ONLY THE DOOR THAT CRINGES RECEIVES THE OIL! Malcolm X, on the fight for racial equality in America. I have just listened to a Christiane Amanpour program on the CNN news network, during which she interviewed our national president, Ernest Bai Koroma, as one of two guests! I must say this: I was hugely disappointed at the lackluster responses from president Koroma. I understand that some people, by their very nature, are flat and complacent about things that others may take seriously. I also understand that some people are woefully incapable of saying anything that is not written down for them, to read. But what I dont understand is why the president of a nation that is in the strangulating grips of a very catastrophic situation fail so miserably to articulate the case for the people when given the opportunity to do so on the world stage. If Ernest Koroma cannot adequately reflect the desperation of the country in his demeanor, at least he should be able to articulate the urgency of our needs, in his choice of words. Honestly, looking at the very relaxed mood of our president, and listening to his boring delivery, in an almost detached non-committal tone, any listener (who is not aware of what is really happening to our people, both inside and outside of Sierra Leone) might be forgiven for going away with the mistaken conclusion that the tragedy is over. In fact, As Ernest went on and on, I was almost moved to hope that maybe this man has something great to reveal to justify his visibly sleepy stance . In the end, nothing! I think Jim Yong Kim, the president of the World Bank who was interviewed on the same program just after Ernest Koroma, may have sensed the potential damage such a disastrous interview could signal for the response to arguably the greatest battle we have ever faced as a people. What we are facing is worse than death! It is a physical and cultural annihilation of a nation! In a society such as ours,what can be more serious than children being strongly advised not to get close to their dying mothers? What can be more traumatizing than sons told not to bury their own fathers? How sadder does it have to get, with people bleeding to death, on the streets, un-mourned and virtually disowned by all? The bravest of our warriors (our largely unsupported health-workers) are falling down like leaves. We are not even allowed to shake hands with our dearest ones! How serious does this need to get, for our leaders to be able to, AT LEAST, say so? I was disappointed not just because of what I heard Ernest say, (or by all what he failed to say), but by HOW he said the little he had to say! Thankfully, Jim Kim responded effectively by convincingly maintaining that in the fight against Ebola, we have not turned the corner. Insisting, in fact, we are far from there. Jim emphasized that the rest of the world needed to do a lot more to help arrest the situation.He highlighted the sense of desperation being felt by the people of the region Having listened to the very weak responses from Ernest Koroma, When asked about the possible secret of Nigerias success (where others have failed so miserably) Jim, put it down to, among other things , the fast response and strong Leadership. The world bank supremo disclosed that he has spoken with Jonathan Goodluck and he was highly impressed with the Nigerian leader. How does that square in with Ernest? Have they spoken? (at least he just heard him speak) Was Jim equally impressed? Fat chance he was! The point I have to underline here is the fact that one of the qualities of a good leader is the ability to COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY! You should be able to talk on behalf of the people you represent. You must reflect in your choice of words and in your tone of voice whatever the majority of your people might be feeling strongly about, at any one point in time. It doesnt matter even if you dont feel their pain! What matters is that you are being paid to, at least, represent them Bo, EVEN MUMU GO MAKE SOME NOISE, WAE IH DAE SUFFER PAIN! WAE U YERI YAN, U GO KNOW FOR SAY SOMETIN TRULY WRONG WITHAN (OR WIT IM POSIN)! Nobody is here advocating an over-dramatization from the president (though no intensity of drama can even nearly reflect what we are facing on our streets and in our homes).However, our mood should always rightly match the moment: one shouldnt, for instance, be caught smiling when announcing a funeral. WAE U GO NAR BERIN OSE, EVEN IF U NOR WAN FOR KRAI, U FOR TRAI FOR PINI! There has to be some signs of urgency when a leader is talking about a desperate national calamity facing his people (a potential existential threat that is capable of wiping away a large portion of our society, or at least dragging us back down for decades). The voice of a leader does count for something. In fact, sometimes, it may count for everything! How can those whom we depend upon for the tools to fight this disastrous menace (including,sadly, basic items like prophylactic hand-gloves) be expected to take our situation seriously if we cannot even say how serious that situation is. No one will think of oiling a door that does not cringe! How can we depend on other world leaders to adequately describe our dire situation to the world (like Jim Kim just did), instead of the one we have voted for and who is suppose to represent us, and feel our pain? Poor leadership is a disaster in itself. And a disaster cant manage itself, far less something else!
Posted on: Fri, 24 Oct 2014 20:56:24 +0000
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