Former President of Football, President of Liberia today

Time Weekly reporter Liang Yaodan

After many years of retirement, former World Footballer George Vija stood on the grass of the football field. Unlike in the past, this time he came to attend his own presidential inauguration.

On January 22nd, at the inauguration ceremony of the new president of Liberia, in order to see the true meaning of George Vija, the queue of people who lined up for several kilometers. For the first time in more than 70 years, Liberia has experienced a peaceful transfer of power from one elected leader to another elected leader.

George Vijad had a brilliant football career at European clubs such as Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan. During the same period, his motherland was filled with smoke in the civil war. Fourteen years after the end of the war, after a failed attempt, George Via finally won the presidential election in October last year.

As a legendary football star, George Wia is on the court. But now, the challenge facing Mr. President is obviously much more difficult than the previous game.

From football stars to president

“I have lived in the stadium for many years, but today is an indescribable feeling.” Wia wore white clothes, wiped her forehead with a handkerchief, and said to the cheering crowd on the stadium, “I I have sworn before you and the Almighty God. Rest assured, I will not let you down."

This is a moment that Vija has been looking forward to for more than a decade. In 2005, he first ran for the presidency, but he lost to former World Bank President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who became the first female president in Africa and became the head of state for 12 years in Liberia. . In 2011, he re-elected as Winston Tubman's vice presidential candidate, but he and his team lost to Sirleaf again.

Via, 52, was born in a slum in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia. From the small Via, he showed his talent for football and liked to play on the street. At the age of 15, a football agent took a fancy to him and took Viagra to the path of professional football.

As an African player, Vija's achievements in football are quite brilliant. He is the only star in Africa to win the World Footballer's Award, and was elected World Footballer in 1995 when he played for the Serie A giants AC Milan club. He won the Golden Globe Award of the year and was twice elected to African Footballer. Some even call Vija the greatest football player of all time.

It is reported that when serving in football, Vija has expressed no interest in politics. However, a meeting with former South African President Nelson Mandela changed his mind. According to media reports at the time, Mandela successfully persuaded Vija to convince him that no matter how generous donations could change the poor situation in Liberia, only when he was elected president would he have the opportunity to benefit the wider public.

In November 2004, Vija announced his participation in the Liberian presidential election. On that day, thousands of supporters uploaded songs and dances on the street, shouting the former football superstar to "George King." The following year, Vija announced his retirement and officially entered the general election.

However, the beloved star announced his candidacy for the president, but the progress was not very smooth. Vija was slammed by competitors, and his academic and ruling experience was still too weak for him to be a national leader.

In order to be elected president, Vija showed tenacious perseverance. In the following 14 years, the 41-year-old Vija received a high school diploma in the United States, a degree in economics at Miami University in Miami in 2011, and a master's degree in management two years later.

In 2014, Vijad defeated the son of Sirleaf and was elected to the Senate of Montserrado and began preparations for the election.

Turbulent Liberia

History is often very dramatic.

Vija's campaign partner is Jewel Taylor. The active female politician is the former wife of Liberia and the ex-wife of Charles Taylor, who was sentenced to 50 years in prison by the United Nations Special Court for war crimes. During the football service of Vijay, it was precisely because Charles Taylor was in the superstition that fans were rumored that Vijay would run for president, fearing that he threatened his own regime, sent people to attack and burned Vija in the capital of Monroe. Asian residence. In the face of death threats, Vija had to leave the motherland. In 1989, Charles Taylor launched a civil war that killed about 250,000 people in the war that lasted until 2003.

By December 28, 2017, Vija won the Liberian presidential election. The data shows that most of the supporters of Vija are young bottom-level voters. Among the eligible populations in Liberia, the proportion of young people aged 18-35 is over 50%. According to the World Food Program, about 64% of Liberians live below the poverty line and 1.3 million live in extreme poverty.

Wia’s campaign platform is also very simple: “I will bring Liberians the necessities of life: electricity, water and education, and roads.”

And as Vija took over the power of the transfer stick from Sirleaf, it also marked the first transition to peaceful democracy in this troubled country since 1944.

Samuel Harmon, a 30-year-old street trader, said: "This is the first time I have seen Liberia transfer power peacefully. People expect real democracy. He said: "The expectations of the people and the country depend entirely on him ( Via). Everyone thinks that if he fails, most people will be disappointed with politics. ”

Joseph Du was a child soldier during the civil war in Liberia. He is now the father of five children. He believes that Vija is "the best hope to change this country." He said: "The memories of the war still make me wake up from the nightmare at night. But I hope my children will never understand the war."

However, in addition to flowers, applause and cheers, we are also challenged and dangerous. In Liberia, an African country devastated by war, turmoil and corruption, politicians have become accustomed to using force to conquer opponents, the two presidents died, and a former president is in jail.

New game started

After the president, Vijay still has a lot to do.

Wia’s predecessor, Sirleaf, has contributed to the reconstruction of the country and the unity of the people after the civil war, but it has hit the Liberian economy with the Ebola outbreak and the fall in world commodity prices. As the people's livelihood has not improved, the voters have gradually expressed their dissatisfaction with the government.

Lawrence Yale is a representative of the Accountability Lab in Monrovia, which is committed to education and community outreach and promotes accountability in public office. He said that he still worried about what the Vienne government would do, especially on corruption, which he said was a big concern for many Liberians.

Yale said: "This will be a long road, but Liberians really want to take some action against those who steal things from the national economy."

In addition, according to the British Broadcasting and Television BBC, the main focus of Vija is now on education and employment.

The data shows that at present, the proportion of Liberia's population under the age of 15 is 44.3%, and there is great pressure in the fields of education, health, employment and food security. In the 2017-2018 fiscal year, the country expects fiscal revenue of $527 million, of which only $50 million can be spent on public projects.

The 35-year-old Theo Baddio lives near the town of Logan, Liberia, and he places high expectations on Via. He said: "Some of us are high school graduates. Vija will create educational programs and jobs that will take us away from this slum."

However, Liberia political analyst Ibrahim Bakri Nai said: “When Vija’s campaign, he promised to create more jobs, provide free education and free medical services, but how specific he provided The details of achieving these goals are still limited."

Vija will also face the daunting task of revitalizing the economy. Due to the decline in iron ore prices and the impact of the Ebola crisis, the country’s economic growth contracted by 1.6% in 2016. The data showed that Liberia’s economic growth rate rose to around 2.5% last year and the inflation rate was 11%. This means that the prices of major foods such as grain and oil will continue to climb. So far, Liberia is still one of the poorest countries in the world, with 80% of its population earning less than $1.25 a day.

Julius Kanubah, a policy analyst at Uppsala, Sweden, said other challenges facing Vija include mobilizing resources and hiring qualified personnel in government bureaucracies.

“He hopes that every Liberian family can buy satisfactory food on their table within 100 days of his appointment. He also seems to have a certain degree of urgency to ensure that every Liberian can get affordable medical care. Service. However, he seems to have no clear details on the question of "where to finance, how to fund"," Kanaba said.

However, despite the broad details, the good promise of the politician turned by the player has resonated with the young Liberians. "People believe that George? Wia has a wand that changes the status quo," Ney said.

For George Via, as the presidency begins, a new game involving more than 4 million Liberians will begin.

(Editor: Ji Liya HN003)