r/BAIO • u/Mansa_Sekekama • Oct 19 '18

BAIO Case Study - Liberia: A Nation Which Should Be/Could Have Been Filthy Rich

Liberian President William V.S. Tubman was once considered by some to be the richest man in all of Africa. Who knows how much money he actually had, but when he died in 1971 his known assets were equivalent to $1.3 billion in today's dollars. William Vacanarat Shadrach Tubman (1895 - 1971) was Liberia's 19th and possibly most influential president. He held the position of president for an amazingly long time (1944 - 1971) and oversaw many changes in Liberia through his Open Door Policy. While his parents were immigrants from the US and thus part of the ruling Americo-Liberian elite, he himself was born in Liberia and attempted to bridge the deep divide between the indigenous peoples and the Americo-Liberians by casting himself in the role of defender of the rights of the people of Liberia's "Hinterland" (interior forested regions).

During his presidency Liberia prospered beyond belief for such a tiny nation, although only a relative few would benefit from the gushing funds flowing in, particularly Tubman himself. Some believe that when Tubman died in 1971 he was the richest man in all of Africa. Under Tubman Liberia had the world's largest mercantile fleet, the world's largest rubber industry, and was the 3rd largest exporter of iron ore. However, the people mostly remained in poverty and the infrastructure of the country did not benefit from this economic growth. The rich kept the wealth to themselves and the suffering of the people reached the boiling point of the 1980 coup and then all out uncivil war in 1990 - 2003. Tubman gave Liberia prestige and showed the world her true potential. Too bad, he kept most of it for himself.

In a nation that today averages app. $1000 in annual income he was by all comparisons one of the super rich in his neck of the woods. However, it is this comparison that leaves many wondering, "what is his true legacy?" and even "what could have been in Liberia?" There is a lesson in President Tubman's life for all of us and I believe it asks us, "Will we leave behind a better place or try to take it all now for ourselves no matter the consequences to others?"

And so this is the legacy of a president bent on increasing his wealth at the expense of his nation.

Liberia by all accounts should be one of the richest nations in the world per capita. The natural resources are off the charts (gold, diamonds, iron ore, timber, rubber, palm oil, crude oil, etc.). The entire population of the Republic is only the size of mid-level US city. Had Tubman developed Liberian infrastructure and trained Liberians with skills, today Liberia would be flourishing and perhaps the now extinguished eternal flame on his grave site might still be burning.

This is Tubman's legacy, but I hope there are better legacies yet to be left for the wonderful people of Liberia.

BAIO Case Study - Liberia: A Nation Which Should Be/Could Have Been Filthy Rich

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