MONROVIA: Opposition Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) Secretary General, Jefferson Koijee, has launched a sweeping political indictment of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s administration.
Koijee asserts that the government’s campaign promise of a “Rescue Mission” has given way to economic hardship, institutional tensions and a deepening national crisis.
In his latest political commentary, titled: “The Mask Is Off,” Koijee contends that the governing Unity Party (UP) did not genuinely campaign on a transformative national agenda but capitalized on public dissatisfaction with the erstwhile George Manneh Weah administration and the broader resentment, then, toward the CDC.
His intervention represents one of the opposition’s sharper attempts to redefine the political narrative surrounding the Boakai administration as Liberia moves deeper into the current political cycle.
Koijee opens his argument with rebranding of the government’s signature political slogan.
“What was marketed to the Liberian people under the deceptive name and style of the ‘Rescue Mission’ has now revealed its true character,” Koijee writes, arguing that it has become a “risky cocaine mission.”
He declared that the rescue Mission has been marked by what he describes as national decline, lawlessness, economic hardship and declining public confidence.
His reference to cocaine, according to keen political observers, places his criticism against the backdrop of Liberia’s ongoing narcotics controversy, which has become one of the most politically sensitive issues confronting the Boakai administration.
However, Koijee does not present evidence in the statement establishing that the government itself is involved in cocaine trafficking.
Rather, he uses the controversy surrounding major cocaine seizures, investigations and allegations of official misconduct as part of his broader political attack against the administration.
Koijee then turns to political philosophy, invoking German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche’s concept of “ressentiment” to explain what he considers the ideological foundation of the opposition to Weah and the CDC.
‘Ressentiment’ is a deep-seated feeling of hostility, frustration, and envy directed at someone else because you feel powerless to change your own inferior situation or express your anger directly.
According to Koijee, unresolved humiliation, envy and resentment can evolve into a political identity in which an opponent’s success becomes the object of sustained hostility.
He further argues that these dynamics shaped the political campaign against former President George Weah.
“Their envy begins to feel like morality, their bitterness appears righteous and their revenge disguises itself as justice,” Koijee writes.
He maintains that Weah’s rise from humble beginnings to international football prominence, humanitarian recognition and ultimately the presidency, challenged Liberia’s traditional political establishment.
Koijee similarly portrays the CDC as a grassroots political movement representing market women, young people, motorcyclists, residents of disadvantaged communities and other groups he says, had historically remained outside Liberia’s traditional corridors of political power.
At the heart of Koijee’s argument, is the claim that the 2023 election campaign was driven substantially by attacks against the Weah administration.
He accuses some political opponents of portraying the former government as corrupt, incompetent and responsible for various national crises, while presenting allegations against the CDC as established facts.
Koijee then identifies four issues that he says, illustrate what he considers the gap between campaign rhetoric and governing performance: civil-service salary harmonization, the deaths of three missing boys, allegations surrounding the deaths of government auditors, and promises of integrity, accountability and respect for the rule of law.
On salary harmonization, he argues that the opposition criticized the policy and promised significant salary improvements after taking power.
On the missing boys, Koijee says, the issue was politically emphasized during the campaign, with promises of justice and prosecution.
He also revisits allegations concerning the deaths of auditors, claiming that the then-opposition presented the matter as one for which it possessed compelling evidence and promised swift accountability.
Koijee asked: why nearly three years into the Boakai administration, those “bold-faced claims” have not produced the outcomes promised to the Liberian people.
Koijee’s broader argument is that the transition from opposition politics to governance has exposed what he characterizes as a difference between political campaigning and the management of a state.
“Resentment may capture power; it cannot govern a nation. Propaganda may win an election; it cannot stabilize an economy. Lies may temporarily damage a leader; they cannot permanently extinguish a people’s movement,” he declares.
The CDC official further accuses the Unity Party of transforming dissatisfaction with Weah and the CDC into a political identity.
He argues that the 2023 election was not simply a contest between competing policy platforms but also a referendum shaped by public frustration with the incumbent administration.
Koijee contends that the outcome removed the CDC from power but did not extinguish the political movement it represents.
Koijee’s most politically explosive language comes when he connects the administration’s “Rescue Mission” branding to Liberia’s ongoing cocaine controversy.
He describes the situation as a “risky cocaine mission”, pointing to the series of drug-related investigations and allegations that have emerged under the Boakai administration.
Liberia has witnessed major cocaine seizures and subsequent investigations involving law-enforcement and security officials. Those developments have triggered public debate over institutional accountability, the capacity of security agencies and the country’s vulnerability to transnational organized crime.
But the political significance of the cocaine controversy extends beyond the criminal investigations.
For the opposition, the issue has become a powerful instrument for challenging the administration’s claims of improved governance and accountability.
For the government, establishing the facts, prosecuting genuine wrongdoing and protecting due process remain central to maintaining public confidence in the fight against narcotics trafficking.
Koijee argues that the controversy has damaged Liberia’s reputation and says, it reinforces his broader contention that the government has fallen short of the expectations created during the 2023 campaign. “The Mask Is Off.”
Koijee concludes with a direct political warning, declaring that the administration’s governing record has exposed what he believes was concealed during the campaign.
“The truth is emerging. The deception is collapsing. THE MASK IS OFF!”
His statement is ultimately a call for Liberians to reassess the political promises that accompanied the 2023 transfer of power.
For the CDC, the challenge now is to convert its criticism of the Boakai administration into a credible alternative political narrative ahead of the next electoral contest.
For the governing Unity Party, the response will likely depend on demonstrating measurable progress on the economy, governance, accountability, public security and institutional reforms—areas that will increasingly define the political debate as Liberia moves toward 2029.
Koijee’s latest intervention, therefore, goes beyond a routine opposition statement. It is an attempt to reclaim the political narrative surrounding the 2023 election, challenge the legitimacy of the “Rescue Mission” brand and position the CDC as the political force capable of offering an alternative to the current administration.
Whether the Liberian electorate ultimately accepts that argument, it will be determined not by rhetoric from either side, but by the competing records, policies and evidence presented to voters.
Towards Economic Empowerment And Reconciliation
