Home News 79 Year-Old Joseph Boakai Takes Office In Liberia, Promises To Tackle Youth Issues
NewsPolitics

79 Year-Old Joseph Boakai Takes Office In Liberia, Promises To Tackle Youth Issues

490

Liberia’s new president, Joseph Boakai has been sworn into office, making him the country’s oldest president ever. It will be recalled that in November 2023, the Septugenarian nicknamed “Sleepy Joe,”  defeated  George Weah – the country’s youngest-ever president – in a keenly contested election.

Running on a campaign platform that promised to fight wastefulness and corruption in contrast to the perceived spendthrift ways of the Weah administration, Boakai now faces a plethora of problems including a high poverty rate, a growing drug problem among young people, and an anaemic economy still struggling to recover 2 decades after the end of the country’s brutal civil war.

Boakai, who previously served as vice-president under Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, insists that his physical health and fitness are not in question as he seeks to institute reforms in a country with a median age of 18.5 years. His vice-president, 46 year-old Jeremiah Koung previously served as a member of the country’s Senate.

The challenges facing Boakai’s government include a lack of forex, which could soon lead to severe shortages in the import-dependent country, and a growing problem with an illegal synthetic drug known as kush or K2.

Read more: Four Survive Russian Private Jet Crash in Afghanistan

About The Author

Written by
Ikenna Churchill

Culture storyteller

Related Articles

NewsSecurityWorld

U.S. Embassy Warns Citizens to Avoid Military Sites, Govt. Venues in Abuja

The United States Embassy in Nigeria has issued a security alert, warning...

NewsWorld

Malian President Assimi Goïta Visits Russia to Hold Discussions on Bamako–Moscow Relations

Malian President and Head of the Transition, Army General Assimi Goïta, has...

CultureOpinionPolitics

Faith, Tribe, and the Failure of Unity in Nigeria

In Nigeria, the issue of who you’re begins with where you’re from...

NewsSports

CSS Kicks Off the First Edition of Sahel States Games in Bamako, Mali

The first edition of the Sahel States Alliance Games (JAES) opened on...