Senegalese-American Megastar, Alieue Phieme alias Akon is in town. He touched down at the Roberts International Airport (RIA) late last night at about 1:00am amidst tight security as well as soul-moving welcoming activities.

He was welcomed to cultural activities performed by cultural troops of Liberia and above all, he was met on arrival by top officials of government including Commissioner Chris Massaquoi of the Bureau of Immigration (BIN), Minister of Information, Dr. Laurence Bropleh.

Following the airport arrival formalities, he and his 15-man delegation departed for mainstream Monrovia at 1:45am for the hotel..

According to the itineraries, he departs the hotel for a visit at Cellcom headquarters and at 10:45, he will meet with staff of Cellcom, and that will be followed by a program at 11:00am.

Several dignitaries invited to this part of his activities in Monrovia include Minster of Information, Minister of Youth & Sports, Commissioner of Immigration, Chairman of Cellcom Board, the Senegalese Consulate, officials of Cellcom, ECOWAS Citizen Union, and among many others.

Most importantly, he will be honored as Youth Ambassador for the ECOWAS Union by ECOWAS Citizen Union. That will be followed by recognition from the President and Vice President of the Liberia Musician Union.

They will be presenting him with a “Plague as a Honorary Member of the Liberian Musician Union.”  Akon will also receive a package from some Liberian artists that will perform on his show.

At the program, a welcome statement from T-Max Jlateh, Cellcom Public Relations Officer will follow that of Information Minister Bropleh. Apart from that, he will gown the megastar.

Others expected to form part of the ceremony include Boimah Ngebele, former Cultural Director for Liberia and Cultural Advisor to the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism.

The international musical guest will also have the opportunity of meeting with Liberia’s Vice President, Ambassador Joseph Boakai at 12:30pm; it is indicated in the itinerary.
 Following his meeting with the Vice President, he will visit the Barclay Training Center (BTC) where he is expected to encourage new AFL recruits.

Monrovia is on the move and everyone is gearing up to get a glimpse at the man many believe is changing the face of music and giving a new flavor. Some Liberian artists are also in the lineup for the show and the SKD is expected to go wild as he mounts the stage to perform his artistries.
   
GC Involves Students In Decentralization Process
By J. Edwood Dennis

The Governance Commission (GC) headed by Dr. Amos Sawyer has embarked on an initiative aimed at involving Liberian students in the process of decentralizing Liberia.

	• Dr. Amos Sawyer

Programs geared toward the exercise were launched by the GC few months back for University students to make their contribution through essay writing.

At the end of the essay writing period, three students from the University of Liberia (UL), and African Methodist Episcopal University (AMEU) emerged as winners of the essay contest.

Yesterday, the GC held programs to show gratitude to the students. The first place winner, Wisdom P. Oghogho of the University of Liberia (UL), second Place winner, Ibrahim A. Nye, African Methodist Episcopal University (AMEU) and the third place winner Columbus Dorleah were honored and certificated for writing beautiful essays that depicting the need to decentralize the country.

Besides, the certificates, the three winners were issued a check amounting to US$900 as a means of encouraging the students for other students of higher learning institutions to follow suit.

The Presidents of the University of Liberia, Dr. Al Hassan Conteh, Frederick Gbegbe, Acting President of AMEU, the Chairman of the Election Commission, James Fromoyan, attended the occasion. Also in attendance were the Managing Director of the Daily Observer newspaper, Kenneth Y. Best and the Chairman of the GC. Dr. Amos Sawyer.

In his remarks, Dr. Sawyer said the commission was using UL students through essay writing to form part of efforts aimed at decentralizing the country. Dr. Sawyer stressed that it was time for Liberians to support President Sirleaf’s ambition to decentralize Liberia.

He said all Liberians should strive to capture the idea the president is pursuing and work towards it “since democracy could only flourish through a decentralized state in which every citizen will form part through a participatory process that starts from a decentralized state of governance.”

Presenting the certificates to the winners, Daily Observer’s Managing Director, Kenneth Best said Liberians could only graduate from a state of making decisions in Monrovia, when students, the public in general and the government will whole heartedly support the process of decentralization.

He praised the GC for its desire to have young people who are being considered as the future leaders in moving the initiative to have Liberia decentralized.

Best noted that the process which has involved students through the method of writing will also stimulate the quest for academic challenge and excellence amongst Liberian students.