Africa-Press – Liberia. “In 2023, with Cummings, we must stand up for Liberia. We must stand up for real change. We cannot lose hope,” former Information Minister Lewis Brown said. “We cannot be frightened. Wherever you are – whatever your tribe, party, gender, or religion – now is the time to get involved together, we can win for Liberia.”
A major political figure has pledged his support for the Presidential ambition of Alexander Cummings, boosting the opposition politician strategies campaign.
The support from Lewis Brown, who is a former Liberia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) and Information Minister brings to two the number of seasoned political strategists who have been involved in Liberian politics for decades to endorse Cummings.
The first was Dr. Toga Gayewea McIntosh, a former top gun of President George Weah’s ruling Coalition for Democratic Change, who as a strategist helped play a vital role behind the scene in shaping the campaign message that got President George Weah elected in 2017.
Like McIntosh, Brown is not a typical vote-rich character — someone with a strong political following but he joined the Cummings team as an individual who has circled the summit of public life both locally and internationally as a seasoned technocrat and policy expert — a skill set that every politician needs.
“In 2023, with Cummings, we must stand up for Liberia. We must stand up for real change. We cannot lose hope,” Brown said at his endorsement of Cummings. “We cannot be frightened. Wherever you are – whatever your tribe, party, gender or religion – now is the time to get involved together, we can win for Liberia.”
“I stand with Cummings because he is right and has the character, temperament, depth of understanding, integrity, and leadership credentials to move our nation into the future we seek. I stand with Cummings because in 2023 we must elect a leader to be a President rather than elect a president we hope might become a leader.”
The former Liberian diplomat noted that Cummings is eying the President with a new mindset not just for Liberians but to courageously try to push the country into doing what is right for everyone.
Brown is a former member of the National Patriotic Party (NPP) of ex-President Charles and served as interim Foreign Minister of Liberia in 2003 under President Charles Taylor.
A once-vocal critic of former President Ellen Johnson, Brown threw his weight behind the then President’s reelection bid just weeks before the disintegration of the National Democratic Coalition headed by Dew Mayson. His sudden support of the president raised eyebrows and accusations from his detractors that he was eyeing a position in Sirleaf’s Cabinet.
After the election, he was appointed as Information Minister and then Liberia’s permanent representative to the United Nation by the former President.
However, he is joining the Cummings campaign team as a seasoned political strategist who knows how to shape a winning campaign message — something that Cummings needs to win the presidency of his second try.
That messaging has already begun as Brown becomes to hype Cummins, saying he had the boldness of vision, the freshness of ideas, and the courage to continue to fight when it seems easier to surrender.
He added those are the qualities of leadership experiences that Cummings has achieved to get things done.
“Today, that historic duty to confront difficult circumstances, including making personal sacrifices, so real change can happen in our nation, is now ours to undertake,” Brown added. “We must do this today so that our children can reap the rewards of a changed and better society tomorrow.”
“The truth is that Liberians are not afraid to change. Unfortunately, too many of our leaders have viewed change as a diminishing of their powers. But democracy is not about making powerful leaders. It is about empowering so-called powerless people. “
Brown then that Cummings understands democracy and believes that Liberians must fix the dysfunctional system that lifts leaders up and keeps people down, stating “we must lift Liberians up, and offer the chance for all to improve their lives.”
“This is why important as they may be, it doesn’t really matter how many roads, bridges, and buildings we may construct; if Liberians continue to remain poor, dependent, and without quality education, we embellish the body of a stained soul. We thereby lose our way, undermining democracy, and risking the future peace and security of our nation,” he said.
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