By: Ibrahim Jalloh
(Jallomy) +232 768860 akempi@yahoo.com
Democracy has definitional
variations. That said, the core elements of democracy are people centeredness
in governance, the right to belong and be part of a political shade of opinion,
loosely called political party and, of course, the right to aspire for a
political position including but not limited to the presidency of a state as
prescribed in a document intentionally called the constitution.
Democracy is
mostly a theoretical construct and its applicability varies from state to
state; therefore its universal relevance cannot be consistent across states in
the world.
For some countries in the world, that which is called democracy is
nothing but a hopeless political ideal. A beautiful example of such a country
is North Korea, a country where some few years ago, the country’s Premier was
executed under the expressed order of the country’s leader for sleeping during
a meeting presided over by the leader. Back home in Sierra Leone, we
approximate the practice of democracy not necessarily out of conviction but as
a demonstration of being part of the global political order.
The reality is
that practicing democracy or pretending to practice democracy determines the
level and depth of foreign aid that a country would receive from especially the
rich western nations.
Sierra Leone has got its
own political culture that is not necessarily modeled on democracy but
obviously rooted in the over concentration of power in the political figure
that epitomizes the leadership. All our traditional leadership structures
ranging from town or village heads, section chiefs to paramount chiefs exist in
a quadrangle of over concentration of power in the leadership. Leadership
therefore is based largely on discretion rather than a prescribed set of laws,
rules and regulations.
This is the obvious
disconnect between democratic tenets and the reality of the traditional
understanding and practice of power and leadership in emerging African states.
We can draw very clear parallel here between Sierra Leone as an African state
and countries in Asia. The Chinese president and North Korea leader are the be
all and end all. Understandably, Sierra Leone and Africa by extension have a
political culture modeled on the communist political ideology.
The presidency is the
greatest political office in Sierra Leone. Occupancy of the office of the
presidency therefore stands to be a serious engagement but not one that anchors
on the periphery of mediocrity.
The presidency is a serious business and
therefore occupants of that office must be correspondingly serious and of
sterner stuff. Occupying the presidency is not a mad political joke and it is
not for political jokers.
The theory of democracy dictates that every citizen
of a defined age and with certain fulfilled criteria has the democratic right
to become president.
In Sierra Leone, this had opened to door to many
compatriots to aspire for the presidency. Certainly, this is the insulting part
of democracy. For some people, by merely aspiring to become president of the
republic of Sierra Leone is in itself a calculated and unpardonable insult to
the office of the presidency of Sierra Leone. When certain people that we know
and know very well aspire to become president then we must think that the
country is in trouble.
Like gender, there are
prescribed roles for prescribed people in society. This order must be
maintained for there to be peace and progress in society. Political leadership
does not exist in a vacuum. Occupants of the office of the presidency must have
a sense of the big picture and must broaden their outlook beyond the narrow
boundaries of region and tribe. This is often difficult and challenging in a
nation polarized along lines of tribe, political party and region.
The
polarization of the nation of Sierra Leone is historically conditioned by
political elitist preservation of the status quo. To the extent that tribe and
tribalism and not real but dramatized elements applied to secure and maintain
clusters of interest groups in the corridors of power. The scary thing is that
often they build threatening scenarios to politically subjugate the tribes’ men
and women to a political agenda that compounds their misery and strengthen
their chains of poverty.
The drift into the pool of
economic woes started in the eighties with the hosting of the OAU by the late
Siaka Stevens. Against the better part of the national judgment, Siaka Stevens
proceeded to host the OAU in 1980. It was a glorious moment and one that
heightens the egoistic character of a first generation member of post
independent leaders of Black Africa. For unbroken seventeen years, Siaka
Stevens largely misdirected the national cause of events and landed the
fledging West African State into unpardonable economic catastrophe.
When he became thoroughly
exhausted, Siaka Stevens for want of safe exit and political protection forced
through the throats of unsuspecting Sierra Leoneans an army general, Joseph
Saidu Momoh, who later proved to be more of a political tourist than president
of a sovereign state. His reign can be best described as a lost political era.
He threw and left the country in a hopeless and senseless war.
The overthrow of late
President Momoh brought in a military regime characterized as the most popular
and anticipated in the political history of Sierra Leone. On the eve of the
military takeover of the National Provisional Ruling Council, the lives of
Sierra Leoneans were a dismissible reality, a hopeless trifle and unpardonable
joke. The overwhelming support for the military regime, however, did not
translate to significant national reforms or righting the wrongs of the Sierra
Leonean society then. When it became obvious that the Chairman of the National
Provisional Ruling Council was not committed to the returning the country to
civil and democratic governance, the number two man in that military
arrangement, Julius Maada Bio, effected a much needed palace coup that saw
Chairman Strasser packing his bags and rolling out of political history.
Julius Maada Bio became
Chairman of the Provisional Ruling Council and true to his justification for
the coup returned the country to democratic governance in record time of three
months. More than anything, this was the finest and greatest demonstration of
the abounding spirit of democracy in a military leader that had all it take to
have entrenched himself in power for a prolonged period of time. This was when
President Bio built a solid character of political attraction that saw him
becoming president of the republic of Sierra Leone 23 years later.
Two political promises
fulfilled by Julius Maada Bio: returning the country to democratic governance
and upholding the call for elections before peace at the Bintumani two crowned
his statesmanship character and democratic leadership style.
Sierra Leone has gone
through horrific and horrible experiences from independence to date but our
resilient national character and our abounding national connectors are the
greatest hope for a national rebirth and a return to a cohesive state.
The unjustifiable political
denial of the main opposition APC and the tendency to creating a parallel
leadership by the former Chief Executive of the State are significant causes of
the seeming national instability. Change
is permanent. Resisting the dynamics of change can be unpardonably regrettable.
The main opposition APC is
a great party and a significant political force to reckon. Regrettably, the
leadership of the APC deluded and has placed barriers to the membership
understanding the call for reforms within the structures of the party. The
political survival of the APC party is thinly slim if they refused to hearken
to the sustained call for reforms.
The current government is
progressing on national reforms with significant progress on the cardinal focus
on developing the human resource capital, revamping the economy with
significant control on leakages, fighting corruption and expanding on power
supply. We must call on all to unite around these cardinal objectives. In the
process, we must urge the current administration to expand the space on
inclusive governance and distance from the temptation to political retribution.
The political wrongs of yesterday cannot justify the political wrongs of today.
The national is on Social Contract with President Bio and his almost inevitable
next political inning will be contingent on his fulfillment of the terms and
conditions of the Social Contract.
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