"You Can't Look Back"

Johnson originally allied himself with former President Charles Taylor, who is now on trial at The Hague for crimes against humanity committed in Sierra Leone. The two leaders soon became enemies as rebel groups splintered and fractured. Johnson thinks that Taylor came to power with the aid of the United States:

The people who helped Charles Taylor escape from jail in the U.S.A. said that upon the removal of Doe, this is what you should do: Return to speedy democracy and let us come in to vie for public office. But Taylor decided, I cannot work for you to enjoy!

To be frank, there was absolutely no need for Taylor to send people to Sierra Leone. Removing the government of Doe was the only problem. After the removal of Doe there was a need for reconstruction. Not only the roads, the schools, but the minds. To reconstruct the mind. Taylor was to focus on that. He didn't need to go to Sierra Leone to make new war.

I do not have any communications with him now. How can I communicate with him while he's in jail? He wants to be Jewish to be free! He thinks that the American officials, most of them are Jewish. [Taylor's wife recently told the BBC that her husband had converted to Judaism while in prison.]

Although Johnson is thought to be semi-literate and never to have finished high school, he speaks about the importance of wisdom over knowledge and why he might still run for president:

In Liberia, 99 percent of our leaders who have a university degree do not represent their home county. The framers of our Constitution did not make education a criteri[on] for political office. Don't look at anyone [as] ignorant because you have [a] master's degree.

If people say go there [run for president], I'll go. Leadership does not come from how much you know. Leadership does not go by how much education you have. A leader that is born, you can see the characteristics.

I'm honest, straightforward, disciplined. When I say "yes," it's yes. These are characteristics that make people ... trust you. Tolerance, etc., etc. It's a gift. An individual gifted with wisdom is more than the man who is knowledgeable. When you gain knowledge you also gain wisdom. But there is no institution where you can gain wisdom. You got too many institutions that teach knowledge. Wisdom is a gift from God.

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