P-II: Grand Gedeh Senatorial Aspirants: What’s In Their Briefcases?

Top L-R: Sen. Isaac Nyenabo, Rep. Zoe Pennue and Mr. William K. Glay, Sr.
Bottom: Mr. Samuel K. Doe Jr. and Mr. Edward Slanger

By Gibson W. Jerue
 
“Tuzon Dynasty” and Fragmentation Gedeh
A land mass of 10, 276 square kilometer accommodating 132, 638 people is not a lot considering the country’s population of 3.6 million. The woes are even compounded when all of the number is not a voting strength. But for the people of Grand Gedeh County, no matter how small that number, they can and will choose their leaders. At this time, with eight months to go, Grand Gedeh’s senior senatorial position is up for grab and will be declared vacant like the rest of the 14 political sub-divisions by July next year.

Eleven sons and a daughter are poised; some have declared their intention and others are yet to accept petitions from their kinsmen to enter the race. The race is crowded like one senior Grand Gedeans told me recently. Crowded but not crowing, and the fragmentation continues; it seems everyone remains upbeat and confidence. What remains a glaring attention is what some refer to these days as the “Tuzon Dynasty” bringing head-on five of Tuzon’s sons. We will discuss the Tuzon factor in this piece and focus on the fragmentation in our subsequent article.

Growling Tuzon
A town where a former president is born is certainly prone to being politically conscious. And Tuzon is just that. With the name of former President Samuel Kanyon Doe tagged on the town – some call it village – folks here are fired up to step into the fray. They are doing just that, even long after the slain president visited with the ancestors.

Isaac Nyenabo, a Tuzonite, is the current senior senator of Grand Gedeh. He has occupied this seat for eight years now. But his days of glory hang in the balance – that he may be booted out by one of his Tuzonites or one of the several other aspirants eyeing his position. Isaac knows the challenge and he feels it too.

Nothing is more worrying for a man than when his brothers are at his throat. Well, it’s not his throat but sitting in his gut and stuffing him with “government farina”. Five men, including Mr. Nyenabo are among the now 12 aspirants for a single seat, comes 2014.

Mr. William K. Glay, Sr. is being petitioned to enter the race. According to his admirers, he performed well when he served as representative of the county during the Samuel Doe regime. They say he has contacts and is resourceful, in addition to what they called his philanthropic gestures to students, etc. William is yet to respond to the petition. But comes November 23rd in Philadelphia, Friends of William Glay will converge to “give his flowers”, maybe it is there and then that he will give his formal response. We will be looking specifically at his pros et cons in subsequent articles.

Another son of Tuzon who has been petitioned but has not responded is Samuel K. Doe, Jr. He is the son of the man who raised Tuzon’s name from the ashes of oblivion to a towering limelight. Although he was a child when his father administered the affairs of state, this young man is not only a photocopy of his father genetically; he is ready to enter politics. Recently he traveled to Liberia to assess the ground and he is akin to accepting the petition requesting, or should I say, demanding him to enter the senatorial race. Most Liberians had thought the Glays and Does were related by blood, but it is the contrary – they are not related.

The new comer is the man who is credited to the arrest and execution of Thomas Quiwonkpa. Since the day Quiwonkpa fell to him, his name rose from mediocrity to prominence. He is Edward Slanger. Recently, gossips had it that he had told SKD, Jr. that he would withdraw if the younger Doe was entering the race. But very reliable information has it that Slanger is sharpening his political spears to anchor his tentacles. Where does that leave the early gossip, your guess is as good as mine.

But the most potent challenge that Isaac Nyenabo is to face will come from his cousin Zoe Emmanuel Pennue. Before coming to the United States, Zoe told me at his residence that he would not contest senatorial seat if Isaac Nyenabo was still interested. “He is my own brother. I can’t go against him,” Zoe told me. But the leaf has turned and this is not 2008. Mr. Pennue is so far the only person from Tuzon who has openly declared his intention to oust Nyenabo. In fact, Zoe’s pre-campaign activities are scaring the hell out of his would-be opponents. He is currently the representative of the populous district in Grand Gedeh – Tchien.

Apart from Glay, the rest are said to be related. Zoe is SKD, Jr’s first cousin, so is he cousin of Isaac and distant cousin of Slanger. So then, four brothers at punching each other and are also going to be punching jointly the man who gets his flower this month – William Glay. Where does that leave the rest of Grand Gedeh?