In our research we have underscored the importance of case studies. Building a modern nation-state is indeed a difficult task, but other nations and peoples have done it successfully. We have tried to study their success to see how it might be adopted to the situation in Liberia. We have highlighted an institution in Brazil, EMBRAPA, the Brazilian Agriculture Scientific Corporation that has proven so strategic to Brazil’s success in agriculture productivity. We have also dealt with the visioning process in Kenya and Rwanda where the process has proven to be much more fruitful and productive than in Liberia. We have studied citizenship laws around the world to see how Liberia might expand its citizenry to develop and secure the country.
And we have made prominent in our studies the micro city-state of Singapore (polyglot, multicultural and diverse) for excellence in leadership, transparency, lawfulness, discipline, efficiency, good order, and professionalism. Singapore is now considered one the best managed states in the world. Singapore, as it was developing, used other states as models. Singapore aspired to be like some the best manage small nations in the world.
Agriculture. In this area the Sagamore Institute has two senior fellows who in five years in Liberia built an agricultural research center and a demonstration farm in Ganta Nimba County on the campus of Liberian International Christian College (LICC). (We were also a part of the team that established the LICC which was recently given the authority to grant bachelor degree.) Their work plan included introducing new sustainable farming methods to people in the villages, and teaching the agricultural sciences. With more funding and appropriate international partnerships, local training and participation, the work could be expanded to every county in Liberia. We have written several research briefs on agriculture policy, agriculture education and research, infrastructure, support of small scale farmers, sustainability, deforestation, livestock production, transportation and land tenure. This includes a case study of Brazil’s EMBRAPA mentioned before.
On statecraft and leadership, our position is that the only real revolution is in the enlightenment of the mind and the improvement of character (Durant). And for this reason we are convinced that the quality of the state will depend on the quality of its people. John Stuart Mill said, “the worth of the state in the long run is the worth of the individuals composing it.” This is a fact that is not evaded without substantial cost. Thus, we have emphasized spiritual and intellectual development and growth, seeking leadership training through character and intellectual development. The ISOKO Leadership Workshop (ILW) has been established to disseminate these teachings in Liberia. ILW is usually conducted annually in Liberia. These are the controlling principles guiding our recommendations against declaring Liberia a Christian state. Our appreciation of the meaning of human freedom is closely tried to our understanding of human responsibility. These are two faces of one coin. There can be no celebration of meaningful human freedom without form.
We are cautiously optimistic of Africa’s rise. We see a great potential for the Liberia Philanthropy Secretariat in taking advantage of the huge opportunities and good will in the international environment for development and national growth. The philanthropic space, including remittances and private investment, is nearly 1 trillion dollars large. We think that Liberia and Africa should continue to engage China with discernment. We have submitted a critical response to Liberian Vision 2030, and think that as a matter of strategic importance, Liberia should leverage its historic tides with the United States as a major development partner. As we have seen with England and Singapore, geography is not destiny. Rather, destiny is all about leadership, policies, ideas and powerful practices. Our piece on state capacity in Liberia’s first republic could help in our understanding of Liberia’s past, and what Liberia’s future could be.
We continue to work on policy issues regarding Liberia and Africa. We have continue our leadership series in the Art of Leadership, a new article published in Marketplace Liberia 2017. We have written a review essay on Calestous Juma’s The New Harvest: Agricultural Innovation in Africa, and have published a researched brief on decentralization in Liberia. Instead of decentralization, we are suggesting a policy of deconcentration. We might be able to accelerate the ongoing revitalization at the JFK Medical Center with the assistance of international partners. We have published a brief on state security in the fall 2018. And now we are working on a book with hopes of publishing at the end of this year 2020 or within the first quarter of next year 2021.
Liberia needs a think tank, that is, a policy research institute both for training and providing policy analysis to assist with developing competent leadership and good research to inform public policy choices. We are prepared to help in this endeavor in a non-partisan and non-ideological way that is strategic and pragmatic, and in the best interest of Liberia and its local and international partners.
The key to success in Liberia is best establish in modestly assessing our competitiveness as a country, that is, being humble enough to appreciate our needs as a people, that there is a substantial gap in our capacity as a people in knowledge and life. We are hopeful that the rise of Liberia will issue in a better Liberia.