As nearly half a billion dollars in cocaine floods our shores, Liberia’s fight against narcotics must never be reduced to score-settling
The revelations surrounding the massive cocaine seizures in Liberia cocaine valued at nearly half a billion dollars that officials themselves admit entered the country only after the peaceful handover of power should have been a defining moment of national unity. Instead, they have become a mirror reflecting everything that is wrong with our approach to governance, justice, and accountability.
Let us be unequivocal: Liberia’s drug epidemic is a genuine national emergency. The plague of narcotics is destroying young lives, corrupting institutions, and threatening the very fabric of our society. Every responsible citizen should support all legal, judicious, and diligent efforts to rid this country of this scourge. On this, there can be no disagreement.
The problem lies not in the fight against drugs, but in how that fight is being conducted.
When a government responds to a grave national crisis by issuing blanket accusations without supporting evidence, when it detains citizens including former high-ranking officials without due process, and when it appears to pursue certain individuals while giving its own named officials a free pass, the line between justice and persecution becomes dangerously blurred. The public has every right to ask: is the goal to dismantle a drug network, or to dismantle political opponents?
This is not a partisan question. It is a question of principle. When the War on drugs is perceived as a weapon to be wielded against one’s adversaries, the integrity of the entire justice system is compromised. Legitimate investigations lose their credibility. The public loses faith. And the very rule of law we claim to uphold is quietly eroded.
Equally troubling is the staggering inequity in how responsibility has been assigned. When officials named and accused as perpetrators continue to roam the streets free, while others face harassment and detention at airports, the selective application of justice speaks far more loudly than any official statement. A drug war that is arbitrary in its targets is not a drug war at all it is an abuse of power dressed in the language of righteousness.
We cannot afford to squander this crisis. Every day of politicization is a day lost in the genuine fight against narcotics. The networks that moved millions of dollars in cocaine through our ports are still at work. The corruption that allowed such shipments to land on our shores remains unexamined. These are the true enemies.
Our leaders must choose a better path. Let the investigations be thorough, independent, and transparent. Let due process be observed for every accused person, regardless of political affiliation. Let all those credibly implicated without exception face the consequences of the law. And let the resources and attention now directed at political point-scoring be redirected toward protecting our young people from the poison in their midst.
Liberia has endured too much to allow justice to become a partisan currency. Our democracy is still young, our institutions still fragile, and our people still watchful. We call on all stakeholders government and opposition alike to treat the drug crisis as what it genuinely is: a national test of our integrity, our fairness, and our commitment to the rule of law.
Nothing less than the future of this nation is at stake. Let us not fail that test.