One hundred and sixty eight years since Liberia became the first Republic of black Africa, Liberians are still walking naked and eating raw rats like Ugandans fighting for tribal districts. The donor steering committee is transforming the Negro African society from the traditional rural peasantry into a new class called urban peasantry using a disease known as Liberiosis. The disease has since spread into rest of Negro Africa. Its vector the germ that carries it is called Liberium Negroida.

Like in the rest of black Africa, there are not very many scientists, engineers, doctors, anthropologist etc. They have all been driven away by poverty and hunger, preventable wars and disease, flunkeyism and superstition. Those few left behind are on their payroll to guarantee a complete circuit of this pandemonium. Bio-medical doctors have become mercenaries, no longer serious of life but destroyers of it.

When Liberiosis matures into the victim, it causes yet another disease called Acquired Intellectual Disorder Syndrome (AIDS). Not the Western European, NATO created HIV AIDS which is physically claiming millions of youthful blacks but an intellectual disorder that impedes one's reasoning.

Liberia is host to about 15,000 UN soldiers in a mission costing about half a billion dollars a year to maintain. In spite of this massive UN presence, anxieties about the country's political sta­bility are strong, and with its large pool of unemployed young people, many of them ex-militia fighters, and its fractious political class, Liberia seems intrinsically insecure.

Small settlements with little or no economic activity - not to mention social life - pass for cities, and there arc 126 mayors in Liberia. As well as these, there are nearly 250 senior chiefs along with over 500 clan chiefs.

These people have nothing other than their titles, which they project forcefully. Their large number has implications for plans - still inchoate - to decentralize the highly centralised Liberian state. It will cost over $30m to conduct necessary elections for these mayors and chiefs, more than 15% of the national budget.

It is not as though the government is paralysed. In fact, President Johnson-Sirleaf is still a popular, charismatic and reform minded leader. Within 100 days of her taking office, she proudly accomplished her promise to provide street lights in Monrovia, for the first time in more than a decade. They are still functioning, but few houses in Monrovia, let alone in the rest of the country, enjoy mains electricity for any period of time.

Salaries for state employees ate paid on time, and morale is high among govern­ment officials. In general, Liberians appear optimistic about the future.

The trouble is that the country's prob­lems are simply overwhelming, and its main friend - the US - appears, unlike the British in Sierra Leone, simply unwilling to invest enough to make a difference. The national budget this year amounts to only US$ 199m.

On 25 June 2007, the online jour­nal allafrica.com published an extraordinary "guest column" writ­ten by Liberia's president, Ellen johnson-Sirleaf. The article focused on the creation of the US military command for Africa (Africom), and dismissed widespread skepticism among progressive African leaders about its intent.

"Africom should be seen for what it is," the Liberian president wrote, "recognition of the growing importance of Africa to US national security interests, as well as recognition that long-term African security lies in empowering African partners to develop a healthy security environment through embracing good governance, building security capacity, and developing good civil military relations."

PRESIDENT ELLEN JONHSON SIRLEAF is welcomed to the White House by former President George Bush

A few years ago, the US quietly opened a military base in Djibouti. The aim: to monitor, kill or capture Al Qaeda fighters. This base was instrumental in last year's Ethiopian intervention in Somalia. Senior American sources say that by 2012, the US military will have two dozen such forts or bases in Africa.

Johnson-Sirleaf did not elaborate on what constitutes US national security interests in Africa, but her article went on at length about the supposed merit of Africom, and made a pitch for the forces headquarters to be based in Liberia.

"Liberians can only hope," she wrote, "that the United States will use Africom to raise standards for engagement and help change 'the way of doing business' in Africa. Africom is undeniably about the projection of American interests - but this does not mean that it is to the exclusion of African ones."

Since its creation in the 19th century as a settlement for freed American slaves, becoming, in 1847, Africa's first republic, Liberia has tended to take a very benign view of American interests, often at its costs.

In the 1980s) during the rule of Presi­dent Samuel Doe, Americans built a huge relay station for the Voice of America (VOA) radio, as well as a listening post for the CIA, near Monrovia, facilities now degraded but which President Johnson-Sirleaf is offering the Americans as a site for the building of the headquarters of Africom.

Liberia should not be in this state, but years of warfare and mismanagement has done the country in.

As economic stability returns to the coun­try, the Liberian government may regain its old pride in its independence, and will start to see fancy innovations like Africom and Gemap for what they really are: short term recipes that are best avoided.

Qn: "African countries got independence through the front door and lost it by the backdoor** Discuss this statement with reference to neo- colonialism.

Define independence and neo colonialism. Show that independence was got by giving signs of independence. Show however that it was lost by giving signs of neo colonialism

The existence of National Anthems is a sign of independence. An anthem is a song of patriotism. It is usually sung on important occasions in recognition of a country's sovereignty. In Uganda professor George Kakoma composed the Uganda Anthem. Its first line represents sovereignty i.e., "0h Uganda the land of freedom..." This obviously represents freedom from foreign rule.

National flags are also symbolic of independence. These flags were raised at the day of independence while flags of colonial masters were lowered. This signified the triumph of African nationalism. In Uganda, the Uganda flag, with black-yellow and red colours was raised by retired Major Kanuti Akorimo while the Union Jack of the British was lowered. Today, national flags are raised in various places like Kololo airstrip, state house, on vehicles of prominent politicians, etc.

The celebration of national days should be pointed out too. Every year, independent African States celebrate independence days in commemoration of the victory of nationalistic forces over forces of colonialism. The Ghana, Independence Day is celebrated on 6th March, in Kenya on 12th December, while in Uganda, on 9^th October of every year.

The existence of local leaders in politics also deserves mention. At independence, colonialists transferred instruments of power to Africans. Since then, it is Africans (elites especially) who are in power. In parliament, Africans are represented by fellow Africans and at local level by local authorities. This is unlike during the colonial era where it was hard to break the colonialists' power monopoly.

The presence of the local police and army should be analysed. African states have made attempts to remove foreign elements from the country. (Africanisation) and replaced them with Africans. This was the case in Congo (now DRC) where Belgian elements were removed from the Congolese army (Force Publique) etc.

The presence of local laws is important to mention. The foreign laws left behind by colonialists have been revised, modified or replaced. In fact they only apply to Uganda as far as local circumstances permit. On the other hand, these are laws recognize the applicability of local customs including marriage, divorce etc.

The economic freedom enjoyed by Africans is symbolic of independence. Africans now occupy their own land and carry out agriculture without threats of land alienation. In countries like Zimbabwe where white settlers still exist, land reform programmes have been undertaken to evict them. Africans participate in international trade, they have established industries to produce goods formerly being imported etc.

The continued existence of African culture is a sign of cultural independence. (Refer to the question on cultural preservation).

The capacity of African leaders to undertake both domestic and foreign policies also shows independence.

On the other hand show the signs of neo colonialism