Because of the politically charged message of his music, radio and TV channels in Cameroon have refused to play the songs of Joe la Conscience because Biya's Government wants it off the air. So he travels from town to town selling CDs of his songs. Listen to an interview with him
here. He has been jailed several times and his music is now banned in the country because they rail against imperialism and dictatorship. His support for Gbagbo and Gaddafi does not appear to be in good taste to us. However, even where we disagree with him, we must accord him the right to speak his mind without fear of arrest and imprisonment under tromped up charges. Paul Biya, however, does not think so.
For us there is just one reason why Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, president of Liberia, should be voted out - she promised to be a one-term president. It is true that she has done some good in repairing the brokenness of Liberia but the fact that she promised to rule for only one term disqualifies her to run again. We do not care about any reason she gives why she should continue. It may well be that the person who would come after her may do worse than she did. That is not a reason why she should run again. In a democracy people have all kinds of leaders, some good and some bad. Since Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf promised that she would be president of Liberia for only one term she should have done the right thing and quit after her term was over. But like many African presidents, she developed the messiah complex, thinking that Liberia can only prosper if she is the president. That is a violation of her promise and she must be voted out. She, like everyone else, is no messiah. She has made her contribution to the country and she must step aside for others to lead. It is good that oppostion parties are coming together to remove her. If she continues as president, there is no reason why she would not run again and again and again. And before we know it, we will have one more dictator in our hands. She must be voted out!
