Patriotic Sierra Leoneans representing truth and progress devoid of political influence or pressure say they are tired of pretending that all is well, under the misrule of the Julius Maada Bio led Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), and are therefore calling for the end of window dressing in Sierra Leone.
The concept of window dressing falls in line with the idea of keeping up appearances, which is, someone pretending that all is well while at the same time the person is going through difficulties and hardships of all sorts.
The Sierra Leoneans from all walks of life representing different political ideologies and ethno regional leanings or affiliations suggested to FORUM NEWS on the beat that the reason why progress or how effectively we are being led by those we elect to run our government of Sierra Leone is hard to gauge is because when one side of the country tries to present their experiences and realities there are others who would counter this by saying that all is well with them. The difference in opinion has to do with political affiliation.
The average Sierra Leonean hates embarrassment. Even when he/she is speaking to a principal that can make all the difference, he/she would say what is expected of him/ her instead of the reality. The truth is always sacrificed on the altar of personal ambition and the fear of reprisals from speaking out. This is especially the case when speaking to foreign journalists or others from the international community. We are all to present the government’s take on our progress irrespective of our harsh realities.
Interestingly, our present reality is far from the lies that our government and their supporters peddle that all is well under a failed regime that has repeatedly displayed that they are not in governance for the sake, benefit or interest of the people and state. Throughout this great nation on a daily basis you will see well-dressed young men and women looking like business people who go from office to office, shop to shop seeking assistance, which activity is referred to in local parlance as “bolan”.
This culture of helping vulnerable and other people on the lam from the harsh realities of life in Sierra Leone has been blamed for the people of Sierra Leone failing to speak the absolute truth on issues of governance or national importance that affect all and sundry regardless of political, tribal or regional affiliation. This culture creates or encourages laziness.
Imagine that a young farmer from the provinces who was making a few Leones a day at the farm comes to Freetown on Friday and make hundreds of Leones just from begging. What should induce such a one to head back to farm work when all of his or her needs, food, clothing and cash, have been provided for free of charge? The need to be charitable should be balanced with what the government offers. Although we are all “government of Sierra Leone” this should not be an excuse for those we hire in government to pass on their responsibility to other sufferers who might be faring better than others at the moment. If we work such a compassionate person to the ground, where would this leave him or her? Who would he or she turn to?
The average Sierra Leonean is easy to please, easy to placate and easy to be content. This makes it hard for people to really appreciate how their counterparts are faring. Politics is about self-interest and people will speak up for what benefits them, even if someone else is suffering as a result. This culture of pretending that all is well all in the name of not upsetting the status quo or getting the wrong attention paid to you is making successive government of Sierra Leone failing in their obligation and duty to the people and state.
If we do not bring an end to this culture and the culture of giving people free food, clothes and money we will continue to encourage the culture of our leaders getting away with robbing the state blind as social services are supposed to be in the purview of the government. Charity is good, but the way we are doing it is detrimental as it takes the responsibility of the government to the poor and vulnerable from government and put it in the hands of people who might be doing well but not really, as even the ones giving out the charity are also engaged in the culture of window dressing by not really stating how they are really coping,
A reality check visited the Freetown community around the Central Mosque at Wilberforce Street a few days ago when a young social activist whose advocacy is tied to victims of polio and other disabilities brought plates of food, clothing and cash to donate to the less fortunate. However, the reality as to who is really vulnerable in Freetown became apparent when able-body individuals crowded the charity process leaving those that were supposed to receive this necessary largesse from a caring individual at the back of the pileup. The nongovernmental organisation head got so upset that he ordered his tricycle-kekeh driver to drive right through the crowd, which action did not diminish the intensity and need from the crowd to get their hands on the charity items. The crowd of able body vulnerable folk of young and old, male and female chased the kekeh up Wilberforce Street, Siaka Stevens Street and eventually Cotton Tree.
This act of desperation from youthful Sierra Leoneans wasting away because of a lack of planned government crafted programmes to address their plight caused quite a stir as many people consider the sight an embarrassment. But the embarrassment should not be how the young people behaved but instead that they were so desperately hungry that they will publically show this not caring how they look. This should be the real embarrassment.
The people of Sierra Leone as a matter of existential necessity ought to start inculcating the culture of speaking up and out, and stop falling into the hands of public leaders whose sole ambition is to fill you up with enough rhetoric so as to secure your votes, after which you will be chasing them until the next election cycle when they need your votes to validate or qualify their public leadership position.
The recent episode in Conakry where our embassy staff was arrested with large sum of US dollars and suitcases full of cocaine has made it clear to the people that certain state actors are not in government for the people but for their own interests. This has encouraged many people who were afraid of speaking out to start doing so.
This should also emboldened those trained to speak out, who are expected to speak truth to power on behalf of the people not limited to the judiciary, the media, religious bodies, the intelligentsia – the educated and profession based societies and or organisations, Non-Governmental Organizations and Civil Society Organizations to be bold enough to start detailing how this regime has failed the collective aspirations of a hopeful yet desperately vulnerable people, among whom four out of five homes go to bed hungry every day.
This is a call for us to start speaking out against government excesses without fear or favour. As a collective the people of Sierra Leone have never worked together against any regime working against the interest of the people, the ammunition for which this regime has provided enough of. If we do not bring an end to window dressing, an end to pretence all in the name of not embarrassing our leaders then we will always be in the position of taking one step forward and ten backwards in our governance narrative.
An end to window dressing will be the start of the Salone we all know we can be, even better.
