Prevailing Woes Draw Nostalgia for EJS -Bility Reflects on Sirleaf’s ‘Golden’ Tenure

MONROVIA – Nimba County District #7 Representative and Political Leader of the Citizens Movement for Change (CMC), Musa Hassan Bility, has penned a heartfelt reflection on Madam Sirleaf’s legacy in his regular column, “Letter from Saclepea”. In the piece, Bility wistfully recalls the discipline, accountability, and respect for institutions that characterized Madam Sirleaf’s administration, and laments the perceived decline in governance and institutional collapse that has marked national leader under the reign of President Joseph Boakai. The commentary has sparked a timely conversation about Liberia’s progress and the challenges that lie ahead, and is a testament to Madam Sirleaf’s enduring impact on the country’s politics and society. Madam Sirleaf, fondly called EJS, is widely regarded a trailblazing leader who paved the way for generations of Liberian women and girls, and whose leadership was marked by significant progress in rebuilding the country after years of brutal civil war,  restoring stability, attracting international investment, and laying the foundation for democratic institutions. Her commitment to progressive values and women’s empowerment earned her international acclaim, including the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011. As THE ANALYST reports, it seems Bility has been having a nostalgia of those golden days of Liberia under Madam Sirleaf.

As the nation grapples with governance challenges of the present, under the leadership of the President Joseph Nyuman Boakai, Musa Hassan Bility, Nimba County District #7 Representative and Political Leader of the Citizens Movement for Change (CMC), recalls with adoration the tenure of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who led the country with a disciplined approach to governance, rebuilding the state and the spirit of the Liberian people.

In a heartfelt reflection, Bility notes that Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s presidency was marked by respect for institutions, accountability, and a clear tone of leadership that set expectations for behavior and governance.

The CMC leader stated boldly: “There are moments in a nation’s life when reflection becomes an obligation, not a choice. This week, as I sit quietly with the weight of all that has gone wrong in our country over the last eight years, my mind drifts unexpectedly to one person. A leader whose era many of us criticized, debated, and judged. Yet today, in the face of the chaos, decline, and institutional collapse unfolding before our eyes, her memory returns with a force I never imagined.

“I remember Ellen Johnson Sirleaf not because she was perfect. No leader is. Hers was a government that began in difficulty and lived through difficulty. She governed a bruised nation. A people who had survived years of terror. A country that had fallen from grace, abandoned by its friends and feared by its neighbors. She had to rebuild both the state and the spirit of the people, and she did so through a disciplined governance approach that, looking back now, stands in painful contrast to what Liberia has become.”

“Her government officials could not behave with the boldness, impunity, or disregard for public decency that we witness today,” Bility wrote in his regular “Letter from Saclepea” colum. “There was a seriousness about running the state, a discipline, and a boundary that no official dared to cross without consequence.”

Bility contrasts this with the current state of affairs in Liberia, where the decline in governance, institutional collapse, and lack of respect for the rule of law have become starkly apparent.

“Liberia has taken several steps backward, almost everything she built has been undone,” Bility laments. “The systems, the discipline, the respect for governance, the international confidence – all dismantled, not gradually, not by accident, but deliberately and consistently, in plain view of the nation and the world.

Bility’s reflection on EJS’s legacy serves as a reminder of the progress made during her administration and the challenges that Liberia faces today.

He recalls the difficulties of her tenure, leading a post-war nation filled with hurt and anger, and the monumental burden of restoring confidence in a shattered state.

“She had to juggle everything: the law, the peace, the international image of Liberia, the expectations of a traumatized population,” Bility notes.

Bility expresses his disappointment and concern about the current state of affairs, questioning how far Liberia has fallen.

“Why have we allowed the foundation she laid to be broken in her presence? Why have we watched a democracy she worked so hard to shape descend into disrespect, indiscipline, and institutional recklessness?” he asks.

Bility urged Liberians to confront the truth and correct their course.

“May we find the courage to confront the truth, may we find the discipline to correct our course, and may we remember the Liberia we inherited after 2006,” Bility stressed. “May we reclaim the future we are now at risk of losing.”

Bility opened up further: “Under EJS, government officials could not behave with the boldness, impunity, or disregard for public decency that we witness today. Respect for the National Legislature, even with its imperfections, remained intact. There was a seriousness about running the state. A discipline. A boundary that no official dared to cross without consequence. Not because the government was flawless, but because the tone of leadership set clear expectations about behavior, accountability, and respect for institutions.

“Under EJS, the Senate would not wait for a court to explain that an MDA is a financial bill and must originate from the House of Representatives. The Legislature would not openly break its own rules and walk away laughing. The Executive would not dismantle its own credibility and still expect the world to take it seriously. The very fabric of governance, fragile as it was, held together because leadership insisted that it must.

“I am forced to admit, and it pains me to do so, that Liberia has taken several steps backward. So many that the twelve years of EJS now look like the golden years of our recent democratic history. That reality is not only surprising. It is heartbreaking.

“This was the same government that began on a rough note. A post war nation filled with hurt and anger. A country that still carried the fingerprints of the warlords. A people who needed peace, justice, stability, and reassurance all at the same time. EJS had to juggle everything: the law, the peace, the international image of Liberia, the expectations of a traumatized population, and the monumental burden of restoring confidence in a shattered state.

When she left office and I spoke with her, she said something that has remained in my mind: that her greatest achievement was setting Liberia on an irreversible course to progress and prosperity.

But eight years later, almost everything she built has been undone. The systems. The discipline. The respect for governance. The international confidence. The foundation for reform. All dismantled. Not gradually. Not by accident. But deliberately and consistently, in plain view of the nation and the world.”