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.
