“For a long time, there has not been a spectacular writing desire from Sierra Leoneans, except perhaps when they are out of the country”.
Those were the words of the press secretary to President Koroma, Sheka Tarawalie at the launch of two Books written by a journalist, David Tam Baryoh. Sheka Tarawalie wrote the preface of one of the two books titled: Communication and the Media in Peace Building where he stated that Tam Baryoh has broken the ice. He may have just unlocked or unraveled a puzzle that would challenge many other journalists to come up with concrete complications for a new age of enlightenment.
Writing the preface, Sheka Tarawalie described Sierra Leone as a country where intellectuals shy away from writing books despite the country’s historic past where many nations supped at the academic table but has not actually done remarkably well in terms of writing books. The general trend he said was that of lethargy, complacency and perhaps total disregard of the essence of writing.
Communication and the Media in Peace Building provides more information for those wishing to have a better understanding of the Sierra Leone media landscape for which the history and challenges currently facing media practitioners were highlighted. The Book also provided recommendations on the way forward for the media industry and the message the book sent was clear cut for the Sierra Leone media yearning for practical resources that would help galvanize its potentials. The book has six chapters.
The other book, “The Impeding Effects of Corruption on National Development,” according to Olu Richie Awoonor Gordon, the editor, PEEP! Magazine who wrote the forward of the book was an attempt by Tam Baryoh to solve the puzzle of Sierra Leone’s poverty. And in the eyes of Tam Baryoh corruption was a key impediment to national development for which the media must be part of fighting it.
The Book according to Olu was a dispassionate attempt to provide answers to what was the root causes of corruption, how do people pay for corrupt practice, what do people think is corruption in practice, what can possibly be the effects of corruption on national development or is any social wrong a corrupt practice and is there any relationship between the national need to fight corruption and the media’s assumed role in curbing same.
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