REV. DR. WALTER D. RICHARDS HOAX!!

JOHN NIMLY BROWNELL WEBSITE

REV. DR. WALTER D. RICHARDS HOAX!!

March 2002

I read an article Christians Declare State of Emergency culled from The News (Monrovia) published on the http://www.allAfrica.com website February 18, 2002. I thought of it as another political ploy or gimmick, typical of most sycophantic Liberian political and religious leaders. But this morning, I read an article quoting Dr. Wade Nobles "Our dilemma, our problem is that we allow other people to define the meaning of who we are. And once we accepted their definition we gave them power".

This statement has a lot of meaning for us Liberians who always preach for genuine peace and reconciliation. We allow others to decide and define our destiny too many times that we have been led the wrong way and we shall continue to go in the wrong way until we define our own destiny. In order to achieve the genuine peace in our beloved country, it behoves us to love ourselves and reject those vices and evils that do not benefit us as a people. This is not the time to sit on the fence as mere spectators and fans to watch the game that affects common patrimony being played by a few who might want to coin themselves as I am more Liberian than you but rather, we all should participate in the political and socio-economic calamities that has befallen our great land of liberty. This might seem a Herculean task for many who ascribe to the Liberian saying Lets leave it like that, that is the peoples thing yahhhh!!! But I can assure you all that achieving peace is not insurmountable.

The article quoted the Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Crusade, the Rev. Dr. Walter Richards recounting how the trouble of Liberia started from 1955 when a group of True Whig Party (TWP) renegade formed the Independent True Whig Party (ITWP) which attempted on the President William V. S. Tubman. Since that time, Dr. Richards said Liberia has been going through political turmoil including the April 14 rice riot of 1989, the April 12 bloody coup of 1980, and the civil conflict of the 1990s. Dr. Richards noted that all of these crises have been claiming innocent blood.

Let me attempt to give you some chronological events in Liberia dating as far back as the 1700s so that other well meaning Liberians would see and reason the facts from fancies:

1700-1830s    Slave Trade African sold African to European and American Traders

1820s         Twin
                                    battles between the settlers and Dei, Mamba and Gola; Matilda Newports canon blast defeated the tribes

1871 October 26, Forceful removal of President Edwin J. Roye, fifth President
                                    of Liberia; The hotly contested Presidential elections of

1869 was won by coalition parities involving darker repatriate Liberians, Recaptives and some Indigenous Liberians.
                                    Roye advocated

the regulation of the nations finances,general education to embrace the indigenous population and a policy
                                    of national integration. Royes presidency was short-lived

1819         
                                    Sofa War, Vais and Golas war, destroying the countryside and looting;

1926        Firestone Agreement and the first phase of the
                                    League of Nations Commissions charges Concerning slavery and forced labour; Kru Coast Campaign, loss of civil liberties and
                                    the Sedition Act

1930       
                                    Fernando Po Plantation, Liberia charged with forced Labour

1955        Crisis between TWP and ITWP; Nete Sie Brownell, D.Tweh et al

1965    The Henry F. Fahnbulleh alleged attempted coup

1970    The attempted coup of Prince Brown et al.

1974    The crisis between Stephen Tolbert and Albert Porte;
                                    showdown  at University of Liberia & Tubman High School

1978        Harper Ritualistic Killing
                                    and the Masonic Oath of the Most Worshipful Grand Master and the 33-degree breakdown

1979     Tolberts government invited Guinea soldiers to help bring the Rice Riots of
                                    April 14 under control

1980   
                                    The military coup detat, assassination of President William R. Tolbert Jr on April 12.

1981 The attempted coup of Thomas Weh Sen and execution with other PRC members;

1983    Nimba Raid at Yekepa

1984     UL Crisis, soldiers raid campus demonstration,
                                    loot, rape and beat students and injured

1985     November 12 Invasion led by General Thomas Quiwonkpa

1986     The MCSS Students Riot on March 18

1989        December 24,Incursion, beginning
                                    of Liberias Horrific 7 Years Civil War

1990       
                                    Following 9 months of killings and looting; on September 10th

President S.K. Doe killed and an estimated 150,000 other deaths

1992         NPFL Operation Octopus Military attack on Monrovia

1996        April 6 Monrovia hostilities
                                    amongst warring factions

1996       
                                    October 31, attempted assassination of then National Patriotic Leader Charles Taylor at Executive Mansion

1998 September 18th Camp Johnson Road Fighting, removing a city within a city involving Roosevelt Johnson

2000-2002 Lofa incursion by LURD Rebels

Looking at his statement, one
can clearly see the treachery and distortion of our nations history. The problems of Liberia clearly do
not owe its genesis to the 1955
elections basing on the facts mentioned supra. Is Reverend Dr. Richards trying to change history
in Liberia by giving misinformation to the world? It poses a lot of questions as to his motive for such remarks.
Is he trying to bring up an issue that the Congo man is better ruling Liberia than the Native man? I ask this because all the
incidents mentioned by him involved the participation of
the aborigines.(This talk is a very big talk, but it is worth pondering about).
It also makes me wonder what was the real meaning
of the Crusade last month at the S.K. Doe Complex.
If such a man like
Richards can gather people in
the name of the Lord and prostrate singing Hallelujah,

but harbour lies and deceit in his thoughts, words and
deeds symbolizes how people use the Lords name in vain
in Liberia. I
only conclude that the good Lord
is not a human in flesh like us, but rather
a divine,
loving and merciful Supernatural Being that accepts
temptations even from Satan servants and is ever ready
to forgive him and cohorts for they know not what they
are doing.
This Reverend Richards has no proven track record of successes in our country. He currently
serves as President of the University of Liberias Board of Trustees
and he has been unable to
get the Institution reopened
after being closed since April 2001. Salaries and benefits for the
faculty and staff there are yet unpaid, no current literature in all disciplines are available in
the
University Libraries, overcrowded classes, no laboratory equipments for the Science College
and Engineering Division and absolutely no plans for staff development are just few of the
numerous problems facing
the University. You should put your mouth where your hand fits.
Do the little task of keeping the University running smoothly in order
to train future leaders to
rebuild the already shattered
country.
I am not a historian, but
I will tell you for free that you cannot
alter
the course of the good works and deed of the Late Counsellor
Nete Sie Brownell who served excellently as a former Circuit Court
Judge, a former Post Master General, former Attorney General of the
Republic of Liberia and who contested in the 1955 elections against
the perennial rule of President W.V.S. Tubman. The history book
Heroes and Heroines of Liberia by A. Doris Banks-Henries tells of the

story of Thomas Gabla Brownell who converted the
natives in Cavalla,
Maryland County from traditional
beliefs to Christianity. Our family
has made history
in Liberia in all generations.
What do you want to gain from fostering and propagating this diabolical
lie? Favour? No, you cannot get
it at the expense of the families of the Brownells, Barclays, Horace's, Colemans, Twehs,
etc. The names
of these great sons of Liberia will always be remembered as HEROES who fought for social
justice, peace
and equality for all Liberians. . Is it frustration that led to those remarks, or is it ignorance
at its zenith, or you
wanted to say something to please your benefactor so at to keep your pot boiling? The future
leaders of
Liberia would want to know and demand an explanation from you!!!
I would conclude by admonishing you to beat
pride and retract your statement for the sake of peace and
reconciliation in Liberia
because it tends to further divide us as a people than achieve the objectives of your
crusade.
Our problem in Liberia has nothing to do with religion. Even making Liberia the so- called Christian
State would not solve the divisions there. Love thy neighbour as thyself is the only way forward for our country.
I am urging you Reverend Dr. Richards to leave this old habit of lies to gain favour and use your pulpit to spread

Gods good news to the world.
God Bless Liberia!!
John Nimly Brownell, X
Son of the late Cllr. Nete Sie Brownell

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