[3] Best was born in October 1938 in Harrisburg, St. Paul River in Montserrado County, Liberia to Americo-Liberian parents of West Indian descent.
[5] On 2 December 1963, he graduated with a bachelor's degree in English and political science from Cuttington University (CU) after studying there since 1960.
[5] He moved to Kenya in late 1973 and worked as information director of All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) in Nairobi.
[7] Under the Presidency of Samuel Doe, the Daily Observer was subject to sustained political harassment.
[8] The First Liberian Civil War caused Best to relocate his family by fleeing to The Gambia on 1 August 1990.
[5][9] In October 1994, following Yahya Jammeh's military coup, Best was expelled from Gambia,[7] after the newspaper ran a series of stories that were critical of AFPRC on human rights violations,[5] although the newspaper was allowed to continue,[10] it was eventually shutdown by tax authorities on 23 August 2017 for non-compliance of its tax obligations.