Oh dear, the politicians are at it again. This time it’s in Fourah bay in the east of Freetown. A very simple bye election to elect a councilor has again degenerated into violence, bloodshed, damage to property, disruption to people’s lives and a general sense of unease across the entire nation. The worrying thing is that this is only January and the Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government elections are not due until November. It begs the questions what will happen come 17th November 2012?
The violence itself is bad enough but what is really disheartening is the shameful blame game that seems to be taking place between the politicians of both the ruling APC and the main opposition SLPP. It’s a clear indication if one was needed that both sides are so focused on advancing their own narrow political objectives that they are incapable of seeing the bigger picture and the damage this trend is having on our dear nation in terms of peace, national unity and the spirit of democracy. Clearly the hot heads and thugs in both parties seem to be in the ascendancy whilst those who ought to know better keep silent or turn a blind eye to the lies and deceit that pass these days as propaganda.
President Koroma and Mr Maada Bio need to decide whether they wish to govern a nation of traumatized and broken people come the end of 2012 or a nation that is at peace with itself and optimistic or confident about the future. What hope have we got not to mention our children and future generations of Sierra Leoneans if the two main political parties in our country start behaving as if Sierra Leone is a Brothel or a Bar where violence and “Mammy Curse” is the order of the day? For goodness sake, haven’t they learnt anything from the situation in other Mano River Union States such as Guinea and Ivory Coast? Only 10 years ago we came out of a senseless and bloody civil war that has been described as one of the worlds most violent and bloody in recent times; YES the WORLD. You would imagine that our political leaders would be ashamed by this and go all out to ensure that we not only show to the whole world that Sierra Leone has moved on from violence but more importantly that NO Sierra Leonean ever again will be exposed to the evil of political violence. Do they want our people to become refugees again in Guinea and Liberia? Is that a price worth paying for political power? I am confident that if both President Koroma and Mr Bio choose to, they can easily stamp out the cancer of political violence and intolerance that is rapidly spreading across the country.
In the interest of Sierra Leone, I would like to plead with them to put our country first and work together as leaders and STOP the extremist elements who see violence and intolerance as the route to Political power. In my view those who resort or rely on violence are people who clearly do not have the nation’s best interest at heart and clearly do not have anything of value to offer the people of Sierra Leone. President Koroma and Mr Bio need to take control of their respective parties and start stamping their authority to rid our nation of political violence. I would therefore propose the following as actions to be considered should they wish to work together
– End the blame game NOW and take responsibility for the violence
– There should be a joint Press Conference between President Koroma and Mr Bio designed to assure the people of Sierra Leone that they are NOT enemies and that they have committed themselves to work for peace and unity in Sierra Leone starting with the elections period.
– I would also suggest that a joint trip to Freetown, Bo and Makeni by both President Koroma and Mr Bio promoting the message of peace and political tolerance. The symbolic nature of this will strongly help to diffuse the toxicity of hate and suspicion currently running through SL and help promote greater restraint and tolerance.
– Make public all the reports from previous commissions of enquiry on political violence and implement their recommendations in full.
– Establish an Independent investigative commission headed by a foreign Judge / judges that will investigate all future incidence of political violence and will have the power to prosecute those considered liable.
– Strengthen the intelligence gathering capability of the Police and allow them greater independence to carry out their duty to maintain Law and Order.
– Increase the resources available to the Police and other agencies involved in maintaining law and order.
– Engage other stake holders in promoting the message of peace, respect for each other and better monitoring of future elections activities.
– Finally for goodness sake, whatever is agreed all parties should stick to it.
They say all that’s needed for EVIL to prevail is for “Good men and women to remain silent”. Well I hope more good men and women in SL will speak up and let their voices be heard so the Politicians know that they are NOT the Gods they think they are but rather servants of the people. We the PEOPLE demand PEACE AND UNITY in a democratic and prosperous Sierra Leone.
Sierra Leone belongs to ALL of us. We cannot say we love our country and aspire to lead it but yet treat each other as enemies. We are a NATION so let’s act like it. God Bless Us All.
SIGNED BS.
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