As a nation peace is the most valuable asset. Peaceful societies are one where out of many one people were created who put aside all their personal interests and issues to work in the best interest of the nation. We are taught in school that investors look for peaceful societies to invest in; they consider them safe for their money.
Sierra Leone has been struggling to attract foreign direct investment. Actually since Bio took over he has woefully failed to attract investors to come and establish manufacturing plants that will add to our export earnings in dollars.
He travels a lot without those travels bringing the expected dividends, not even reciprocal visits by dignitaries from countries he had visited. The stress from this lack of returns has caused many a sleepless night for the ruling SLPP. They see the reality on the ground does not match all they have been claiming as development or adding to the nation. In their rush to fix what they have broken peace became an expendable. They need to create fear in the minds of their supporters, especially those who blindly follow them.
That peace is under threat in Sierra Leone is real as death. Since the advent of PAOPA tribal, regional, party and a whole lot of isms have been on the rise. On many occasions and over various media platforms ruling politicians have been trying to stoke the embers of division among the people by preaching a politics of fear, fear of the other side, or tribe, party or region.
Short of ideas to persuade people to vote for them, SLPP politicians have been trying to maintain the divides the separate us. Sierra Leone is one country. Out of many tribes and from many nationalities we have created one people. The future destiny of this country lies with us working as a unit, not in factions or as fractions of the whole.
History has shown us that when a people work together for the common good, they are bound to succeed. Sierra Leone is a nation of tribes forming one people. Used to the best of our abilities, we can prove to be an invaluable asset to the state; used otherwise as we have been we should only expect the worse. For inspiration we can look to the peoples of Belgium, Finland, Switzerland, and South Africa among others who have shown that language and race cannot and should not stop people coming together for the common good. Setting personal feelings and issues aside the people of these nations scaled unimaginable heights to enjoy the fruits of the economic, social, political and personal successes they are enjoying. These nations are successful because come time for elections they are not sentimental; they choose the best candidate with all the proposed solutions to the nation’s problems, regardless of his party, race or tribe. As a nation we are our greatest asset, problem and solution to our problems; and at a time like this we need politicians preaching solutions instead of still trying dividing us.
In Sierra Leone as election time comes, unscrupulous politicians lacking proof of accomplishments try to stoke tribalism using divisive rhetoric. They try to inculcate a spirit of fear, loss and reprisals should the other side or tribe wins. They convince the people that if the other side wins then their tribesmen would be the only ones to benefit. That stated these politicians expect their constituents to vote for them despite having nothing to show on the ground and in the lives of the people for their tenure or regime.
These are the people that would want things to remain this way; that will see public office as a means of getting rich instead of making the nation rich. Instead of sharing the spoils of the state with the people they would rather keep it among their small and narrow minded group. The society is sidelined by their rhetoric, which keeps the people’s focus on the lies instead of the reality on the ground.
For the past four years no one has been spared the effects of the suffering and hardships that have resulted from President Bio’s poor handling of our resources during times of crises that have also seen the total breakdown of our national pricing structure. At present anyone can set any figure as the price of any item or goods and services without fear of reprisal or sanction from the government. As our difficulties persist we as a people have come to see the decisions and plans coming from State House as the reason for our problems. We have come to see the solution to all our problems as replacing the poor and nonperforming chief executive officer of our company called the Government of Sierra Leone.
Seeing the writing on the wall that they will only be a one term phenom, PAOPAist have been accused of busy emptying out the State’s coffers, and allegedly justifying their action saying that they expect to lose their jobs and be in the economic wilderness until after the APC would have also lost to the opposition. Emboldened by what Lady Fatima Bio called APC’s unpreparedness for the 2023 elections, SLPP politicians have turned their strategy to tribalism in the hopes that by share figures, and being the largest ethnic group, they hope to reclaim State House and some of the other seats they have lost under President Bio.
But unfortunately for President Bio and the SLPP, the days of tribal rhetoric are over. Today’s generation of Sierra Leoneans are looking for performing governments with leaders who are both patriotic and nationalistic. We are looking for leaders that will whip the collective into shape for the work of nation building that is ahead of us. This will require all hands being on deck, not just certain hands. Out of many people we have created one nation. All that is left now is to use our strength to make a success of this nation yet. Lonta!