Exiled Taylor deserted by followers as hard times bite

When former Liberian President Charles Taylor arrived in Nigeria in August 2003 to begin life in exile, it was with great fanfare. As he flew into the capital Abuja on a warm 11 August night, the red carpet was rolled out for him, for the last time. Four African presidents - Nigeria's Olusegun Obasanjo, Ghana's John Kufuor, Mozambique's Joaquim Chissano and South Africa's Thabo Mbeki - were on hand to welcome him. Taylor arrived with a large entourage. Dozens of family members and close aides accompanied him to Abuja and onwards the same night to Calabar, on Nigeria's southeast coast, his agreed place of exile. Days beforehand a series of special flights from the Liberian capital Monrovia had brought in a couple of luxury cars, household goods and hundreds of hangers-on who fled with the disgraced president as rebels besieged the capital Monrovia. However, barely six months later, life has taken a lonely, perhaps bleak turn for Taylor. Close aides said most of his entourage had deserted him, heading back to Liberia or dispersing within Nigeria in search of better fortunes. "More than 70 percent of the people who came to Nigeria with Taylor have since left him and gone back to Liberia," said Vaani Paasawe, who was Taylor’s official spokesman in Liberia. Paasawe, who fled with Taylor to Calabar, told IRIN "Out of 23 personal security details Taylor brought with him, 15 have left because he's not been able to pay them". The United Nations-backed Special Court in Sierra Leone had dashed any thoughts that Taylor would have a peaceful exile in Nigeria by indicting him for war crimes two months before he left Liberia. Taylor is accused of being the main supporter of rebels who were guilty of horrific atrocities against unarmed civilians during Sierra Leone's decade-long civil war that began in 1991. He is also believed to have amassed fortunes from funnelling guns to the Sierra Leone rebels and dealing in blood diamonds mined in rebel-held areas of the country. In March the UN Security Council passed a resolution freezing all assets, including "money and property of the exiled leader, key members of his family and inner circle" on the grounds they could be used to undermine the current peace process in Liberia. But Paasawe dismissed suggestions that Taylor had millions of dollars stashed away in foreign bank accounts. He said the only identifiable asset of the former president and warlord was a farm in Liberia. Paasawe said the international community may mistake assets of the Liberia Trust Company - which he points out belong to Liberia - for the personal property of Taylor. The Liberia Trust Company manages the Liberian ship registry which since 1948 Liberia has provided a flag-of-convenience for merchant ships around the world. Taylor’s opponents accuse the former president of having used revenues from the ship registry as his own personal cash. Paasawe recalled that before leaving Liberia, Taylor threw down a challenge that any wealth traceable to him anywhere outside the country should be confiscated. "He still stands by that challenge," Paasawe added. Other Taylor aides and Nigerian government officials in Calabar, spoke of the financial decline evident at the two government guest houses overlooking a river, where Taylor and his entourage live. "Things are really bad here, not just for us, Taylor's dependants, but also for the man himself," one aide of the former Liberian leader told IRIN on condition of anonymity. He said even the defence Taylor has mounted against his indictment by the war crimes tribunal in Freetown, Sierra Leone was in jeopardy because "he hasn't been able to pay his lawyers". The number of people visible within the Taylor compound has dwindled rapidly in recent weeks. Residents in Calabar said that the crowds that milled around there when he first arrived were no longer present. However, armed Nigerian policemen and plainclothes security officers maintain a strict watch around the Taylor residence in view of fears that mercenaries might try to abduct him to claim the bounty placed on his head by the United States. A close aide of Donald Duke, the governor of Cross River State where Calabar is situated, told IRIN the government has been picking up most of Taylor's bills for household expenses. But he said this was being done out of "the desire to be a good host" and not because Taylor was broke. Taylor himself has only twice been seen outside his compound. On both occasions he was sighted passing through the airport on his way to meetings with Obasanjo. The Nigerian president has warned him severely on two separate occasions not to continue meddling in the affairs of Liberia. Sources close to Taylor said the former Liberian head of state spent most of his time indoors, playing table tennis to keep fit, making phone calls and watching television. According to Paasawe, Taylor is putting "a brave face" on his misfortunes in order to cheer up his remaining dependants who look up to him for signs of hope. Otherwise, "the man is down and out," he said.