MONROVIA – After keeping the polity in suspense for much of the year as regards his political future as the 2023 beckons, the destination of the National Chairman of the Liberty Party, Mr. Musa Hassan Bility, came to the public glare on Saturday, August 6, 2022 in Saclepea City, when he positively responded to a petition to contest for the representative seat of District # 7, Nimba County from the concerned citizens of Zoe Gbao Administrative District at an elaborate and colorfully program that attracted political bigwigs from far and near, amid singing, dancing, chanting and sloganeering.
“Having heard, having interacted with the people of Zoe Gbao, with the confidence I have in you, with the confidence I see in your faces, with the record of your sincerity; having listened to the people of Wee-Gbheyi, knowing that this town requires our son, knowing that that Wee-Gbheyi where I come from, knowing that you will never allow the result of any election to show that the people of Zoe Gbao are committed than you, I believe the people of Wee Gbheyi and I believe that you will never allow Zoe Gbao to speak more than you in this matter; knowing very well that where they are and have come to us and have asked us to represent them, I know that you will not let yourself down, with confidence and belief that I have in my people of Wee-Gbheyi, with trust and truthfulness and sincerity in the people of Zoe Gbao and on behalf of my family, the Liberty Party, the Alternative National Congress, Mr. Mayor, can I mention CDC, okay the CDC, the MDR and the list goes on, I wish to formally and wholeheartedly with God above my right to prove, I wish to accept your petition”, Bility said in his acceptance speech, sending the well-attended event into a frenzy.
Prior signs of the program being filled beyond the expectation of the organizers became known earlier in the morning when people from all walks of life and different locations both far and near started trooping into Saclepia City, heading to the venue of the historic occasion in their numbers, causing both vehicular and human traffic. Even dignitaries invited from far off places like Monrovia, Sanniquellie, Tappita, Ganta, Gbarnga, Kakata, Buchanan, etc., found it difficult to access the venues and the reserved seating spots meant for them. The hitherto sleepy city was completely turned upside down in a festive mood as if it was a public holiday in Liberia associated with celebration of huge magnitude.
Earlier, in his welcome remarks, the City Mayor and Chairman, Council of Mayors in Nimba County, D. Leonidas Jarteh, welcomed the guests and everyone who made their way to the venue to honor the petitioning ceremony of Mr. Bility.
“Today is one of the remarkable days in the history of this town to see Mr. Musa Hassan Bility receiving a petition from the people of Zoe Gbao and Wee-Gbheyi Administrative Districts. And as the City Mayor of Saclepia City with the petition, I am left with no other authority but to receive it and then turn it over to the elders of Wee Gbheyi to answer to it as to whether to accept or to reject it. And so, on behalf of the entire city council of Saclepia City, I want to welcome you again and feel free to move around as a law-abiding citizen,” Mayor Jarteh stated.
His remark was followed by an elder from Wee Gbheyi who in a succinct statement gleefully accepted the petition from the people of Zoe Gbao, describing it as a great honor done to their son, Bility in appreciation for the developmental strides he had undertaken for their community. “We are happy for the petition and we have accepted on behalf of our son”, he said.
In a prepared text as response to the petition read by Miss Destiny Zain on behalf of the concerned citizens of Wee- Gbheyi, the citizens recounted the background of the petition from the people of Zoe Gbao which was premised on the numerous contributions of Bility in various sectors that spurred development projects in their communities, his love for the people and the desire to make meaningful impact in their lives and communities, noting what they stand to gain if Bility is elected as the representative of District #7, Nimba County.
“You believe in our son Dr. Musa Hassan Bility to improve our health facilities, to improve the educational standard of our children, and construct better roads.
“You believe in our son Dr. Musa Hassan Bility for better representation and oversight responsibility and sound decision making in the interest of our people.
“You believe in our son, Dr. Musa Hassan Bility, for his achievement in the improvement of the living standard of our people and good governance.
“You believe in our son for his concern for his people, the number of opportunities he has created for his people over the period of time including economic empowerment.
“You believe in our son, Dr. Musa Hassan Bility, a leader with empathy, sympathy and humanity, reconciliation and belief in his people.
“You believe in our son, Dr. Musa Hassan Bility, a leader that embraces development, infrastructure and human resource development.
“Based on these practical reasons for which you petitioned our son Dr. Musa Hassan Bility, we the concerned citizens of Wee- Gbheyi have decided today to respond in a positive manner to your petition, with understanding, we wish to declare to you, in this public manner that we accept very highly such decision by you the concerned citizens of Wee – to petition our son is not a mistake.
“Therefore, after considering your petition very carefully, with keen interest as well as high level of confidence in the concerned citizens have developed in our son, we have unanimously agreed to wholeheartedly accept your petition today”, the statement concluded.
The ceremony was planned in a way that the petition was first handed over to the City Mayor of Saclepia from the people of Zoe Gbao, who then delivered it to the District Commissioner for onward presentation to the District Superintendent who then rose up and did the final presentation to Mr. Bility.
The Superintendent, Arthur Sahn, who said he was excited to be at the occasion to witness and be a partaker of an important occasion where the businessman-turned-politician was being honored with a petition from his people to represent them at the level of the national legislature, described it as a respect and recognition for the many interventions undertaken over the years for the communities.
“Mr. Bility, the two districts comprising District #7 have deemed it necessary to ask you to accept their petition or reject their petition, but this is their request that you contest the election because of the impact in their lives, the beautifying of their roads, other construction that you are doing, so they want to ask you to contest as representation of their district. They hereby make this document and present it to us as their leader and for us to give it to you for your response. Mr. Bility here is the petition”, the superintendent said, amid thunderous cheers and excitement that punctuated his remark.
With the document in his hands, a visibly elated honoree in a good spirit, matched to the podium, being ushered by battle cries, slogans, cheers and jubilations, beaming with smiles in acknowledgement of the gesture from the surging crowd who continued to pull into the venue to get a glimpse of him and to listen to what he had to say.
Mr. Bility began by thanking all those who came to grace the occasion, and paid glowing tributes to the folks from his biological town, Wee Gbeyee, as well as friends, associates and individuals who one way or the other have had impacts in his life. He mentioned the superintendent of the District and the City mayors of both Bahn and Saclepia whom he said have been sources of encouragement, counsel and true brotherhood over the years. He also specifically mentioned the women of the communities that he referred to as forerunners of the exploration and petition process that galvanized and mobilized mass support, leading to the formal event of the day.
Rather than going straight to accepting the petition, Mr. Bility decided to provide ample education to the people on his deep knowledge of what the responsibilities of a representative entail and what it takes to be a good representation of the people.
“I have been called to answer the petition of Zoe Gbao. I want you to know that I appreciate you. I want you to be assured that though this petition comes to me on a piece of paper, it is a request to go and represent you at the national legislature.
“Before I respond to your petition, I want you to know what it is to be a representative as far as I understand.
“To be a representative, it is you that will write laws, not only for district #7, but for the country.
“To be a lawmaker, is not to sign a budget and receive $30,000; it is to make sure that the district you represent has a direct benefit from the budget you signed.
“To be a representative, I want you to know that it does not require you to rent a house in Monrovia and live, it requires you to be here and only go to Monrovia Tuesdays and Thursdays and come back to your people.
“I want you to know that to be a lawmaker you have to also cross the aisle and cooperate with the government whether from your party or not from your party to ensure that the government is taking the right decision for your people”, Mr. Bility said.
While also stating that as a representative one’s decision must be reflective of the desire and aspiration of the people, he however stated that most of the interventions he has been doing are not the constituted functions and responsibilities of a lawmaker but because of the lack of the right representation of the people, such responsibilities that should have been executed by the government have been shifted to good, concerned and spirited individuals who are passionate to assist their people and communities.
“If you do a good job for the people, the machine you see there will not be here, it is not the duty of the lawmaker to fix roads, but when it comes to the time of discussing the budget, you make sure that you have something in the budget for your people and your duty will now be to supervise and to ensure that the budget is implemented for the people.
“Therefore, I know what this position requires. We have over forty towns in this district and out of them over 20 have no schools; to be a serious representative, there must be a school in District #7. I know the task is hard, but the Bible says the voice of the people is the voice of God”, he said, putting the audience in a mood to receive an imminent news that he has positively accepted the petition to contest in 2023 as per the request of the people.
“Having heard, having interacted with the people of Zoe Gbao, with the confidence I have in you, with the confidence I see in your faces, with the record of your sincerity, having listened to the people of Zoe Gbao, knowing that Wee-Gbheyi where I come from, knowing that you will never allow the result of any election to show that the people of Zoe Gbao are committed than you, I believe Wee- Gbheyi and that you will never allow Zoe Gbao to speak more than you in this matter, knowing very well that where they are have come to us and have asked to represent them, I know that you will not let yourself down, with confidence and belief that I have in my people of Wee- Gbheyi, with trust and truthfulness and sincerity in the people of Zoe Gbao and on behalf of my family, the Liberty Party (LP), the Alternative National Congress (ANC), the CDC, the MDR, and the list goes on, I wish to formally and wholeheartedly with God above my right to prove, accept your petition”, the national chairman of LP accepted the petition, amid while jubilation that took some time to have the audience quieted down.
The politician then went on to unveil his mega plans for the district where he promised that upon his successful election, he will propose a bill for a twin city, combining Bahn and Saclepia into a single city with a city council reflective of the various constituents or ethnic groups in the area as well as being a representative of all for the district, which according to him will be a radical departure from the prevailing situation where if a Gio or Mano person is elected, they only cater to their communities and forget about the rest.
Bility whose statements were interrupted with cheers and ovation each time he made a vow, also said that he will make sure that every town in the district will have schools to cater to the educational needs of the citizens so that school going children will not have to migrate other towns for the sole purpose of going to school. In addition to his package in the education sector, he promised to build a university in the district to cater to the growing number of students coming out of high school and finding it difficult to pursue higher education.
To demonstrate that his desire is to see the people feel his impact far before being elected, Bility who has been undertaking major projects across the district and beyond said before the election next year, all the towns and villages will be connected with roads and bridges to ease the free movement of people and goods and services for the economic advancement and wellbeing of the people and the communities amid the while jubilation that erupted from the audience.
Several big wigs in the political arena graced the occasion including former Vice-Presidential candidate and Chair of the National Advisory Council of the Liberty Party (LP), Harrison Karnwea, Martin Kollah and Madam Wadei Powell, National Secretary General and Treasurer respectively, representatives from other political institutions including ANC, CDC, MDR, among others.