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IS ELLEN JOHNSON SIRLEAF WORTHY
THE $5 MILLION IBRAHIM PRIZE?
- By Simon Allison
To the world, she’s a glowing leader, but Liberians
may disagree that their former president was
‘exceptional’.
Finally, after a three-year drought, the Ibrahim Prize
for Achievement in African Leadership has a winner:
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa’s first-ever female head of
state and, until recently, the president of Liberia.
‘Ellen Johnson Sirleaf took the helm of Liberia when
it was completely destroyed by civil war and led a
process of reconciliation that focused on building a
nation and its democratic institutions. Throughout
her two terms in office, she worked tirelessly on
behalf of the people of Liberia. Such a journey cannot
be without some shortcomings and, today, Liberia
continues to face many challenges.
‘Nevertheless, during her 12 years in office, Ellen
Johnson Sirleaf laid the foundations on which Liberia
can now build,’ said Salim Ahmed Salim, the former
Tanzanian prime minister who is also chair of the
Ibrahim Prize Committee.
The Ibrahim Prize is awarded to a former African
executive head of state who left office in the past
three years, was democratically elected, served his
or her constitutionally mandated term and – most
importantly – demonstrated exceptional leadership
along the way. It has not been awarded since 2014,
when Namibia’s Hifikepunye Pohamba received the
commendation – an award described at the time as
‘debatable’ by the Institute for Security Studies’ (ISS)
Liesl Louw-Vaudran.
This is not the first major honour to be bestowed
upon Johnson Sirleaf. In 2011 she was among three
women awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their role
in the ‘non-violent struggle for the safety of women
and for women’s rights to full participation in
peace-building work’, according to the
citation.
But Johnson Sirleaf’s Nobel
Prize was not without its
critics. Most notably, a year
after the award, fellow
2011 prize winner Leymah
Gbowee, a Liberian civil
society activist, said she
felt compelled to speak
out against the president’s
record in office. ‘You’re as
bad as being an accomplice
for things that are happening in the country if you
don’t speak up,’ she said.
Gbowee said Johnson Sirleaf’s government was rife
with nepotism, with family and friends of the president
pushed into senior positions. These included her
son, Robert Sirleaf, who was then head of the state
oil firm; and her stepson Fumba Sirleaf, who ran the
National Security Agency. Gbowee also criticised the
then president’s record on poverty reduction, arguing
that the gap between rich and poor had increased on
Johnson Sirleaf’s watch.
Gbowee is not the only Liberian to question Johnson
Sirleaf’s leadership credentials. In fact, so contentious
is her legacy that even her allies were wary of
accepting her endorsement in last year’s presidential
election, for fear that it might harm their chances.
As Foreign Policy reported: ‘So disliked is she that on
the eve of Liberia’s October 10 general election, her
own vice president, Joseph Boakai – who is vying
with 19 other candidates to succeed her – has tried to
distance himself from Sirleaf on the campaign trail. “If
you park a race car in the garage for 12 years, it gets
rusty,” Boakai said at a recent presidential debate.’
Not that it helped Boakai: long-time opposition
leader George Weah won the election, and has now
taken over as president.
Johnson Sirleaf assumed power in Liberia in 2006,
in the aftermath of a long and bloody civil war. This
background has come to define her presidency. In the
eyes of many, especially the international community,
the mere fact that she was able to prevent a return
to conflict is enough of an achievement. But her
critics are not so sure that this is enough to warrant
the adulation she receives from the international
community – of which the Ibrahim Prize, with
its promise to reward only ‘exceptional
leadership’, is the latest symptom.
‘Her legacy is marked by shades
of grey,’ said Fonteh Akum, a
senior researcher at the ISS.
‘Obviously the baseline
expectation with electing
a post-war president is
to prevent a relapse into
conflict. With the help of the
international community,
and especially the United
Nations troops deployed