By Sheku Putka Kamara
Marking one of the practical first semester examination submissions that I gave to some of my FBC students, I was sharply reminded about some of the misplaced priorities that some young people make in today’s society. It is very simple for a number of people to shout that government has not provided jobs even when we know that the latter cannot employ ‘everyone.’ Listening to that audio as packaged by one of my students, the respondent remarked how he had to sell all his belongings somewhere outside Freetown, just to come to this ‘Free Town.’ Fast forward, he is here and the only job he does is to go to Abacha and fend for himself ‘no matter what.’ It’s that terrible, but surely, that young man in not alone. Several others exist and maybe with far worse experiences. My question is, what if that young man and all others who had to sell stuffs and come to town opted into even subsistence agriculture (for a start) and later commercialize as they expand? Maybe I am thinking too big.
The problem of youth unemployment has always been with us, but maybe some of our compatriots have actually not helped the situations. I am on record to have said that some people have no business in Freetown. I know how hard and brutal this would sound to and for some people, but let’s face the reality. I would want to believe that a good number of homeless persons in Freetown did come from somewhere because and supposedly, we all have homes. What is so difficult to return and start a LIFE? Some of us would have still been in our places had it not been for education.
For me for example, assuming there had been a university in Lungi, I would have had little or no business in Freetown. Fourah Bay College brought me here and yes, now, even though I do a lot of stuffs here, Lungi remains my base. Now, you do not have and need to be and do like me. I know that this article will likely not be seen by some targets, but it is my hope that the hypodermic nature of the online space will spread this message.
I have written this article with some personalistic and individualistic approach. I have also summed up courage to encourage and speak some facts with a view that we’d pick out the sense. Let us be courageous to also note that you actually do not need to be in Freetown to be comfortable in SL. For the records, we all know of several compatriots that live far better lives than some of us in Freetown.
The thing is, we just need some focus in life. This is a matter of prioritizing objectives and to remain resilient in one’s urge of attaining better and higher heights. In fact, with the increasing number of persons in Freetown, we may still have to continue to battle filth, high crime rates, diseases and outbreaks etc.
On filth, pass around town and see how some persons have relegated themselves. With basic showers, they’d be parading dirt all over the place. Worse case, others will block the drainages whiles others will just litter the streets. Do such things happen in villages and other places outside Freetown? Maybe not or hardly.
It is high time we recalled that some of us could actually do a lot of things for ourselves had we not solely relied on other persons to get things done. Some of us that regularly visit up country could tell how the vast majority of the land rests empty; mostly with the old people in the villages who no longer have time and energy to do the jobs.
Yet, we have a greater number of young people, toiling in Freetown with no assurance of having some basic minor daily bread. In all of this, you begin to wonder what has allowed us to get into such situations. We could do all the preaching, but we have to make some efforts.
Even as we speak, the number of unemployed grads keeps increasing and we are not sure when all of that will end. In the end, everybody wants to come and stay in Freetown. Forgive my generalization, but if we agree that majority should carry the votes, then and just maybe, we should be protecting that narrative.
Sierra Leone has come a long way. The challenges we are faced with are numerous, but in areas where we could make improvements and adjustments, let us face the facts and do the jobs. With that, we could have helped to make things right for ourselves and our people. If you are to conduct some interviews during the night here in Freetown, you’d understand why some people have no business in the capital. Let us hope that we all continue to do the right things and in time too. If you are a young person out there, keep doing your thing, but with a firm focus.
All of us that are admired and adored today by thousands if not millions started somewhere. At some point, we had no hopes of reaching enviable heights, but as they’d say and with efforts, GOD DID it for us. You have equal if not better chances and so I will urge you to go for your manifest desires and not the latent ones. Learn from the mistakes and press on.
Do what you have to do and get things right! With God, A LOT COULD CHANGE FOR THE BETTER! Do not give up!
