Africa’s first elected woman president, who stepped down four years ago, recognizes the errors in the initial response to coronavirus because they replicate the mistakes made when EBOLA hit West Africa in 2014 and killed more than 11 000 people.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf says her 12 years at the helm in Liberia – and particularly dealing with EBOLA – taught her that the crisis can only be saved with courage and concerted action.

The United Nations World Health Organisation, the United States government and her counterparts the Guinea and Sierra Leone defeated EBOLA together.

She’s confident that with solidarity, COVID 19 will also be beaten

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They include a pop star-turned MP and a football-champion-turned President.

ends intro

The list of battle hymns will doubtless grow as it does in times of turmoil.

But right now Liberia’s President George Weah, Ugandan MP Bobi Wine, Congolese singer Fally Ipupa and Senegalese musician Ye’n a Marre all have recorded songs on how to beat COVID 19.

Weah, the former football player of the year, began his before the countries went into lockdown. He speaks through most of his song.

Bobi Wine must be wondering how his arch enemy Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni – who has never wasted an opportunity to crack down on him – will react.

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This is the third round of protests George Weah is facing since taking office as President two years ago.

George Weah inherited a country emerging from back to back civil wars and the worst EBOLA outbreak on the planet.

However he made a number of promises in his campaign to succeed Ellen-Johnson Sirleaf as Liberia’s President.

The activist group known as the Council of Patriots repeatedly reminds him that he is falling short on delivery.

They are protesting Liberia’s deepening economic crisis.

They maintain this is compounded by corruption and mismanagement  of public funds – charges that Weah’s government vehemently denies 

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Liberian President George Weah, who succeeded Johnson Sirleaf thanks the United States for help in probing the missing money.

Charles Sirleaf, who was deputy governor of Liberia’s central bank, is one of five officials, including the bank’s ex-head Milton Weeks, who’ve been charged.

This follows the 16 billion Liberian dollars – about 1,4 billion rand – in new bank notes that went missing between 2016 and last year.

Most of it has since been found in the central bank vaults.

The court in Monrovia heard Sirleaf had allegedly ordered printing of the money and pockets some of the proceeds. 

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He’s organizing all-night prayer vigils on the last Friday of every month for people to pray for infrastructure and economic development.

President George Weah’s religious advisor Emmanuel Nimely says divine intervention could save the Liberian economy, so people should heed the president’s call for them to pray for this for two hours daily

There has been a mixed public response to the president’s call for prayer.

Listeners to a Freetown talk radio show said the country was being run by evildoers so no amount of prayer could help it. 

Other insist that praying can do no harm.

Talk show host Hentry Costa say the United States, China and Japan grew their economies with hard work and wise investment not prayer. 

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Former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf insists the money did not disappear on her watch.

Cash-strapped Liberia had new bank notes  printed in Sweden, Lebanon and China.

The missing notes appear to have  been part of the consignment from the Scandinavian country.

Officials said initially it came in last year, when Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was still President.

Website Frontpage Africa claims it has documentary evidence that the missing notes actually were signed for in March and April this year, after President George Weah was at the helm.

Weah has made fighting corruption a cornerstone of his presidency. 

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His appearance comes  16 years after he hung up his boots as one of the world’s biggest football stars.

At 51, Africa’s first winner of the FIFA World Player of the Year, was expected to receive congratulations.

Liberia had arranged a football friendly against Nigeria to retire the number 14 jersey worn by their new  president while he was an international..

Instead George Weah donned the red national colors and received a  standing ovation when he joined the match and played for 79 minutes of the game.

Nigeria, who fielded a number of English Premiership and Turkish players in their team, won the fixture 2-1.

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The first footballer elected to lead an African country has taken over from the first African woman elected to lead the country established to  house slaves freed in the United States.

After playing a friendly match against an army team, 51-year-old former international footballer of the year George Weah said his first priority was to maintain peace in Liberia, which was rent by more than a decade of civil war before Ellen Johnson Sirleaf took the helm.

Like US President Donald Trump, Weah has taken to twitter to get his message across.

The first Liberian to assume power in a peaceful changeover since 1944 thumbed his compatriots promising they’ll have visible, major and positive changes under his presidency

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She says she’ll appeal the decision taken by a fraction of the party’s executive committee.

Africa’s first elected woman president was expelled from the party for allegedly not supporting her deputy Joseph Boakai in the election to succeed her.

That contest was won by former football star George Weah who will be inaugurated later this month.

Weah was beaten by the 75-year old she won her second term six years ago.

Information Minister Eugene Nagbe says the Unity Party decision at the weekend was unconstitutional.

Accordingly Johnson Sirleaf’s expulsion is illegal.

This has been the first peaceful transition of power in Liberia since 1944.

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Former football ace George Weah has won that race to replace Africa’s first elected woman President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

Official results have yet to be announced in Liberia.

But the result is so cut and dried that world leader, including President Jacob Zuma, are congratulating Weah.

It’s imperative that the loser, outgoing Deputy President Joe Boakai ,accept defeat and allow Liberia’s first peaceful transition of power since 1944.

Ensuring that happens is top of Obassanjo’s to do list.

The four Liberian presiden before the incumbent Johnson Sirleaf either died in office or were forced into exile.

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