As you walk the streets of Freetown these days and listen to the petty traders, local drivers, business
people, ex-combatants, and local market women, people are fed up and are eager for a change in
leadership for Sierra Leone. After a decade of brutal war and with thousands of displaced Sierra
Leoneans, some with hacked off limbs, people say enough is enough. They need change at all cost. On
September 17 2007, Sierra Leoneans got their wish. They elected an insurance sales executive and a
member of parliament to the highest office in the nation.
While some people doubt that the new president does not have the experience to run a government,
others say that anything is better compared with what they have had to put up with in the past several
decades. Yet no one has stopped to think that the previous leaders who drove the country into the dirt did
not use their God given experience (common sense) to manage the country's resources - its people and
its natural resources. Sierra Leone needs a good business leader with solid people skills, that can
develop good economic and social programs that will benefit the nation. After all, Sierra Leone's
population is under 5 million people, and the country is blessed with mineral and agricultural resources.
Last year alone, Sierra Leone exported in excess of USD$140 million in diamonds and yet, the capital of
the nation is in ruins, and is without the most basic necessity for life - electricity and drinking water.
Fortunately, Ernest Koroma has shown that he acquires all the people skills, but can he withstand the
political storm of being the chief executive of the nation? or will he surround himself with bunch of "yes
sir's" who are power conscious and are only interested in stuffing their pockets, and lack effective
governance skills? The fact is that change is needed and soon is an understatement. Thousands of
ex-combatants and child soldiers who have now grown to adulthood are without jobs and lack the basic
education or the necessary skills required to get one. College graduates from the local universities come
out each year just to find out that there are no jobs waiting for them. Young girls are forced into marriages
or prostitution because their parents cannot afford a secondary school education for them. Kids graduate
from secondary schools and cannot afford to enter into a university. How can these students be motivated
to further their education if there is no hope for them after college? What will eventually be the faith of
these youths? Are we allowing ourselves to build another army of rebel soldiers in a few years from now
only to repeat history? " What Ernest truly needs" says a local business man, "is for him to run an effective
government and be surrounded by savvy hard working, and honest business people who are eager to roll
their sleeves and take Sierra Leone's pride upwards again."
The people of Sierra Leone are truly tired of corrupt politics. They are tired of being labelled as the second
poorest nation on earth. They are tired of depending on handouts from other nations - as if they do not
have an ounce of pride left in their souls. They are tired of living in darkness when other West African
countries have 24/7 electricity and running water. They are tired of being humiliated at international
airports when they present a Sierra Leone passport. They are tired of other countries rejecting Sierra
Leone currency and labelling it as a "toilet paper". They need electricity, clean drinking water, paved
roads, good schools for their children to attend, good education at all schools, good hospitals to treat the
sick, milk to nourish the children, employment for the youth when they graduate from college, a free
university to encourage every secondary school graduate a chance to obtain higher education, a
reasonable social welfare program for the poor and uneducated, a judicial system that administers
expedient, true, and fair justice - not the present kangaroo court system with its antiquated laws, a
sustainable food program so that Sierra Leoneans can feed themselves, an incentive program for Sierra
Leoneans to get into agriculture, and finally, Sierra Leone needs to cut down on borrowing and feeding
the coffers of corrupt government officials for one day, long after you are gone, our grand children will be
faced with mountains of debt to repay. Let us not mortgage the future of Sierra Leone for any single
corrupt political official. With nearly 85% illiteracy rate, most people in Sierra Leone have no idea how
much debt the country is in, let alone know how the debt is going to be repaid. The people of Sierra
Leone has placed their trust in you - Ernest. They have asked you to manage (not rule) the resources of
the nation without regard to race, color, religion, nationality or ethnicity, and restore their dignity. Sierra
Leoneans have suffered long enough. How much more can they be held in bondage? When can they
ever again walk the airports of other countries, and be proud to show their passports or their currency?
Bring Sierra Leone out of bondage Ernest. We are willing, able and ready to work with you at all cost to
develop our beloved nation, restore pride in our people, and walk proudly with our heads held up only if
you surround yourself with people who have the nations interest at heart. Today, we know the legacies of
the past leaders. What will your legacy be Ernest?
|
|
