By: Archie Boan
A former student leader, Ephraim T. Nyumah, has launched a scathing critique of the Unity Party and the current state of the Federation of Liberian Youth (FLY), accusing senior officials and former youth leaders of betraying their principles and compromising the independence of the youth movement.
In a strongly worded opinion piece titled “The FLY We Knew and Unity Party We Thought; Is There Still Hope?” Nyumah, a former Secretary General of the Student Unification Party (SUP), likened recent political developments to “a village that now dines with the same thief it once condemned.”
He took particular aim at the alleged involvement of deputy speaker Thomas P. Fallah in influencing the upcoming FLY leadership elections, saying the lawmaker is “pulling every string to install his preferred candidate.”
Nyumah expressed disappointment that the Unity Party once vocal against corruption and political manipulation has now, in his words, “stretched its mat for Fallah at the table of political comfort.”
“The hands that pointed at corruption now shake those very hands, smiling as if the past never existed,” Nyumah wrote. “If Fallah was once the thief of the granary, has he suddenly become its guardian? Or have the watchmen simply joined the feast?”
According to him, what is unfolding within FLY is more than just a student or youth election it represents “a power struggle within the ruling establishment” that threatens the soul of youth democracy in Liberia.
Nyumah further accused some former FLY leaders of selling out their legacy and becoming “instruments of manipulation” for political gain.
“They have chosen personal gain over generational progress, political expediency over principle, and comfort over conviction,” he stated, calling their actions a “moral collapse” of the movement.
He said the youth organization, once celebrated for its independence and integrity, is now “teetering under the weight of political manipulation and partisan interests.”
Despite his sharp criticism, Nyumah maintained that hope still exists for young people to reclaim FLY’s legacy of accountability and leadership grounded in integrity.
“The question is no longer whether FLY will hold elections,” he concluded, “but whether it will still stand as a beacon of independence and integrity or sink as another vessel of political compromise.”
Ephraim T. Nyumah currently serves as Minister of Information for the Law Students Association (LAWSA) at the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law and is a former Secretary of the Federation of African Law Students (FALAS).
