Bad foundation
Perhaps one of the greatest walls that still distract us from being developed as a nation is anticipation without foundation. It is a truism that any state that seeks to develop and add more value to the lives of its citizen must form an unshakable base for such an achievement. The sad reality is that Sierra Leone as a nation lacks a developmental foundation. This comes as a result of incivility among citizens. Our minds are still not formed.
Just recently, Umaru Fofana, The BBC freelance reporter in Sierra Leone shed light on one of the things most Sierra Leoneans are guilty of that is "appraisal of sacrifice". His comment shed light on another key issue that we struggle with as a nation hence the little foundation made by those who exhibited some amount of good citizenship is left in the mud and unrecognized. This poses a critical question to us as citizens. Do we truly go beyond the theoretical relevance of our national anthem to bring them to reality? Do we understand what it means to be a citizen? Do we truly love sacrifice? Do we recognize those who have sacrificed for us? These are a few of the many questions that we continue to battle with as a nation.
What shows the truth that anticipation without foundation is partly responsible for our underdevelopment is the unfulfiled governance tools of our political leaders. Since independence, Sierra Leone as a nation has enjoyed little or no good governance and good citizenship. This resulted in a sham economy, shattered social and political relations, power consolidation, and political victimization that made us a failed state. Such was the foundation that was laid after all the efforts to gain self-rule.
In the bid to reconstruct our foundation, political leaders brought up mental cleansing tools to put us back on track. Ahmad Tejan Kabbah said " Salone man, lef bad hat". Ernest Bai Koroma said "Attitudinal and behavioural change" and The current president, Julius Maada Bio said "New direction". These are all mind-shifting tools that should have put us on track. They were good enough to tell us what we inherited as a nation, to 'reinform' our thinking that we are citizens, and not only that but to make us do the right thing.
The true definition of us being citizens depends on the level of our sacrifice to our nation and the responsibility to take good care of ourselves. As citizens, we must yearn to build a strong foundation for all to draw strength from. Without this, we will always be anticipating in vain and policies will never find hole with us. With this, our health, agricultural, educational, and economic sectors will continue to be a death trap.
When we anticipate without foundation, we compromise our positions as citizens and thus, shift responsibilities. We also put at stake our dignity and sanctity as human beings.
Therefore, as citizens, we must make sure that we sacrifice enough to make our lives better to reflect our nation. Our leaders must also make sure that good policies are made for the recognition of those who have sacrificed for the nation, for the dignity of the living and for the betterment of those to be born.
It is not easy: a call for reflection and actions citizens.
The world is going through a spiral of economic hardship and Sierra Leone is no exception. More specifically, Sierra Leone is going through serious economic hardship that has made the saying "It is not easy" and "people survive by magic" to be common. However, this critical moment in our economy is calling on us to do what we have failed to do as a nation, it is signalling to us that there is more to citizenship than we are living now. Without mincing words, it is telling us that we have failed.
I see this moment as the outcome of the exams we have been writing for the past 62 years. Thus, it is clear that we have been failing. Therefore, the present unhealthy situations in all its ramifications as a nation call on us to sit, reflect, and act rightly to be able to correct our wrongs and to do those things that we have not done. This period in our lives is calling on us to act by our responsibilities as citizens. When I address citizens concerning nation sustainability, I refer to both those who are led and those who lead. This is because I believe that both parties share a similar identity and responsibility in making sure that the nation's development is upheld.
We have been expecting things to be rosy. But guess what! We are like a man who made a farm but never took care of it and confidently got up one morning with his harvesters to go and harvest. You can imagine the outcome of that farm. We are sitting on riches, opportunities that can make us live and live well, yet we are among the poorest nations. Thus, the phrases, "It is not easy" and "We are surviving by magic" imply that we are reaping what we did not sow. We should not narrowly understand that the leaders are responsible for our problems, because this in itself is dangerous and shows that we have failed to use rationality and our powers as citizens.
"It is not easy and we are surviving by magic" is the result of our actions and inactions as citizens. We have never for once produced sufficient food to feed ourselves even though we have what it takes to do so. Yet, we depend heavily on foreign products for our survival. How do we expect things to be easy?
It is not easy and we are surviving by magic because there is no difference between dust bins and our cities. We have condescended so low that we find it right to throw refuse anywhere and anyhow and do away with it. How do we expect things to be easy?
It is not easy and we are surviving by magic because our institutions are like toothless bulldogs. We have cracked our institutions and amputated them to the extent that they produced little or nothing for human enhancement. How do we expect things to be easy?
It is not easy and we are surviving by magic because we were brave enough to give out guns but unwise enough to give out pens. I still hear the cry of that young boy, "What I need is a pen and not a gun. Oh! What if my people were thoughtful enough to give me a pen?" This and many others point to the fact that we have failed ourselves. How do we now expect things to be easy?
Let's slow down and reflect for a while. If "It is not easy" and "we are surviving by magic" leads the young generation into drug addiction, then, it means we are not good enough to understand our situation and better it. If it leads us to apply forge means to make our way through the academic highway, then, it means we are not ready to better our situations. If it makes us recoil to political clientelism, then, it means we are shying away from our responsibilities. When these statements force us to involve in corruption and bribery, then, it means we have failed woefully. More seriously, we will be caging ourselves into the web of future collapse and nation degeneration.
These statements, though painful they may be, tell us that we should go back to the drawing board and renew our commitments as citizens. It calls on us to work hard. It calls on us to learn to produce more and not to depend on foreign products. It calls on us that we have to sacrifice for generations yet unborn so that the string of "It is not easy" will be cut off. It also calls on us to take care of our nation, contribute to its growth, improve the welfare of others, and make meaning of our existence. Above all, it calls on us to love beyond the boundaries of tribes, political parties, and side groups.
Therefore, my fellow Sierra Leoneans, let us do what we can in our little way to improve the welfare of our beloved nation. The love we profess should go beyond mere talking to involve actions seeking the good of all.
Cracked generation
The world as we see today is moving toward a more sophisticated standard of living. This sophistication created by human hands in their bid to get the best out of nature can only be matched by a more rational, humanistic, and God-fearing approach. Thus, this sophistication demands a quick paradigm shift to be able to improve on the lives of citizens.
Sierra Leone as a nation has gone through so many tragic incidents that have taken us millions of miles away from the incorporation of human dignity and promotion of the common good in our nation. First, we plagued ourselves with war that drowned us into the well of absolute poverty, loss of human capital, insecurities, and a dreadful economic stage. As we were recovering from this, we got a shock from EBOLA. This one too gave us a more unpleasant scenario. As we were springing back from the claws of EBOLA, then the earth poured her anger on us and swallowed our loved ones. We were still grieving the effect of the mudslide when COVID-19 Sprayed its venom on us.
All these tragic incidents should help us to live a more committed, rational, humanistic, and God-fearing life. Our history as a nation is very unpleasant, but if we are good students of history, we can remake our history by learning from our weaknesses and transforming them into our strengths.
But guess what! When history falls into the hands of 'cracked generation', they make it more deplorable by embracing attributes that contradict their positions as citizens. By 'cracked generation' I mean a generation that is weak enough to make sense of their history and spring back with renewed enthusiasm for a better future. A generation that is poor in cooperation and collaboration. An unpatriotic generation. A generation that is crippled by partisan politics and gross indiscipline. A generation that demeans the integrity of human dignity and God's creations.
We indeed inherited a weak, broken, and shattered state from our colonial masters. The question here is, have we made it better? This question continuously stares at us even when we tend to offer faction pleasing answers to satisfy our ego. The truth of the matter is that we have not done well and this is because as citizens we have embraced those things that militate against national sustainability. This point to the fact that our beloved nation, whose expectation is spelt out in our national anthem is being trampled in the mud by corruption, insensitivity, faction biases, weak education, and attitudinal and behavioural defects.
Our nation continues to wallow in uncertainty about the future because of weak education. Education as it is commonly put, 'liberates people'. This is because of the level of enlightenment that accompanies it. Education opens our minds to understand the past, and to live the present rationally for a better tomorrow. Far from this, our educational system keeps on deteriorating day by day. We have moved education from a more focused driven centre to malpractice-enhanced education. Students are no longer interested in logical research, reading, and focused group discussion. All they desire is the mighty hand of their money, body, and connection. This paradigm shift is very unhealthy for a nation that had had a series of tragic incidents. This is because we are weakening the powerhouse of our energy. Indeed, a cracked generation.
Aristotle evaluated state as the entity that fulfils the highest needs of citizens. His evaluation was based on the virtue driven capability that enables man to achieve his/ her full potential. Thus, a nation requires citizens who exhibit the virtue of patriotism to be able to in turn fulfil the needs of its citizens. Sometimes, we cry about the poor state of our beloved nation, often and again with the full energy of a blame game, failing to realize that we all are the problem.
Whenever policies are not centred on indigenous needs, it shows a sign of a cracked generation. Whenever citizens manipulate development-driven policies, it shows a sign of a cracked generation. Whenever we depend on inadequate education, corruption, bribery, spreading of negative perceptions, and do not try to recoil to those things that are synonymous with our positions as citizens, we represent a cracked generation.
So, my fellow womb mates, we can make our beloved nation proud by putting it at the centre of our attention. We do this knowing quite fully that she will give back to us what we invest. This is because, when we plant environmental degradation, we reap it in the form of pollution, disease infection, flooding, and economic loss. When we plant crippled education, we reap failed successors. When we plant unpatriotic actions, we make our very home the recipient of refuse. When we plant unprofessionalism, we reap poor services. When we plant exclusive mechanisms, we reap indifference among citizens. This, therefore means that it's time to wake up and align ourselves with what we must do to change our narration.
The Fragility of Truth in the context of Sierra Leone: Based on Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's speech
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, one of the most influential writers in the world recently received her 16th honorary doctorate degree from the Catholic University of Louvain. What fascinated me much was her speech that accompanied the honour she received. I have always loved to read her books and listen to her speeches. This is because of her truism in describing social maladies that continue to engulf the world.
I was greatly moved just like ever before by her speech which centred on the theme of the ceremony "La fragilité du vrai" which means in English "The fragility of truth" This title has a solid meaning that envelopes the rock that continues to press the world so hard. The insight I received from her speech is what I would like to narrow it down in the context of Sierra Leone.
La fragilité du vrai is a perfect phrase that captures the attitudinal and behavioural disposition of citizens that is largely skewed toward the dressing of lies, fake faces, and hypocritical citizenry into truth. In our nation today, we have made truth weak, and sometimes, replace it with well-dressed lies. "There is mounting disinformation all over the world with severe consequences for all of us, and today it is easy to dress up a lie so nicely that it starts to take on the glow of the truth." This is the reality of the condescending level of our citizenship. Thus, it is evident in all facets of our sustainable pillars as a nation. This includes social, economic, political, and religious pillars.
When we compromise our academic system into receiving popularity and mere formality we fall victim to what Chimamanda described as the fragility of truth. More sorrowfully, it destroys our developmental strings and sows the seed of future state collapse.
When we compromise our rational endowment, we put at risk the place of truth in our society. Thus, we give preference to individual biases that blind us from acting by the truth.
As citizens, we are responsible for our situation. This is because, we made it so. If we have the power to make truth fragile, weak, and inactive, we should also have the courage to make it prevail. Our educational system continues to become a scam, our religious institutions continue to derail us, our political set-up is that of restless warfare and victimization, and our public institutions are full of inefficiency and connectivity challenges, this Is because we have made truth fragile.
Having listened to her speech, I deduced based on the reality of Sierra Leone that truth in itself is an essence of development. The fact that it brings us to the acceptance of the reality and put to silence our pejorative perceptions on race, gender, ethnicity, party affiliation, and so on, sheds light on the horrors of our darkened life.
As citizens, the nations' credibility and sustainability tie strings on us that are only realized in the domain of truth. Thus, her assertion "We bear obligations as citizens and as human beings cohabiting this earth and those obligations must be based on truth." This point becomes the centre of who we truly are and what we should do.
As citizens, we have made truth fragile by shunning away from our responsibilities. We have made truth fragile by not taking the proper place in our roles as citizens for holistic development. We have also incapacitated truth by blatantly causing harm to our nation either by commission or omission. Furthermore, we make truth fragile when we only look at the negativity of issues and shun the efforts of others. We make truth fragile when we politicize everything at the expense of our development and national inclusion. This tells us that the truth behind national development is active participation at both the macro and micro levels of our existence.
The consequences of the distortion of truth are evident and severe. It has dragged our nation into deeper economic, social, religious, and political decadence. It has made us fall apart and placed human welfare at risk. With our own hands, we have created a nation so fragile, so boring and disgusting, with no promised future. This is because "...when we lose truth, we lose meaning and to live a life without meaning is to exist in a state of utter emptiness." This is the emptiness we are living in as Sierra Leoneans. Since independence, we have always been very good at making truth fragile. We should bear in mind that whenever we make truth fragile, we make our country fragile and empty.
Virtue of Stewardship
One of the virtues that take us from the shore of unconcerned citizens, dormant citizens to a shore of fully loaded and well-vested citizens is the virtue of stewardship.
Early this year, I had a lengthy talk with one of my philosopher friends. The talk was about national enhancement through citizens' participation. His question was, "What do you think is the main catalyst for national enhancement?" I paused for a minute, after that, I told him "Stewardship". Within that minute, twenty answers rushed into my head, but the one I gave priority to was stewardship.
According to Marian Webster dictionary, stewardship is the act of "conducting, supervising, or managing something. It involves the careful and responsible management of something entrusted in one's care." Stewardship is as old as man’s existence. In the Book of Genesis 1:28, we are made to understand that God gave man the responsibility to take care of the things he created. A responsibility to be co-creators with Him.
Therefore, stewardship is the embodiment of our commitment as citizens and a catalyst for undivided participation in national progress.
It deepens our sense of maturity, responsibility, belongingness, one mind, and continuity in development. It gives us the authority to be in charge. These qualities that come with stewardship are the brain behind God placing His created things in the hands of Man. Thus, making Man accountable. It is these same strings that hold on us as citizens to take care of our country, Sierra Leone. By so doing, we go beyond the theoretical value of the phrase in our anthem " Great is the love we have for thee." It is only when we are grounded in our stewardship that we can face the reality of our national anthem and savour its practical relevance.
Stewardship is pertinent for citizens to exercise civic responsibility as a means of being accountable to God, fellow citizens, and themselves. Thus, it gives me goosebumps to see that stewardship is the most humiliated feature of citizens. The humiliation of stewardship is what is responsible for bad governance, corruption, partisan politics, mismanagement of funds, weak legislation, academic malpractice, office loafing, laziness, lack of local initiatives, indiscriminate dumping of refuse, rape, broken homes, homeless children, arm rubbering, child trafficking, insecurities, to name but a few.
Things to note about stewardship.
You are not alone: One of the things that easily make us veer of the role of being proper stewards is when the ‘self’ blindly dominates the ‘others’. This perception is destructive in the sense that the individuals only think of themselves as the only existing being that deserves better treatment. Thus, people barricade themselves with what they loot from the public. Therefore, stewardship becomes a blueprint because it goes beyond the self to include all other created things that co-exist with the individual. To think that you are alone is the same as to say that others do not count. It also gives you the ego to trample on them all in the name of self-gratification.
We are all involved: If there is anything that reduces stewardship to nothing, then that thing must be the idea of ‘I am not involved’. This concept makes us weak. It cuts us off from the communitarian strings. It dissociates us from the public. It stops us from doing the little meaningful things we are to do. Stewardship as far as citizenship is concerned, is the business of everybody. No man is an island. The action of somebody affects you. Your inaction or omission of action affects you and those around you. It is based on these facts that stewardship commands involvement. This is summarized in the third line of the first stanza of our national anthem, “Great is the love we have for thee.” It is not just by mouth saying but the practicality of the love.
Love in Anguish
Throughout that night I was sitting by mama. But we did not speak to each other. My presence was my absence because, after a while, I could feel the power of mama's eyes staring at me. Sucking me up. It pierced through my soul, but I had gone past that. My eyes were pale with my head fully loaded, bomb with misgivings that were caused by my modern wife. When I came around a little, I saw mama's lips shaking, but I could not hear any sound. She was looking at me with terrible eyes. I mean consumable ones. Only God knew what was playing in her mind. One thing I knew was that she was not happy with me getting married to Cicy. She had always not loved her from the first day I introduced her as my girlfriend. She complained that Cicy was not wife material.
"How can mama who had never met Cicy before just judge her as not being fit for a wife material?" I asked myself.
I have known Cicy for more than two years. Since we met at Aberdeen Beach, a place they called 'Europe in Sierra Leone.' I do not accept this name. For me, it's just Sierra Leone and nothing more. As I approached one of the resort centres, I could hear people say "yah na oversee gben. wae u dae yah, na England u dae." I wanted to tell them that they were in Sierra Leone. The expression didn't make sense to me because it simply means that nothing good should be associated to Sierra Leone; it was only those that were bad. Like when you see naked stinky black children in the street with phlegm draining through their nose or when you see our streets and gutters busy with garbage that we say it is only in Sierra Leone. I wore an uncomfortable gloomy face, but I had to control myself because I went out purposely that night to have fun. Something I did once a while to at least ride in the saying, 'All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.'
Feeling upset with their throwaway gist, I went to another resort centre to escape the illusion that was fogged in their minds. That was where I met Cicy. She was sitting alone with a bottle of Sierra juice standing in front of her while she played with her phone. Immediately, my mind played to the tune of my desire. I fell in love even without a word to her. But fear banged both my heart and mind.
"Maybe she is waiting for her fiance, or it could be that she is just like me who go out alone. What if I go there, and she slammed my face with insult? No, she can't." I argued in my mind. At last, I went to her.
"Hello, pretty doll." She did not answer. Her head was buried in her phone. I dragged the chair opposite her. She was still not distracted.
"This could be something serious," I said softly. I sat down and greeted again.
"Hi, pretty doll." She raised her head and stared at me. Though it was not a welcoming look, her blue eyes were captivating and consoling. She was deadly beautiful with a slight moustache. Oh, I cherished that!
"How did you call me?" she asked with a frown face.
"Pretty doll," I responded smilingly.
She smiled calmly and told me that she was not a doll but a human being. I told her I was sorry, and she accepted my apology.
"Are you here by yourself, or you are on somebody's train?" the interrogation started.
"Do I have to be brought by somebody? So is it only men who take women out and not the other way round?" She responded rudely.
I sensed the bitterness of society over emphasizing men. I just couldn't bother about that because I was not like that.
I was that kind of man who shy away from ladies. That was why I was single even when I was 30. I found it difficult to propose to ladies. It was just a mind defeat. That night, I told myself that what will happen will happen, but I will tell her my intention. My hand started shivering and a block of sweat started flowing from my armpit, then my whole body except my face. My voice too became tiny and shrunk. I breathe in and out. Immediately, what came out of my mouth was, 'I love you.' After saying this, I sat quietly as though the words did not come from me. She raised her head and looked at me widely. I was expecting first-degree insult, but she smiled at me and bowed her head to continue playing with her phone. There was nothing more I could say. I managed my shivering hand to take my malt and cool my choking chest. As I sat in shame, I heard a soft dull voice.
"I have the same feeling." When I heard that, my fears went away, and I became myself. We fell in love and got married.
After our wedding, we had a conversation about how to plan our family. Suddenly, Cicy told me that there was nothing to plan because she was not ready to lose herself all in the name of giving birth. I told her to stop taking pills until after our first child. She became annoyed and changed the conversation. I told her that if she continued to prevent herself from getting pregnant I will not have myself emptied in her again. She kept quiet because she liked romance and that was her happiest moment in our relationship. A few days without me touching her, she came begging.
"I will not take the pill again. I am ready to get pregnant for you," she said. I felt happy and moved by her outlook. After several months of sex without her getting pregnant, I became worried. I told her that we should go and see a doctor for checkups. Having consulted the doctor, we were told that the two of us were fine and that nothing was wrong with us. We are to wait for God's time.
I saw that my wife was happy with the doctor's report, but I was not. I needed my own child.
"Could it be that Cicy is secretly taking the pill?" I said in a cool voice. I decided to probe.
The following day when she went to her office, I searched our bedroom, but I did not see anything. I went to the other room to check. There I found something wrapped in a black plastic bag. I reached out to it, and it was a contraceptive pill. I stood in total disappointment and frustration. My mind was melting with what to do, but at that time, I needed to come down. I decided to change the medicine. I went and brought medicine that looked like it and exchanged it. When it was night and I was to go in with her, she told me she was going to drink water. I knew it was not that, but I allowed her to go. She went and took the pill not knowing that I changed it. That night, we had cool sex. I felt like never before.
Two months after that, she was found to be pregnant. I was very happy. At last, my emptiness would be filled. One morning, I mean very early in the morning, Cicy woke me up. I thought it was for morning romance as she normally did, rather she told me she was going to abort the pregnancy.
"Whaaaat!" I exclaimed terribly.
"I am not ready for this thing. I have once told you that I am not ready to lose myself." She said in a rude tone.
I was shocked. I couldn't believe Cicy's excesses would reach to a point of committing abortion. My own child that I am ready to take care of, God's gift. That morning was not easy for the two of us. I raised my hand to give her a deadly blow, but it was not me. I calmly put my hand down.
"This is God's gift to us why do you want to destroy it?" I asked her. She left me and went to the other room.
When the day broke, I prepared to go for work. She was still in bed. I went and knocked at the door. She opened it and told me she was not going to work. She was not feeling well. I left for office.
When I returned in the evening, I met Cicy dead. She had bled profusely as a result of abortion and there was nobody to take her to the hospital. I did not see any abortion pill. I bowed to listen to her heartbeat again, and I saw a cup under the sofa. The cup was having a trace of the mixture of lime and razor.
"Why have you done this to me?" I asked tearfully. My eyes became red and clouded with water. My head was bumping back and front, and I remembered mama's voice "She is not a wife material." She did not want to lose herself now she was more lost with no trace of her existence.
@Alfredo94