The average Sierra Leonean believes in God, but he would see a wrong being done and easily ignores or excuses it. Churches and mosques have so boomed that there seems to be one or several on every street in the city. Suffice to say, there is a pastor or an imam on every street corner. At odd hours of the day and night, you hear them praying, even going as far as calling on God or His Holy Spirit to burn or fire their enemies. So-called and self-styled ‘men of God’ and prophets are raking in millions of Leones on a daily basis from their spiritual counselling rounds and other unsolicited and solicited donations, notwithstanding their multiple collections from one of several services they hold on said days.
Religion has become big business in Sierra Leone so much so that if one is seen holding a Bible or Quran, he is automatically called ‘pastor’ or ‘imam’.
But if ‘righteousness exalts a nation’, then why is it that we find ourselves in the socioeconomic and political spaces we find ourselves today? Why is it that after 63 years of independence we are still so dependent on the west while others are making headways in advancing their national development plans? Surely there must be something we are doing wrong.
The answer is that we are a bunch of hypocrites. Yes, we are! True to the scripture, the more the men of God multiply, the more so our sins. Among ten righteous, you won’t find one that is honest. And we know God hates dishonesty and sin, any and all sinning. This boom in religion has resulted to religious meeting places becoming places of business that sell everything but the actual truth as per God. So corrupt have we become that we are even attempting to corrupt the house of God. And we know how Christ reacted to those who had turned His Father’s house into a place of business.
Hypocrisy is the practice of engaging in the same behaviour or activity for which one criticises another or the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one’s own behaviour does not conform. It is often said that the problem the religious leaders of His day had with Jesus was that His righteousness so convicted them of their unrighteousness that they had to get rid of Him; He reminded them of their hypocrisy; they talked a good game, but their actions and thoughts were far away from what they preached. The parable is told by Christ of two brothers, one who said he would do as his father had instructed, but went and did not do so, and the other who said he won’t, but upon realisation, changed his mind and did as instructed. Who acted in a righteous manner? The latter of course!
But in Sierra Leone, lip service has become the order of the day. This culture of hypocrisy has for its foundation lying and stealing, which have permeated all sectors and areas of Sierra Leone, from all branches of governance to education to religion.
Presently, the country is caught in the grips of mindboggling disclosures of public corruption that beg one to ask, why is the public so quiet? Why are we the people, who are the victims of all these trending national issues, so quiet? Why is there no public outrage for what is going on? Strangely, the answer is as easy as the question. We are cut from the very same cloth as the people who lead us.
We act just as we see our leaders do, just as children learn from their parents.
The average Sierra Leonean does not trust his/her fellow countryman/woman because lying has become such a part of the fabric of society, we all lie and are constantly being lied to. Is there any Sierra Leonean today who is above reproach? This then forms the reason why we cannot hold our leaders to task; we are just like them. While pointing a finger at them, four are pointing back at us. And for as callous as we are, those four fingers pointing back at us do prick us.
Sierra Leoneans are sycophants. We never speak the truth to our leaders. We hero worship them so much, we ignore their wrongdoings. We tell our emperors that their clothes are beautiful knowing full well they are naked. And our leaders encourage this, and that is why the problems never get solved. When someone comes up with the courage to say something is wrong, they become our enemy. Properly dealt with, all the issues that are trending right now present the perfect storm for solving our perennial problems in governance. Left unchecked, it would be a moment missed and great opportunity lost. Our leaders should forget party politics and consider the country, their conscience, and international best practice. For five years since 2018-2023 no auditor general’s reports were debated or discussed in parliament. Now they being debated but the public is not outraged.
For a country where everyone wants to get rich, we don’t preach hard work. Instead we know of every corner to cut, every short cut and loophole to exploit. At the marketplace, there is not one price for the same product, as traders sell as they wish. Based on how you look or sound the price for a particular product so follows. Buses, taxis and other public transports especially kekehs and okadas have several fares for the same and other destinations. A man having the Le1,500 for a cab drive within the city would be left in the lurch were he to meet the driver and conductor who decide to charge different, with the other passengers there to chastise you should you insist on not paying the high price.
Like our leaders, we cannot be trusted to keep our promises. Parliament and other branches of government are run solely on rules and procedures. But time and time again, regime after regime, our leaders, educated or not, cannot seem to be able to follow laid down rules and procedures in the execution of their work, despite swearing an oath to do so. But for a people that have also corrupted the house of God, the consequences for swearing an oath on the Bible or Quran knowing full well you are lying is not something our people are afraid of. Issues of breach of trust, especially where money is involved, are so rife in Sierra Leone that people take anything you say with a pinch of salt.
Because of the very bad examples set by our leaders, we have become a country of people promising one thing, but who end up doing exactly the opposite, if not an entirely different thing. The average Sierra Leonean, learning well from our leaders, keep quiet when we see a wrong being done against an individual, all in an effort to please the perpetrator, especially if he or she is an acquaintance, considered important, or who we hope to get something from. We call good evil, and evil good.
We continue to approve wrong behaviour because of party, regional, or tribal allegiances instead of what really is. We see wrongs being perpetrated, especially and even against our being, and we do nothing to make them right. Ignoring all acceptable norms and standards of behaviour, the average Sierra Leonean considers his compatriot guilty until proven innocent without any regard for how that affects the person concerned. By the time your innocence is proven, it is a little too late as the damage would have already been done.
But when one blindly follows one blinded by corruption, greed and violence, it leaves him or her more blinded to self and the actions of others. Why do we keep quiet when we see all the wrongs being done against us? Hypocrisy!
We are hypocrites in education, work, relationships, justice, and everything that has to do with wholesome character and or behaviour. Today, a frustrated and tired populace is suffering under the collective weight of our thieving public leaders, perfecting their tricks and learning to become worse than them. Lonta!
