Random Musing: 2 Years On – The Illusion of Action
Random Musing: 2 Years On – The Illusion of Action
Let me get straight to the point and get the bee out of my bonnet because I’m of the firm belief that it is not in our own interest to be prisoners to the old ways of thinking anymore.
Firstly, no government, no matter how benevolent it appears to be, deserves the people’s gratitude; since the leaders put themselves forward to serve and not for a pat on the back.
After the nightmare of the past political dispensation, the coronation of a pseudo-messiah, led to fervent hopes and wishes for the new kid on the block, in the hope that he will kick-start the dawn of a new era.
These songs and dreams are fast turning to echoes of yesterday and threatening to become a painful act.
There suddenly is the fear of the present regime, standing out in shines and glamour but offering no substance in details and purpose. Fears are rife that the much flaunted passion and energy has not transmitted into frenetic social and economic realities and transformation.
Right now, the government is in a bunker of self-deception and heading for the belly-landing of a hopeful-dive in the pool of expectations; simply because never before, has a regime needed to prove itself like as at this point in time in our national life.
Secondly, those who can, including our present crop of leaders, should recall with nostalgia, life in Freetown, nay Sierra Leone, up to the early 1980s and contrast that with what obtains today’s underdevelopment, lack of planning and administrative inertia.
Sadly, things are not quite pretty for the traumatised and disillusioned populace.
The education sector is in intensive care in a health sector that is also gasping for breath. Infrastructure is rotten or non-existent and the civil service, with its corrupt and incompetent manpower, lurches in a tragic and rotten administrative system.
As for the political segment, especially the legislature and those in the corridor of power, the motto is nothing but self-serving, narrow-mindedness without a course of hope, ideological coherence and sense of purpose.
Also, given the experience with our honourable member of parliament, representing Tripoli constituency, Moamer Gadaffi, why is the nation still being auctioned to the highest bidder at every opportunity; thus unwittingly buttressing the point that there is a lack of vision, values and patriotic policies?
Has the government run out of ideas as to how to breakdown the socio-economic and political barriers to progress?
Similarly, if the nation and its people’s future are too vital and important to be squandered carelessly, why is the government busy spending too much time posturing and selling the national legacy for a mould of foofoo?
And as for our new found lovers, such as Tony Blair, the rich barons and those benevolent countries suddenly coming with ambulance to the rescue of a comatose Sierra Leone, where were they when the country needed them most?
What is it that has suddenly stirred the milk of compassion in these Mother Theresa’s at this hour of global epidemic that was missing when Sierra Leone was in acute agony?
Unless of course, as its common knowledge, there is more to it than meets the eye.
We are vulnerable and there are now willing players in the intricate game of self-preservation and any carrot dangled will keep us in their pockets for rich pickings.
Thirdly, if it was the song of despair and the cry of desperation and frustration from a bruised, battered and down-trodden masses that led to the emergence of Robin Hood and his band of brothers, how come the cavalier attitude needed for wiping away the tears of our suffering compatriots, is completely lost in the castles of the current national wielders of power?
Is the government aware of the increasing level of despair and disillusion among the lower strata of society or is it being carried away by the drumbeat of political jobbers and the virus of apathy?
Again, if it is debatably but universally accepted, depending on which side of the divide you are, that the last administration dragged the nation into the abyss, how come pulling it out, has become the stuff of nightmare for the rescue team and the high hopes of the people, are being systematically crushed by the slow pace of governance and show-boating?
Going on from there, how come our yesterday is far better than our today and why is that glorious past, a torture to the imagination of the younger generation and gut-wrenching for those of us who continue to cast furtive glances down memory lane?
There are several other questions begging for answers but let’s be clear about one thing that goes without saying: successful leaders are known for their drive, purpose, vigour and sense of urgency which propels them like mad cow disease.
Ernest Bai Koroma is capable of far more than he is giving or that he realises.
But one reason why he’s been using less than his and the nation’s potential is that he has become locked into a stable but stale-habit pattern of the old political school, which makes it all too easy to coast through a term of office without stretching the imagination and expanding the horizon.
It is why there seems to be a fog of uncertainty hanging over the speed and priority of crucial situations, decisions and policies.
In one breath, the government sings progressive tunes by vowing to follow an agenda of change while on the other hand it performs melodies to the old political tricks of intrigue, inaction, intolerance, blatant double-talk and sheer maladministration.
Yes, it is two years of change but the underlying current now, replicates the image of the previous two decades and this thought alone, gnaws at patriotic consciences and dulls the heart of true crusaders of change.
The nations myriad of problems as well as the immediate past political experiences, have allowed the government the luxury of escaping critical political scrutiny but I believe it is about time that it is put under the spotlight by well-meaning Sierra Leoneans as we approach a defining moment in our national life.
Rightly or wrongly and because of the urgency of the nation’s situation, the government needs to become a subject of subtle, constant and honest appraisal.
For one, years of poverty, corruption and unimaginable bad governance have taken their toll on the Sierra Leonean populace and created a real problem of distrust between the governors and the governed.
The long period of steady, virtuous mediocrity has also made the case for pessimism look rather plausible; leading to a scenario where the governors have created a siege mentality as well as a culture of perpetual dependence and gratitude for small mercies, in the governed.
The emergence of EBK was meant to help put this unflattering era of the nations past behind it and obliterate the grisly memory as well as put an end to the unhappy tale of national political history engendered by a succession of dysfunctional leadership.
EBKs initial take of the national problem indicated a clear perception of the enormity of the fundamental problem and a preparedness to knuckle down to the task to ensure the restoration of a humane, welfare-driven and re-invigorated society in all its critical sectors.
The now obvious ensuing dawdling that has become the trademark of the government is not only inexplicable but also inexcusable especially with the craving for a new lease of life, reaching a crescendo.
Anyone who says 2 years is too short for a visible and significant turn-around in the entire fortunes of the country, given how much has been pumped into the nation, is an enemy of progress. Period.
And there are cases near and far to prove that it can and has been done before.
No one is saying that the government is not making strides. Far from it.
What is being hammered home is that in view of the urgent needs and the resources available in the last twenty four months, we should be seeing far more substance than the solitary and intangible list of achievements.
Dragging the nation off its death bed was never going to be an easy job I agree. But that is specifically why EBK got his job in the first place and it is also why the so-called international community which had hitherto refused to lend a helping hand to the last regime, answered his SOS cry.
So under his watch, Sierra Leone can and should be better than it is right now.
It is gloriously ironic for the government and its apologists to want to milk the applause for Bumbuna and electricity returning to the country, yet squirm at the accusation of being like a crab or tortoise crawling down the road.
A leader is often judged by the company he keeps. EBKs ministers and the stream of foreign vultures circling over the strewn innards of the Sierra Leone carcass; are part of the reason why the silver lining seems distant and the upbeat mood of two years ago has lost its vibrancy.
Let’s not forget that figures can be made to prove almost anything.
Over the next three years, we shall discover if the exploits of the energy sector will reinforce the governments status as an achiever or if the regime is about to subside into accelerating irrelevance like previous administrations.
Already, the events of the past two years, coupled with the amount of aid that has been poured into the country, reveal the fatuity of government’s lamentable and vague mumblings about lack of financial resources to achieve greater things.
But as the government flies towards the halfway mark of its term and the last lap of its El-Dorado promise, there is the need for better vision, stronger faith and the wisdom to recognise a positive possibility.
There’s no doubt that the government has some justification pleading for understanding and there’s no gainsaying the fact that it has achieved a measure of success but the key is that social and economic issues are crying out for urgent and needed attention as well as deftness and determination.
For example, there is the need to help the people recover from the psychological trauma of the food crisis which was swiftly compounded by the global economic meltdown. And it is not electricity that will resolve this ailment.
To continuously see criticisms or attempts to highlight perceived shortcomings as the ranting of opposition groups or anti-government agents, is to plumb into the same old depraved depth of the past and spit in the face of the change mantra.
The over-reliance on the provision of energy as a panacea to the national malaise is also making the journey to recovery a tortuous experience.
But however much the soul of the nation has been ripped apart by current and past experiences, there will always be a part of its heart left.
And we can go on and on about the things that make us sad but there’s always a silver lining in the cloud, in the form of a better tomorrow.
That tomorrow should have started today. That is why the cry. That is why the goings on now is seen as an illusion of action.
To be continued.
Author: Raymond Dele Awoonor-Gordon
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