By: Julius Konton
For nearly two decades since 2006, Liberia has flooded the job market with thousands of university graduates in fields essential for development including engineering, economics, agriculture, law, technology, and public management.
According to activist Tennie Kormazu Kparzarwalah Jallah, These young professionals were told education was the gateway to national service but Instead, it became a gateway to waiting.
Liberia he told our reporter has produced a new class: The Educated Unemployed.
“They are qualified, competent, and ready , but locked out of leadership by a political system addicted to recycling familiar faces, As one administration passes the torch to another, the same individuals reappear in different seats, while fresh talent watches from the sidelines as result, a generation trained for service, yet denied the opportunity to serve” re-emphasized.
He stated that other nations innovate through diverse leadership while Liberia recycles.
Jallah pointed out that in a global era where countries compete in science, technology, business innovation, and digital governance, Liberia continues to rotate officials who have been present in government for 20, 30, even 40 years, “This pattern is not stability, it is stagnation”, he blasted.
Reflecting further ,he indicated History shows what happens when young people are excluded from national decision-making: political apathy transforms into political anger.
The uprisings of the Arab Spring and youth-led movements across Africa were not sparked by poverty alone, they were sparked by exclusion, he reminded national leaders adding that Liberia is not immune as the silencing of young voices today invites national instability tomorrow.
Narrating further he said every year, Liberia holds graduation ceremonies filled with speeches about “future leaders.” But the same future leaders return home unemployed.
According to him, In a country where political favoritism outweighs merit, education becomes a gamble, not a guarantee.
Degrees he stated do not override connections, Excellence does not outrank loyalty and Competence does not compete with patronage, among others he noted.
The Liberian activitist warned that a nation that invests in education but ignores its graduates is manufacturing resentment.
Moreover, he pointed out that it is also gambling with national security. Idle, educated youth with no pathway to progress are not just frustrated, they become vulnerable to manipulation and extremism, reemphasizing that Liberia is raising a generation with vision but without visibility.
Speaking truth to power, he said President Joseph Nyuma Boakai campaigned on generational transition, not generational repetition.
He said the Liberian leader’s message resonated because Liberians are tired of governments that simply reshuffle , never reform.
With the current architecture of government, He believes that , the Boakai administration is not too far from the old wine in New Bottle situation as top government officials from the Executives are still visible even with latest appointments, noting that Liberia does not need more government jobs but the Country needs efficient governance.
He warned that the current administration must stop: “Pouring old wine into new bottles.”
Jallah emphasized that to rescue Liberia, the presidency must break the culture of political recycling , not reinforce it.
Former ministers, ambassadors, and policymakers have experience stating that said experience does not have to mean government appointment as there is a more valuable contribution to Build companies,
Train young managers, Compete in open markets, Create jobs instead of waiting for jobs among others he added.
He was quick to mention that Nation building is not proven by a title rather, it is proven by impact.
Jallah reminded the government that Liberia’s economy will not grow by expanding payroll rayher, it will grow by expanding opportunities.
“Foreign partners can assist,
International NGOs can advise,
Donors can fund, But ownership of nation-building belongs to Liberians”, he re-emphasized.
He also indicated that Liberia’s progress depends on trusting its citizens, its private sector, and its emerging generation of leaders.
Tennie lamented that President Boakai’s legacy will not be defined by how long he governed but whether he prepared new leaders to govern after him.
The audicious Liberian activist stated that Liberia is standing at a decision point, a point whether to continue recycling the same leadership, and remain trapped in political déjà vu, or Empower the silent generation, and unleash innovation, economic growth, and national renewal.
He told our reporter that one path leads backward while the other path leads forward.
Liberia he concluded belongs to all Liberians, and it is time the nation reflects that truth.
