President Bio travelling to Monrovia

President Julius Maada Bio has departed to Liberia, together with his wife, Fatima Bio, to grace the 68th anniversary of the armed forces of Liberia.

The visit, sequel to an invitation by President Boakai, is in commemoration of Liberia’s Armed Forces Day tomorrow February 11 2025 at the Barclay Training Centre in Liberia.

President Bio will be the Special Guest of Honour and Keynote Speaker.

The annual event is to honour military personnel in dedicated duties to the nation.

This year’s theme is “Sustaining Our Peace and Security Through Stakeholder Engagement: The Role of the Armed Forces”.

Liberia fought a bloody 14-year-old war, with over 300,000 dead and over 500,000 displaced.

President Boakai is currently unifying a polarised nation and stabilising a decrepit economy inherited through sound economic policies.

Both countries share open borders, due to their closed proximity and that they have long standing relations bearing on historical ties and intermarriages.

Bio sees Boakai as “big brother “, who was born in a village called Wasonga, a stone’s throw from Sierra Leone’s Kenema district. Wasonga, a village in Lofa County, is bordering Liberia and Sierra Leone

*Abubakar Hashim, based in Sierra Leone, is the West Africa Bureau Chief of TheNEWS Magazine published in Nigeria