehicle will be stuck in
the mud in the country. That will affect the price of food and the health
condition of the people."
The
president-elect also pledged an investigation into the reasons why food prices
were so high, while saying he would help farmers.
"The
agricultural potential of this country is so high but nothing is done in that
area. We are dependent on everything that comes from outside. This is going to
change. I know we can do it."
Mr
Boakai describes his journey to the presidency as long, but says that he is
determined to help "millions of Liberians who have been left to face
abject poverty, disease, ignorance and insecurity’
LIBERIA ELECTIONS: WEAH CONCEDES DEFEAT TO BOAKAI
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