By: Ibrahim Jalloh - (Jallomy)
Tuesday April 27, 2021 marks 60 years of self rule for the republic and people of Sierra Leone. Today, 60 years ago, on April 27, 1961, Sierra Leone attained independence from Great Britain, the Conial and colonizing power. The moment was hectic with unclassified exuberance. It was the birth of a country and the collective aspirations of Sierra Leoneans were all heaped in a cluster of rejuvenation, fecundity and hope. It was the beginning of an era of self rule, self determination and the symbolic carriage of the destiny of the young nation. The British overlords were less in regret as they knew they were handing over a country with a crisis character ahead of her.
Our brothers and sisters occupied all spheres of influence. We became the master and servant of all sectors of state. The real journey started!
Successive political leadership structures were implanted and in place. Sir Milton Margai opened the corridors of self rule, stayed on and succumbed to the brutality of death. His brother, an obvious and visibly ambitious character, took the reigns. He governed and factored significant reforms in the various structures and layers of governance. Intriguingly, he lost the leadership of the state through a democratic process. At this point, Sierra Leone got it right. It became the First in the sub region, if not "Black Africa", to effect power transition through the ballot box. This was all the era of the first generation of SLPP's governance of the state. It spans from 1961 to 1968. The era, admittedly, was definitive of a political transition through the ballot box.
Siake Probyn Stevens, a man of many political faces and multiple tribal identity claims, took the mantle of leadership. His seventeen years in governance were catastrophically horrible and unpardonably wrong, both in the moral and political senses! More than any single factor, he laid the foundation for tribal, regional and political hatred. Under his leadership, tribal, regional and political suspicion became abnormal normal conducts of the state. The bounty of peace and economic stability of his era were ingredients enough to build a nation in paradise. Regrettably, he handed over the country in a state of decay and unqualified decadence.
Stevens' successor, the Army General, Joseph Saidu Momoh, was never in governance but massive political tourism. He betrayed not only the state but his very self. He was completely not himself and steered the ship of state adrift.
The military intrusion of April 29, 1992 was legally wrong but enjoyed massive support and solid entrance legitimacy. Sierra leoneans were fedup and disillusioned. They needed a change that the NPRC provided. To the indelible credit of the current president Bio, then a member of the NPRC and later chairman, he handed over power to a democratically elected civil government and in record time.
1996 saw the emergence of the late Ahmed Tejan Kabba as president of the republic of Sierra Leone. He had worked in the public service in Sierra Leone and retired as a UN bureaucrat. He was seemingly a novice politician but ended being an effective and efficient leader. He brought the country together and took a national leadership character. He governed for two terms, spanning a period of eleven years. His era was marked by peace, serenity, hope and national cohesion.
Late president Kabba was succeeded by former President Koroma. His ascendancy to power was a landmark! It reinforced the growing political culture of political leadership transition through the ballot box. President Koroma was a lucky president in the sense that his era witnessed significant boom in the extractive industry. How much of the proceeds from the extractive industry that were ploughed into the national space stands in suspicious circumstances. The GTT report and related Commissions of Inquiry and outcomes disparaged the leadership era of former President Koroma. Political pundits hold the view that the seeds of political tribalism and the weaponization of tribe flourished in his era.
This is the second coming of president Bio in power. Again, his ascendancy to power records the third incident of political transition through the ballot box.
President Bio inherited what he inherited. His political calculation drives him to put education in the center of national development and sustainable growth. More than any moment in the governance history of Sierra Leone, he ploughed 21% of the national budget in the education sector. Bio believes and knows that the most effective element to reversing the sickening fortunes of a country is education. The Free Quality School Education is a novelty and unrivallled. Other significant areas of reforms are the stabilization of the economy, the ferious and sustained fight against corruption, protection of vulnerable groups, especially the girl child, empowering women, giving a sense of purpose to the youth and overall institutional reforms and reconfiguration. The establishment of the National Council for Civic Education and Development is a great good and gift to Sierra Leoneans. This institution, which serves as a bridge between the leaders and the led, had reintroduced Civics as a study area in the school system. Also, building civil awareness and Informing the citizenry on rights and obligations, love for country and the overall sense of citizenship are cardinal to the operations of the National Council for Civic Education and Development.
The greatest threats to state security, livelihood enhancement, economic growth, participation in governance and the overall culture of national ownership are polarization, the culture of political denial, disengagement from state governance, seeking political capital and the eroded space of statesmanship.
The opposition has lost a sense of the purpose of their existence. We note the recent debacle in Parliament, a best worst example. We give extreme loyalty to the tribe, region and political party at the expense of the nation state. Growing the citizens is not the concern of the political class but rather winning elections and govern the State. Politics has become the biggest and most profitable industry.
Sierra Leone is 60 and there are many things to celebrate. Critical challenges are evident but not unsurmountable. Two great evils abound: polarization and ignorance. The heightened sense of polarization had dehumanized our spirit of onenessness and to stand for the common good.
The journey has begun.
Happy independence to all men and women of good will in Sierra Leone.
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