The people of Sierra Leone continue to wallow at the bottom rungs human development indices because duty bearers and others entrusted with the public trust have not inculcated the spirit and intent of our national ideals, mostly expressed through axioms, oaths and other such phrases and expressions.
Well-meaning and concerned Sierra Leonean patriots have told Nightwatch press that the nation continues to experience consistent waves and periods of political and social insecurity and economic hardships because those stepping up for public service have failed to ensure that the national ideals of Unity, Freedom and Justice as stated on our nation’s coat of arms are applicable to all, and that none has been denied of these freedoms.
Unity, freedom and justice are recipes for a successful society, and the nation cannot do without anyone of them. Lack of one aspect is tantamount to a lack of all of them. A nation cannot become a success when it denies any of its citizens their unity, freedom and justice. Focusing on one or two of them will leave the nation under the insecurity that naturally emerges because of the lack of the other national ideals or hopes.
Members of the ruling party establishment and some security experts that spoke to this medium proposed that anyone tasked with the responsibility of being a nation builder is God’s prophet tasked with the biblical role of establishing and tearing down kingdoms.
“Their jobs naturally then is not one for emotional, violent or shortsighted people. Those who established Sierra Leone and Freetown took it upon themselves to project or chart the way forward for the success of the state. They reminded us to focus on three things: our unity, freedom and justice. Therefore for Sierra Leone, the people God tasked with establishing His kingdom here came up with our formula for success: unity, freedom and justice. This is the secret of our success as a people and nation. Going without or against them will only destroy our nation,” an SLPP supporter.
The nation and people of Sierra Leone find themselves in a state where the country continues to consistently fail to meet up to the people’s expectations because duty bearers or those tasked with the responsibility of building the nation have failed to ensure the equitable distribution and application of the tenets of unity, freedom and justice for all and sundry. Instead, while some are assured of all three others are regularly denied these rights, which action is usually justified because those being denied belong to another party, tribe or region.
“Unity, freedom and justice is indispensible to nation building hence national success. However, Sierra Leonean leaders have not shown dedication to oaths, the rule of law and the intent and spirit of all our national ideals. Look at how we treat the National Pledge and taking oath of office with levity. Imagine if we do every word in our National Pledge; imagine the kind of country Sierra Leone would become. But freedom without justice and unity leads to lawlessness and corruption. Justice without unity and freedom can lead to a society where everyone is right. Freedom and justice without unity is a recipe for disaster as disunity is the foundation for national insecurity and lack of peace,” a security official has told this press.
The top-ranking member of the state’s security and intelligence apparatus went on to state that the tenets of freedom and justice are severely hampered, missing and or lacking in their dispensation and application to the citizens of the country. This he added continues to affect our overall unity as a people. This unity is necessary for doing things for the common good instead of party interest.
With the citizens viewing the judiciary and all law enforcement agencies (court, police and prison) as the most corrupt public institutions in the country, we can already see that Sierra Leone is not a fair, free or just society. As long as one part of the society has the right to decide on their choice of political party and candidate, so should the others. One part cannot be assured of these freedoms while others are denied expressing and or enjoying them. The reason why westerners are so insistent on being guaranteed their rights and them accessing said rights is that freedom is the foundation of a just and unified society. So one man cannot vote and them turn around and deny his compatriot the same right. The main reason why mob justice is so prevalent across the country is because the people don’t trust the dispensation of justice in the lens of God almighty.
The Sierra Leonean patriots say we fail to arrive at a unified country where we all speak based on the interest of the nation and state over a personality or party because we continue to try being unified without assuring justice and freedom for all.
This is in effect putting the cart before the horse again in the state administration project. We will never arrive at one of the three: unity, freedom and justice without guaranteeing the others. This is why we keep arriving at situations such as the 24th June 2023 electoral impasse and other issues since 2018.
If we were a just society, the courts would have been approached or petitioned to sort out electoral issues as per the law.
If we were a free society we will not regularly deny people’s rights to enjoy their freedoms. And if we are a unified society, we will all fight to ensure that we enjoy our freedom and justice as an attack on one citizen, or denying him or her said rights would be seen as an attack or denial of all. You must understand that we are routinely denied such rights due to actions of our political leaders who stoke our divisions into flames during the political or electioneering period.