The case for or against Mr. John Oponjo Benjamin
Within the last two weeks, I have read, with very keen interest, the different articles on John Oponjo Benjamin’s personal and political life but I was more drawn to the claims on his personal life as it relates to his Sierra Leonean citizenship and his origins – son of a German father affiliated with Nazism.
Often times we talk about not attacking people’s personal lives in our political debates. We frown at people who do so and we sometimes give them all kinds of labels. We have seen, for example, in the United States, how the politics of personal attack either draws sympathy for the victim, or leaves them paralyzed in a manner that makes it very difficult for them to bounce back. A case in point is Mr. John Kerry and the “Swift Boat” advertisement during the 2004 elections campaign against Mr. George W. Bush. Mr. Kerry waited too long to respond to this cruel propaganda from the George Bush camp so much that by the time he noticed the damage to his reputation as a celebrated Vietnam Veteran, it was too late; hence part of the reasons why he lost that election to George W. Bush.
In one of their last debates during the 2008 elections, the celebrated Army Veteran and long time Senator, John McCain, referred to the highly admired Harvard graduate and young Senator Barrack Obama, as “That One” after he, McCain, made a statement and tried to tie it to a very receptive Obama. Most Americans, white and black alike, saw this reference – “That One” as demeaning and somehow reflects a tendency of McCain being dismissive of Obama as a “Nobody” – a “thing”; and not somebody worthy of anything of significance. I don’t want to say, but I think this is part of why most voters had a change of mind against Senator McCain at the 11th hour! People inherently tend to gravitate to the most available propaganda out there because the actual details are sometimes either too hard to come by or there is no time to search for them.
We may find it politically expedient to exploit the personal weaknesses of our political opponents and attempt to paralyze them using such weaknesses; but the question is, where would that take us? It takes us right back into the “attack mode”, consequently crowding our sense of reasoning and rationalization; thereby rendering our message and mission completely unmelodious in the ears and distasteful on the tongues of our opponents! Most of us have found ourselves, at some point or the other, in this same “attack mode”. It hasn’t been too helpful in educating our opponents about our political ideals and our right to function as the legitimately elected government in our country. It makes mockery of and renders our cyber support as nothing more than a travesty of journalistic decency as it relates to political campaigning and; of course, a clear show of what I would describe as deliberate moral ineptitude. Something therefore has to be done differently, and very fast!
We must now imbibe or revert to a culture of debating the issues, very strictly, so that excerpts of such debates could be proudly featured in major worldly magazines which discuss politics but with emphasis on African Politics. I personally hate anyone who tries to promote tribal disparity, racism or bigotry anywhere in the world and my Sierra Leone is no exception. You cannot get people to listen to what you have to say if your message is full of falsehood and is cleverly calculated to deceive others into believing that what you are telling them is true. People usually catch up so very fast, especially in this 21st century which has brought so many possibilities in terms of how we receive and consume information.
While it is important to recount the political past of Mr. John Benjamin to include even his origins, it is also, in my opinion, very imperative to talk about the things that he has still not told us as a people! Is Mr. Benjamin ready for sustainable peace in Sierra Leone? Is he a true representation of what the SLPP inculcates and embodies? Is he promoting the SLPP or his personal interests? Does he have Sierra Leone at heart or is he just faking it? Can the SLPP rely on his leadership of an opposition party that is fighting so very hard to bounce back? Would his leadership bring us closer to one another or continue to separate us along political and tribal lines? Is he ready to leave behind a proud political legacy?
These are very sweet topics on which we could debate and bring out the best in us without being abrasive or vulgar with one another. We must, as educated Sierra Leoneans, establish a college of decency within our discussion forums because that is what we teach to our numerous students in the colleges and universities or in the organizations where we work around the world. We put on our best behavior in our respective jobs even when we disagree with our superiors but here we are devouring one another in the name of promoting our political ideologies.
I am therefore calling upon all forum moderators to adopt a system of bringing to attention anyone who strays away from discussing or debating the issues at hand but instead wants to tell us how many pounds of human flesh that someone consumed in the “golaun tongia” forest in beautiful Sierra Leone. Let those people be weeded out of the forums because they probably lack any fiber of decency in them and therefore must not be tolerated in the world of academia or the world of “common sense”.
Those who were defending and putting their reputation on the line for Dr. Ahmed Tejan Kabbah and Mr. Solomon Berewa are probably scurrying around trying to protect their sorry lives while the two men continue to bask in affluence and peace of mind. People listen to what we say and watch what we do without saying a word. The Sierra Leonean is good at keeping quiet but very active at identifying perpetrators. We saw examples of how a nation that was thought to be very quiet and peaceful reacted to people like the great Alhaji Musa Kabia, Mr. Abu Black; Sheik Mustaba; Paramount Chief Adikalie Modu of Port Loko and many others. We saw how peace and silence was substituted with violence and anarchy; and yet we attempt to turn a blind eye to this reality. As gullible as the people of our nation were, these kinds of ugly reactions were unavoidable at the time.
Now that we have learned the unfortunate lessons of how mankind could metamorphose into a monster overnight, we owe it to ourselves and to generations yet unborn to lay the foundations for lasting peace in our nation. The politics of personal attacks and that of tribal supremacy could not be a suitable recipe for a sweet democracy!
Brima Michael Turay (BMT), Assistant PRO; APC North America
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