Today the same people are back home and Liberia is looking for a true leader that can champion their cause."I always quote Martin Luther King. In his speech he said the ultimate measure of a man is not where he lies in comfort but where he lies in times of challenge and controversy. But from my own perspective he's not well ripe for the presidency. He's not well up with political issues."The local travel agent had similar concerns: "You see me, I like George Weah but I'm worried about him because if he takes over as a president maybe the same people from the past government will fool him because they are more educated than him.
He has the country at heart and I like him but I worry about his educational background."In Weah's Monrovia apartment, a large photograph of the player dressed as Caesar stands on top of a television set. Two former presidents of Liberia have met violent ends to match that of Rome's greatest emperor. President Samuel Doe's ears were sliced off before he bled to death in the bath President William Tolbert was bayoneted in his bed. But Weah, who is devoutly religious, says he is happy to leave his own fate in God's hands, whatever dangers may lurk in a high-profile political future. After spending so much of his life enjoying the best that the rich West had to offer, while Liberia was plunged into civil war, he appears genuinely determined to improve the abysmal lot of his compatriots."I was always in touch when the war broke out and some days it was difficult," he says. "He is called King George for one fact," says one man sipping tea outside a cafe "Because he's a star in sport. But locals say they will not spare even a football star president if their lives do not improve swiftly once he is elected."The peace process is fragile," announces Lurd's general secretary "When you talk about peace there must be sustainability.
If this is not prevalent, what kind of peace is it?" Could the fighting break out again? "Yes, at any time. If these people stay as they are, destitute, then they could be regrouping."Even down in the south-east of the country, where Weah's native Kru tribe live, they are not sure he is equipped for the job. After the peace deal was signed back in 2003, UN troops were ordered to break up all warring factions, disarm them and send them back to their villages. But this rubber plantation in Gutherie is still under Lurd's control Local people claim they still have arms. An invasive search by the UN found nothing.In Gutherie there is fond talk of Weah as a man who has Liberia at his heart.