By Kelety Alie Bockarie
Man by nature is a political animal,” says Aristotle. By virtue of this philosophical assertion, it is obvious that a dichotomy cannot be drawn between man and politics. Politics exists in all human societies. We cannot separate ourselves from it, therefore. Regarding that Sierra practice multiple party system, it practical impossible for us to be on the same wavelength; it is absurd to think as such. Differences are bound to exist within the political sphere. That is an obvious reality. However, in a society like Sierra Leone where the thirst for power and the state of political division have become a grave threat to peace and national coexistence, it is high time we shifted away these differences for a peaceful and harmonious Sierra Leone. Besides the foregoing umbrella reason of putting politics aside and working towards peace and national coexistence, there are lots of other reasons why we must put aside our political differences for the sake of oneness.
One cardinal reason why we need to put politics aside is for the achievement of the common good. We all, well if not all but 99.9% of us want to see Sierra Leone as a paradise, we want growth in all areas of life, and we want to live better lives. But this common good can’t be actualize if we divided as a people. Disunity is an enemy to peace and coexistence, and if peace is becoming a difficult thing for us all to embrace, then our foresights to developed Sierra Leone would be dimmed and foggy. Hence, achieving a common good would be highly impossible.
Furthermore, almost all of us have the fear to live in an unsafe and unsecured society. Political instability is the recipe to chaos and unrest in any society. Thus, to enhance safety and security which is a paramount tool to a peaceful Sierra Leone, we must remain robust and resilient in discouraging and desisting from all forms of unrest and violence.
Unfortunately, Sierra Leone has become splited and divided as a result of political differences we have had and those we are still holding on to. And this division has even extended to tribal politics. The Mendes and the Temnes have considered enemies in the domain of politics. Aside from tribal division, regional divide is also another challenge to peace and national cohesion in Sierra Leone. And it is high time we put these differences aside for united Sierra Leone. We cannot be born and live in the same country and consider ourselves enemies. You also consider inimical if you speak the truth against other side. In fact, truth is only truthful today to those it favours and being a lie to those it hurts.
At this take, it is crucial to say that political differences and disagreement will obviously affect other areas of life especially the economy of the state. Economic instability and fragility had always been the bane national progress of our country. This will constant make it difficult for any incumbent government to direct the state resources to meaningful development. Where there no peace and national coexistence, the state will be subject to chaos, anarchy and brutality. And such will open more holes for the wastage of state resources which would have meant for national development.
All in all, we are all Sierra Leoneans. If you go in search of Sierra Leone, you will never see her but yourself or your fellow Sierra Leonean. This means we need to take care of ourselves and/or one another by letting peace and coexistence reign. Every one of us has a contribution to make; we care at all, for the national progress of this country. Therefore, we should not result in destroying one another because of political differences. It is not a do or die game. After all, we are all related in many ways.
