GIPO, Nimba – Roger S. W. Y. Domah, representative-elect of Nimba’s seventh electoral district has called on Liberians to take a stand and embrace education in selecting their leaders.

He said when education is embraced, it benefits individuals and the community. Domah made the statement when he served as guest speaker at the first graduation of the Gipo Vocational and Technical Institution in Gipo Township over the weekend.

“In our society presently, it is like people [are] revolting against education,” he said, in an apparent veiled reference toward Sen. George Weah, the former footballer who is running for president. “If you have education and [are] seeking [a] certain position, people see you not to be the right choice; I think that is not good for the future of our country. I think we need to embrace education.”

Although Weah holds a master’s degree, he is generally viewed as uneducated because of his poor public speaking skills and his history of blunders during interviews.

According to Domah, not realizing the role of education in selecting leaders responsible for critical decisions shows a lack of appreciation for education.

“We’ve got to show respect and appreciation for education in our country. I am wondering why people are currently going against the people who [went] to school,” he said. “It baffles me to know that all these people are still sending their children to school to acquire education.”

Although the representative-elect talked about the need to push educated people into leadership positions, he recognized the need for those educated people to demonstrate their value to their communities.

“You do not just need to acquire knowledge for yourselves, the community you live in should be able to benefit from it,” Domah added.

Domah urged the 28 young graduates who received their two-year diplomas in the areas of general agriculture, auto mechanic, electricity, building construction, and home economics, to make use of the knowledge acquired to serve their respective communities.

The founder of the technical institute, Priscilla L. Jaiah, told reporters after the program that her vision for the institute was “to transform and equip the young people of our society so that they can be better people.”

“People need to be empowered, and not just only by words, but by giving them [the] skills and technical knowledge that they can live on, to change their lives,” she added.

Featured photo by Arrington Ballah