A couple of weeks ago, the UN Secretary-General’s Executive Representative for Sierra Leone, Michael Schulenberg, told the Security Council that although Sierra Leone had embarked on a remarkable journey towards a stable, peaceful and democratic country, this journey would be bumpy, long and even, at times, dangerous.
“We must anticipate accidents, derailments and mistakes along this road … there are no easy benchmarks that will tell us that Sierra Leone is out of the woods. What Sierra Leone will need to succeed is time, patience, determined national leadership and continued international support,” he added.
Let’s hope that the current leadership in Sierra Leone has taken heed because it would be a disaster for the country if it were to revert to the bleak days of armed conflict. Earlier this year, we witnessed ineffectual governance when supporters of the APC government unleashed attacks on supporters of the opposition SLPP and razed the party’s headquarters in Freetown. One would have thought that the terrible war in the country would have focused people’s minds so that the country does not degenerate once more into the sort of gratuitous violence that was witnessed during the war. But it appears that some have already forgotten that bitter conflict.
Opponents of the APC have always been quick to point out that it was the party that introduced violence into politics in Sierra Leone in 1973, with some going as far as to tell me earlier this year that the APC had violence in its DNA. That was cruel, but one could understand where they were coming from because it was due to this violence that the war started in 1991, when “old” APC was in power.
One is hoping that under President Ernest Koroma, who has been touted as “new” APC, the party will change its ways. Indeed, in order to move away from the tactics of “old” APC, Koroma must take a robust stance against anyone who wants to perpetuate violence in politics.
What he must realise is that those who were responsible for burning down the SLPP headquarters could not really have been venting their anger against the opposition.
They could have been letting off steam because they were already disillusioned with a government that should now know whether it is coming or going after two years in power.
The government has to address the problem of restive young people. Once there are no more SLPP symbols to attack, the arsonists will start torching symbols of the government. And that’s when the problem will really get out of control.
Sierra Leone cannot afford to return to conflict. Thus, the government has to dispel the idea that it is biased in favour of the North.
The APC has to win over the disaffected people of Sierra Leone’s Eastern and Southern Provinces, the heartland of the SLPP.
In short, it has to address the problem of division and nepotism.
Human nature being what it is, we cannot totally do away with nepotism or cronyism, as it is referred to in Western countries. The difference is that in Africa, unlike in the the West, the crony that is given a job does not work in the interest of the country and this gives rise to the exclusion of other ethnic groups. Seeds of discontent are easily sown when other ethnic groups are excluded from the loop. The UN Peacebuilding Commission in Sierra Leone, one of two in the world, will have its work cut out if these underlying problems are not fully addressed.
On this issue of violence, we must not forget that the fortunes of Sierra Leone and Liberia are inextricably linked. Had it not been for the war in Liberia, one does not think that the Revolutionary United Front would have had the opportunity to launch its campaign in Sierra Leone. So, it is imperative that Sierra Leoneans keep an eye on what is going on in Liberia.
For instance, when the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its interim report in July some Liberian politicians did not take kindly to what it had recommended: disqualification from politics for up to 30 years for those who had wreaked havoc on Liberia. Their reaction was to make bellicose statements, threatening fire and brimstone if the recommendation were to be carried out. It appeared that these people had not learnt anything from the violent conflict that devastated Liberia just like those who attacked the SLPP headquarters. They have failed to grasp the folly of violence.
Recently, the African Union’s Peace and Security Commission held a special session on conflicts in Africa. Its report said that although the number of violent conflicts had significantly reduced, the overall position was still grim. Africa is host to eight UN peacekeeping operations and it constitutes over 60 per cent of the agenda of the UN Security Council.
The report said that Africa had the largest number of victims of forced displacement in the world, with close to three million refugees, 20 per cent of the global estimate of 10.5 million in 2009. With about 11.6 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in 19 countries in Africa, out of a global estimate of 26 million, the continent had the highest number of IDPs.
Apart from the human costs, the cost to the economies of African countries involved in armed conflict has been a staggering $300 billion since 1990. According to the AU, with an average annual loss of around $18 billion as a result of armed conflicts, a nation’s economy shrinks on average by 15 per cent. And this estimate is considered conservative because it is based solely on costs of armed conflict, not other types of violence, and periods of actual combat.
Given this stark reality, one wonders why some African countries continue to be embroiled in armed and other types of conflicts. But it is quite easy, really, to end this cycle of violence. Behind the conflicts are politicians who are inclined to subvert the democratic process when it does not go the way they want it. Africans should now be wise to the divisive ways of their political leaders.
Ordinary Africans should no longer be the foot soldiers for politicians who will quickly flee with their families to Europe and the US when the going gets tough. For the foot soldiers, there is no such fall-back position. They are the ones who are left behind to suffer the brunt of the violence.
Ghanaians, however, are fully aware of the folly of violence. In 2000, when I arrived in Accra to cover the elections that the opposition eventually won, I jokingly asked an airport worker: “When is the fighting going to start?” His answer was: “Me? Fight? No way. While we are killing each other, the politicians and their families will quickly leave the country to live in peace in London or Washington.”
There you are. Not surprisingly, Ghana has had peaceful elections since 1992. Sierra Leoneans would do well to follow suit.
Desmond Davies is Editor of African Prospects, a monthly digital magazine. [email protected]
By Desmond Davies
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