It was reggae legend Bob Nesta Marley who asked, “Long time, we nor have no nice time, do you (x3) think about that?”
In response to the legendary bluesman, Sierra Leoneans say they have not celebrated the festive season, which locally starts in November and continues until after the New Year Day celebration, for the years since 2018, and they say this 2023 festive season will not be any different.
As a matter of fact they say this will be the most uncelebrated festive season in the history of Sierra Leoneans making merry.
Since the advent of the New Direction / PAOPA regime under retired Brigadier Julius Maada Bio, the people said they have not had anything to celebrate, not even the nation’s natal day, Independence Day.
The month of November, they said, is the precursor to the December celebrations, but that for the past six years, they have had nothing to celebrate as their hardships seem to have multiplied with no end or relief in sight. The regime they said have not created the enabling environment for the people to set their worries aside and celebrate. The regime they said have instead been doing the opposite.
Therefore, at a time like this when people are expected to be getting ready to forget all their problems and celebrate the end and start of a year, we don’t even hear the Christmas carols that advertise the imminence of the festive season.
‘Since 2018, we have not had anything to celebrate. We are all engrossed in our problems and difficulties for us to notice that we are expected to be celebrating something. Sadly we do not expect to see many of our people from the diaspora here this festive season as they are all worried about the situation in the country.
Many of these people left Sierra Leone during our warring years of the 1990s and the events of the past week including all the other issues that have come to define this New Direction regime: 10th August, 2022, 11th September, 2023, 26th November, 2023 and all the other scenes of armed police officers opening fire on protesters across the country have not been encouraging to anyone that might have wanted to visit the country this month,’ said a trader on Kissy Road in Freetown.
Also, a local politician that contributed to the conversation said the people are worried about the political climate in the country. For the past six years, he said the festive season has not been what we’ve been used to. Instead of a time to celebrate it has become a time of reflection on our hardships and difficulties that tend to border on the political.
‘The fact that the present curfew order will continue until further notice is not encouraging. While people are generally happy and grateful to God for being alive, this happiness and excitement has been dampened by social, economic and political forces that are of our own making. All the hardships and difficulties that we have been experiencing since 2018 have been man-made.
The old idea is that government will create a situation then come up with the solution to appear like heroes. But I think this regime created problems that it cannot solve because our government depends on donor support which comes with conditions. This is the reason why many of our sponsors have withheld money to government. Things have been difficult since 2018 but the issues since our 24th June, 2023 elections have compounded our hardships and difficulties beyond reprieve,’ said a businessman at the Central Business District, CBD.
The philanthropic businessman that does a lot for the poor and vulnerable in the community said the prices of goods and services, including but not limited to the price of rice per bag and per cup, petrol, transport fares, have been steadily increasing without the government making any moves to alleviate the situation. After three ministers of finance and two bank governors in less than five years of rule, the government of Sierra Leone is still unable to get the economy under control.
Not too long ago both the president and his then minister of finance turned chief minister JJ Saffa admitted that the economy is beyond repair.
‘The fact of the matter is that the regime failed to stop the freefalling of the prices of goods and services because monies that were made available to the regime to solve these issues that should have been predicted or expected were not used for their expected purposes. We have this regime on record as the most corrupt. Yet still they continue to hire more people while they are unable to pay those already in their employ. While we were experiencing all the issues of corruption that our government’s backers must have felt embarrassed about, we now have a political situation that has made our situation even worse.
At present none of our financial sponsors are willing to lift a finger unless we solve the 24 June elections issue. If things continue like this Sierra Leoneans will not have anything to celebrate. Instead you should be expecting for things to get worse as we go on. How long will you people be able to go on like this is all in the hands of your leaders. If they do things in the interest of the country and people, then we see a quick end in sight for all your economic issues. But if they keep playing with issues that can destabilise a country, then you should prepare for more blues during the festive season,’ a seasoned diplomat confided in this medium.
Yes, it has been six years without anything to celebrate except our difficulties. But all this can come to an end should our leaders take it on themselves to do things in the interest of the country, not a party or a personality.