SALUTING SIERRA LEONE’S MANDELAS…..LMAO In the wake of the death of the man who led South Africa to freedom from apartheid, many here have wondered whether there will ever be a Mandela-style leader to liberate Sierra Leone from the curse of APC. Of course this robber-regime has already made a brazen bid to steal the spirit of Mandela for itself, with President Ernest Bai Koroma mouth piece Alhaji Lie Lie Kanu ludicrously claiming that his party’s ‘struggle’ is similar to that of South Africa’s ANC. A claim that was neatly rebutted by US President Barack Obama in his speech in celebration of the life of Nelson Mandela, in which his statement that “there are too many leaders who claim solidarity with Madiba’s struggle for freedom, but do not tolerate dissent from their own people” was clearly directed at the EBKs of the world. In any event, there was never much of a struggle to free Sierra Leone from colonial rule. And the Alliance that finally achieved Independence under the benevolent and broad-minded leadership of Sir Milton Margai all too soon degenerated into the Siaka Stevens-dominated APC that has ever since so disgracefully re-colonised the nation for its own and its cronies’ benefit. So that just as Mandela’s dream of a resurgent South Africa has degenerated into the current reality of a sink-hole of gross inequality, rampant crime and corruption under the unlovely Jacob Zuma, so has Sir Milton Margai’s idea and ideal of Sierra Leone descended into today’s President Koroma-style nightmare. Vastly aided and accelerated in this descent by 6 years under the president-ship of President Koroma, a cynical, self-serving autocrat who modelled himself not on South Africa’s Nelson Mandela, but on his old pal Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, in his efforts to turn Sierra Leone into some kind of personal Zimbabi. And he claimed to be doing it all, as his successors have similarly pretended, in ‘defence’ of the Sierra Leoneans. When in fact as any intelligent person, Southeasters/Mende or otherwise, very well knows, the APC regime would be an absolute disgrace to any tribe. APC has also by implication insulted Mendes by falsely patronising them as backward, ignorant and ineffectual, and, considering they compose the majority of the nation’s citizens systematically robbed them even more unmercifully than Sierra Leonens of other tribes. Stealing so many countless billions of Leones that should otherwise be spent on health, education, public infrastructure and social services that Sierra Leone has for years led the world in illicit capital outflow per capita. And otherwise misappropriating such a fortune in public funds for such purposes as buying votes, funding regime-propagandist media and supporting regime ministers, members and cronies in their preposterously profligate lifestyles that the country can no longer afford even the pretence of properly caring for the people. Attempts to keep up the pretence Everybody is patently aware that this alleged popularity was achieved through blatant voter bribery and every other conceivable kind of electoral corruption and fraud. And as for the claim of bravery, just how brave does a party have to be to fight elections, in blatant breach of the democratic principle of the fundamental democratic principle of the separation of powers, with the entire might of the police, judiciary, civil services, election commission and mainstream media on its side? With such overwhelmingly superior forces ranged against the people, Sierra Leoneans and non- Sierra Leoneans alike, and with the whole corrupt and criminal system illegally funded with public money, it’s no wonder so many Sierra Leonens have taken to hoping and praying for a Mandela-style saviour. But what’s the point of waiting for the kind of charismatic leader who arises as rarely as a Nelson Mandela? In any case, as I’m sure the great man himself in his legendary humility would have been the first to concede he was just the foremost among many. Hundreds if not thousands of black, coloured and even white South Africans suffered, and a great many died for the anti-apartheid cause. In fact one of the common ways in which the white regime’s jailers killed anti-apartheid activists in their custody was by what they called “defenestration”: throwing them out through high windows. But back to the point I’m ineptly endeavouring to make, which is that it takes more than one man or woman, even one as gifted and courageous as Nelson Mandela, to defeat a corrupt, criminal, racist and repressive government. And it’s clearly evident that Sierra Leone is blessed with countless such honest, upstanding, tolerant, truth-loving people. From many if not most of the leadership of opposition parties SLPP, PMDC and the UDM through unprecedented numbers of activists in opposition NGOs to countless individuals who blog, write, cartoon and otherwise fearlessly express the Sierra Leonean Mandela spirit. I mention no names for fear of missing some out, and in any case there’s not space here to list even a small fraction of them. But I will take a line or two to pay particular personal tribute to the Sierra Leonean family in which I am proud to have married. But of course Sierra Leonens and their families don’t have to intermarry with other races to demonstrate their enlightened, egalitarian natures. All they and the individuals of which they are composed have to do is proselytise, protest and above all vote at every opportunity in the spirit of Mandela and out of love for an honest, clean, inclusive and thus, by definition, APC-free Sierra Leone. As a majority did in 2012 GE, and as I’m willing to bet almost anything you like overwhelming numbers will do come the increasingly eagerly-awaited 2018 GE.
Posted on: Fri, 31 Jan 2014 03:06:32 +0000
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