Rep. Hopeful Condemns Attack on SUP -Calls for Probe of Incident

As public outcry continues to mount in the wake of an unprovoked attack on some members of the University of Liberia based Student Unification Party (SUP) by a group called the CDC-COP, a representative hopeful in the ensuing 2023 General elections for District #8 Monsterrado County, Alvin Pennue has categorically condemned the act as uncivilized and barbaric and called on the government to launch a full scale probe into the circumstances.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with this paper a day after the incident, Pennue who blamed the government for instigating the violent act said asserted that the government has reduced running the affairs of the state as if it is running a “table market” where everyone can determine their own price, adding that at present this amounts to a country without national character and proper leadership as well as lack of problem solving approach which has resulted partisans of the ruling establishment to engage into violent activities all the time.

“At this juncture, it is incumbent on every rightful thinking Liberian to condemn this act; it is a clear violation of the fundamental rights of the people to freely assemble and express their grievances against what they felt was wrong with how the government was proceeding with governance and the management of the country’s resources. So sending thugs after the students with the view of suppressing them was something mind blowing”, Pennue said.

He maintained that the frequent occurrences of ugly scenes from Liberia to the outside world do not help the country and its people as they drive away investment opportunities and put fear in the country’s development partners which by extension provide reasons why they put hold on funding projects in the country.

Pennue who is passionate about youth empowerment said he was taken aback when he saw young people who should be organizing themselves into working groups to help each other are being used by politicians and troublemakers to destroy themselves and at the same time endangering their communities.

“I can’t believe that at this time when the young people should be putting themselves together as serious groups to help themselves, they are all over the place destroying themselves, calling themselves militants and all sorts of names that are associated with violence and destruction. Of course they are hurting themselves and not the politicians that are fooling them for selfish gains”, he said.

He said the acts exhibited against the students are clear indication of the broken societies the country has to confront because the government whose responsibility it is to provide solutions to the problem is the same institution actively instigating these kinds of violent attitudes thereby aggravating the situation.

When asked what could be the solution to the frequent recourse to violent acts in the society especially being perpetuated by young people, the young entrepreneur and a security expert said that education and skill acquisition are two areas as viable options because both of them are surest ways to combat joblessness and poverty, the two evils that disrupt the mindset of idle youths in the community.

“Rising unemployment due to lack of proper education and skills among the young people has been a bane of progress among the young people. We have to find a way of addressing this menace otherwise it will hit us all the time. That is one of my thematic areas for which I am offering my service to the good people of District #8 during the general election next year, 2023. What we want to do for our people has to do with a strong government representation at the level of the national legislature to make the transformation to succeed. Successful governments for a very long time have all ignored the danger of rising rates of unemployment among the young people and it must come to an end in 2023, our people are passionate to get us to the Capitol Building next year to change the narrative for the better”, the young humanitarian said.

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