Beyond Slogans: Strategic Political Allegiance and the Search for Public Good

President Joseph Nyuma Boakai: “Partisanship must give way to nationalism and inclusive governance.”

“There is no contest between so-called ‘Green Liberia’ and ‘Blue Liberia’… There is only one LIBERIA!” — President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Inaugural Address, January 22, 2024.

“I cannot do it alone.” Former President George Weah, inaugural agenda/speech, 2018.

“We share a deep and abiding belief in the power of freedom, of faith, and of finding virtue in work for the common good.” — Former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, address to the U.S. Congress, March 15, 2006.

“Democracy must devolve from a single event, into the institutionalization of a process that provides access to all of its participants.” — Former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Center for Global Development address, 2019.

“Be what you want to be; stay the course and don’t be distracted by challenges.”— Former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, 2016.

“A critical, independent and investigative press is the lifeblood of any democracy.” — Nelson Mandela, on freedom of expression and democratic accountability.

“Democracy should develop according to that particular country.” — Julius Nyerere, discussing democracy and political systems in 1991.

“The people will mix freely together and will work for the common good.” — Kwame Nkrumah, Africa Must Unite (1963), discussing political equality and voting rights.

“It is necessary to trust the people and liberate them.” — Thomas Sankara, 1983 interview. His larger argument was that people should be enabled to take initiatives in their own development.

“Tell no lies, and claim no easy victories.” — Amílcar Cabral, Tell No Lies, Claim No Easy Victories. The quotation comes from his 1965 political writing and has been reproduced in scholarly and archival discussions of his work.

“We prefer one step with the people to ten steps without the people.” — Thomas Sankara, 1987.

“The people are not fighting for ideas.”- Amílcar Cabral continued by explaining that people seek material benefits, peace, progress, and a better future for their children.

By: Austin S Fallah – A True Son of the Planet Earth Soil: fallahas@yahoo.com

The late Kekurah B. Kpoto who passed on August 20, 2002, a Liberian statesman, politician, and philanthropist, offered practical wisdom through two memorable statements: “I do not hang my clothes after washing them where there is no sunshine,” and “I do not sell my bread where there is no butter.”

Likewise, the late Guinean President Ahmed Sékou Touré reminded his people that “A starving child does not ask from which country his bread comes.”

Although these statements were made in different political settings and by leaders with different backgrounds, they convey a shared lesson: people and nations must make decisions based not merely on emotion, tradition, or political slogans, but on the real conditions that support survival, dignity, and progress.

For young people in Liberia, across Africa, and throughout the world, these statements are especially relevant.

Young citizens are often expected to carry the burden of political movements, campaign for candidates, defend political parties, and repeat leaders’ language.

Yet they are also the people most affected when political choices produce unemployment, inflation, poor schools, weak health systems, insecurity, and social division.

Therefore, political allegiance in the second half of the 21st century and beyond must be based on strategic thinking.

It should consider not only who speaks most loudly or who belongs to a particular ethnic group, region, religion, family, or political tradition, but also who can create meaningful social and economic benefits for individuals and for the nation.

Sen. Kpoto’s and Pres. Touré’s statements are comparable because they both reject empty loyalty.

However, they approach the issue from slightly different angles.

Sen. Kpoto’s sayings emphasize wise placement, opportunity, and practical exchange.

Pres. Touré’s saying emphasizes urgent human need and the universal importance of survival.

Together, they call on young people to open their eyes to the good, judge leaders by results, and avoid political decisions that may lead to hardship for themselves and their country.

Sen. Kpoto’s first statement, “I do not hang my clothes after washing them where there is no sunshine”, uses a simple image from daily life.

Clothes are washed so that they can become clean and dry. If a person hangs them somewhere without sunlight or warmth, the purpose of washing may be defeated.

The clothes may remain wet, develop an unpleasant smell, or become dirty again.

The message is clear: effort must be placed where it can produce results. Good intentions alone are not enough.

A person may work hard, but if that work is invested in an environment with no possibility of growth, the labor may be wasted.

Politically, this statement can be understood as a warning against supporting leaders, parties, or institutions that offer no realistic path toward national development.

A young person may spend years campaigning for a politician, defending that politician on social media, attending rallies, and even fighting with family members over party loyalty.

But if the leader does not support education, jobs, infrastructure, justice, health care, entrepreneurship, or peace, then that political investment is like hanging clothes where there is no sunshine. There may be much activity, but no progress.

The second statement by Sen. Kpoto, “I do not sell my bread where there is no butter”, also speaks to the importance of value and benefit.

Bread may represent a person’s labor, skills, time, vote, influence, or resources.

Butter represents something that adds value, support, or reward.

In other words, one should not give away what is valuable without receiving a meaningful return.

This should not be interpreted as an encouragement for corruption, vote-buying, or selfish political bargaining.

Rather, it calls on citizens to understand the value of their political power.

A vote is not a useless object. It is a tool that can determine whether a country advances or declines.

Young people must therefore ask important questions before giving their political support.

What policies does a candidate have for job creation?

How will the government improve public schools and universities?

What is the plan for roads, electricity, clean water, hospitals, agriculture, technology, and small businesses?

Does the candidate have a record of honesty and public service?

Will the leadership unite the country or divide it?

Does the party respect the rule of law and the rights of people who disagree with it?

These questions are the “butter” citizens should look for, not personal handouts, empty promises, or temporary campaign gifts, but programs and institutions that benefit society more broadly.

Pres. Touré’s statement, “A starving child does not ask from which country his bread comes,” offers a related but distinct perspective.

Whereas Sen. Kpoto focuses on strategic placement and reciprocal value, Pres. Touré focuses on the urgency of human need. Hunger does not wait for political arguments.

A starving child is not concerned with whether bread was produced locally or donated by a foreign country.

The child needs food. The statement recognizes that survival can require practical cooperation beyond narrow political, national, or ideological boundaries.

This message remains important in today’s interconnected world. No country can develop completely alone.

Liberia, like many African countries, has natural resources, a young population, rich culture, and great potential.

However, national progress also requires partnerships, investments, knowledge exchange, trade, and international cooperation.

The source of help should not be rejected simply because it comes from another nation, organization, or political group.

If assistance is transparent, respectful, beneficial, and aligned with national interests, it can help improve the lives of ordinary people.

At the same time, Pres.Touré’s statement should not be misunderstood as an argument for dependence or the surrender of national sovereignty.

Bread from another country may relieve immediate hunger, but a nation must also develop the capacity to feed itself.

A country that depends permanently on others for food, medicine, jobs, energy, or security remains vulnerable.

The wise lesson is that leaders should accept beneficial assistance when necessary while also building strong local systems that reduce long-term dependency.

Foreign partnerships must be judged by whether they strengthen the nation, transfer skills, create jobs, respect the people, and support sustainable development.

The comparison between the late Senator Kpoto’s sayings and the late President Touré’s statement reveals a powerful balance between self-interest, national interest, and human need.

Sen. Kpoto teaches that people should not waste their resources in places where there is no opportunity or benefit.

Pres. Touré teaches that practical needs should take priority over pride, ideological rigidity, or political hostility.

Both perspectives challenge the dangerous habit of blind allegiance.

They suggest that political decisions must be evaluated according to outcomes.

For Liberia’s youth, this lesson is urgent. Liberia has experienced periods of political instability, civil conflict, economic hardship, and social division.

These experiences show that political mistakes can be very costly.

When citizens support leaders without demanding accountability, the results may include corruption, unemployment, broken institutions, and frustration.

When political competition turns into hatred, communities can be divided, and national unity can suffer.

Young people, who mak, thee up a la,rg,e part of the population, can prevent these outcomes by becoming informed and responsible voters.

Political allegiance should not be inherited without examination.

A young person should not support a party simply because their parents supported it, community leaders demand it, or friends support it.

Nor should someone support a politician because that person shares the same tribe, county, language, church, mosque, or family connection.

Identity is important, and people naturally value their communities.

However, national leadership requires more than shared identity.

A leader must have competence, integrity, vision, and respect for all citizens.

In many societies, politicians use propaganda to win support.

They may give dramatic speeches, attack opponents, spread rumors, and make promises they cannot keep.

They may tell young people that anyone who disagrees with them is an enemy.

Such tactics are dangerous because they encourage people to vote with anger instead of reason.

The days of empty rhetoric and propaganda slogans should be over.

A new day must come in which citizens demand evidence, plans, transparency, and results.

This does not mean that young people should become cynical or withdraw from politics.

In fact, the opposite is true. Young people should participate more seriously in political life.

They should attend community meetings, read policies, listen to different viewpoints, fact-check information, and hold leaders accountable after elections.

They should understand the national budget, ask how public funds are spent, and speak out against corruption regardless of which party is involved.

True patriotism is not blind praise for leaders. True patriotism is the courage to demand better leadership for one’s country.

Social media has made this responsibility even more important.

Young people today receive political information every minute through Facebook, WhatsApp, TikTok, X, YouTube, radio, and online news platforms.

While these tools can educate and connect people, they can also spread false information quickly.

A viral message may be emotionally powerful but factually wrong.

Young people must learn to pause before sharing political content.

They should ask: Who created this message? What evidence supports it? Is it designed to inform or to provoke anger? Does it encourage peace, unity, and development, or does it promote hatred and confusion?

The strategic political thinking described by Kpoto and Pres. Touré must also include moral responsibility.

Political allegiance should not become selfish opportunism.

Citizens should not stop at asking “What will I personally receive?”

They must also ask, “What will benefit the country?”

A leader may offer one group jobs or money while stealing public resources that could have built hospitals, schools, roads, and markets for everyone.

Such leadership may appear beneficial in the short term, but it harms the nation in the long term.

Therefore, the “sunshine” in Sen. Kpoto’s first statement should represent more than personal advantage.

It should represent a healthy political environment where hard work can lead to shared prosperity.

The “butter” in his second statement should represent accountable governance, equal opportunity, justice, and development, not personal favors.

Likewise, the “bread” in Touré’s statement should represent immediate assistance that protects human life, while also reminding leaders to create systems that ensure future generations will not remain hungry.

For Africa and the wider world, these lessons have global significance.

Countries today face challenges that no nation can solve alone: climate change, pandemics, food insecurity, migration, terrorism, unemployment, and technological change. Political leaders who rely only on nationalism, insults, and divisive language cannot adequately respond to these problems.

Nations need strategic partnerships, educated citizens, productive economies, and leadership that puts people before political ego.

Young people should not be used merely as campaign tools.

They should become policy thinkers, entrepreneurs, constructive community organizers, educators, journalists, and public servants.

They should build skills that make them independent and able to contribute to society.

They should also understand that democracy is not only about elections. It is about continuous constructive civic responsibility, not the too much of empty rhetoric that holds no pint of water to make a difference in society.

After a candidate wins, citizens must keep asking whether promises are being kept and whether the government is serving the public fairly.

The words of the former President ProTempore of the Liberian Senate Kekurah B. Kpoto and former President of Guinea Ahmed Sékou Touré remain deeply relevant because they speak to the practical realities of life and governance.

The National Democratic Party of Liberia’s former Chairman, the late Kpoto teaches that wise people place their efforts where there is opportunity and value.

The late President Touré who served as Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) from 1983 until his death on March 26, 1984 teaches that people should not ignore human need because of political pride or narrow prejudice.

Together, their statements encourage young people to think carefully before making political decisions.

The future of Liberia, Africa, and the world cannot be built on good for-nothing spewing empty slogans alone.

It can not be built on tribalism, hatred, blind loyalty, propaganda, social media insults, or temporary political gifts.

It must be built on strategic choices that promote education, employment, health, peace, justice, food security, and national development.

Young people must open their eyes to the good, not merely the good that is promised during campaigns, but the good that can be seen in honest leadership, sound policies, accountable institutions, and improved lives.

Only then can political allegiance become a force for progress rather than a cause of economic hardship and national disappointment.

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