Long Walk To Victory By Tunji Offeyi(Political Story)

It is no longer news that George Oppong Weah has been elected the 25th president of Liberia, but it wasn’t easy for the UN Goodwill Ambassador.
It is not every day that we see a footballer become a president. Well look no further! Welcome to the world of George Weah, Liberia’s famous son. A man of many firsts.
 
For a man born in the slum of Clara in Monrovia the capital of Liberia many will never believe one day He would conquer the world. Well thanks to his super mastery of the round leather game of football. This saw him conquer Africa, Europe and the entire world in 1995 by becoming the first and only African footballer to win the FIFA player of the year till date. However He had only one regret, his tiny West African nation whom He captained for years was unable to qualify for the world cup which cast a shadow on his illustrious career in the beautiful game of soccer and it meant Weah never played at the world cup which is the pinnacle of football showpiece. However despite that set back the energetic dribbler has a fate in ruling his twice war ravaged country.
His first attempt in 2005 was a failed bid having lost out to Harvard trained renowned economist Ellen Sirleaf Johnson. Another try in 2011 as Vice-President running alongside Winston Tubman also ended up as another futile exercise. But Weah like the proverbial cat with nine lives never gave up. In 2014 He became a Senator for Montserrado County to gain some political experience having already gone to attend a university in Miami for a degree in Business Administration, which were some of the reasons He lost out at the previous attempts. All that corrected the 51 years old retired footie maestro came back and better to defeat current Liberian Vice President Joseph Boakai in a runoff that saw him win 12 out of the 15 provinces on boxing day 2017, effectively making him achieve another first in Africa and the entire globe for a footballer to become a president. This time around on a joint ticket with Vice-President elect  Jewel Howard-Taylor an ex-wife of Charles Taylor who is currently cooling his heels at HM prison Frankland,Durham England.
Congratulations! And happy Cheers to George, hoping He leverage on his international connections - ‘young age’, and raise Liberia out of economic and social doldrums to take its rightful place amongst the comity of nations! Good luck to the good people of Liberia as they embark on a new journey in nationhood. ‘All is well that ends well.’