“How is it that, with all the wealth, we are still very poor? How is it that, with all the changes we have made in government, we have failed to transform our society?” Gbowee asked.
Nobel laureate Leymah R. Gbowee has challenged Liberians to look beyond political change and demand real national transformation, drawing a comparison with Dubai’s rise from desert outpost to global destination.
In a reflection titled “Change is Not Transformation,” Gbowee recounted a recent conversation in Dubai with an Indian doctor who described arriving in a country of dust, two major buildings and no traffic lights.
The exchange led her to question why Africa, and Liberia in particular, remains poor despite its wealth, and why repeated changes in government have failed to transform society.
Gbowee pointed to Dubai’s eight guiding principles, singling out the eighth, “We care about future generations,” which holds that the destiny of coming generations should not be shaped by politics or global economic cycles.
She noted that “change” is a word constantly used in Liberia to mobilize people, whether for new leadership or a new mindset, and asked how many times between 1980 and 2026 the country has seen genuine transformation amid that change.
She called on Liberians to mobilize not just for their own families but for future generations. “Change is good,” she said, “but transformation is better.”
