Liberian president speaks before receiving honorary degree

Improper leadership is the cause of Liberia’s economic hardships, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said as she addressed a crowd of about one hundred in the Lincoln room of IU’s Lilly Library.\n“Liberia is not a poor country; it was just poorly managed,” she said.\nSirleaf gave her speech Friday before receiving an honorary Doctor of Laws degree at commencement on Saturday.\nLiberia is located in Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Cote d’Ivoire. It is a nation abundant in natural resources and is particularly known for producing iron and rubber products. However, one of the problems Sirleaf addressed is how to take advantage of the country’s resources to provide better jobs, electricity, skills and improved living conditions overall. \nSirleaf described the many challenges that lie ahead for her country – including peace and security, economic revitalization, government structure and education – and spoke of the close relationship Liberia shares with the U.S. and the United Nations.\nAmong the many improvements Sirleaf has made for Liberia since the beginning of her presidency is bringing electricity to the cities.\n“We’re able to turn on lights in the city ... This hasn’t been done for 14 years,” she said. “Children can play, do homework under street lights.”\nLiberia’s government structure is another challenge for Sirleaf. She said she hopes to bring about more transparency in the government, improve government or ganization and focus on curbing corruption. \nSirleaf also focused on the importance of improving the lives and minds of the nation’s youth as a way to make Liberia better overall. \n“We have a very young population,” Sirleaf said. “Some (children) are child soldiers and ex-combatants. How do we respond to that? Education. We focus on education.”\nBecause Liberia has such a young population, it is important for the nation to improve accountability and the law, Sirleaf said. This does not mean adding more laws, but instead changing the thought process of the nation’s youth and educating children with higher sets of values. \nSirleaf said “old-fashioned values (such as) honesty and hard work” should be reinstated.\n“Let’s reduce the vulnerability of the young people who are to be recruited,” she said. \nSirleaf spoke at IU because of the close connection IU has with Liberian studies and materials. Verlon Stone, project coordinator of the Liberian Collections Project, spoke of IU’s connection to Liberia. \n“We have the largest academic collection of Liberian materials in the world,” Stone said. \nMany audience members, such as associate anthropology professor Gracia Clark, appreciated Sirleaf’s lecture. Clark, who also teaches African studies classes, said she was thankful for Johnson-Sirleaf’s visit. \n“This is a very special person for us,” Clark said. “I thought she was very direct and down to earth. I was very impressed by that.”