Sierra Leone: A bird’s eye view on enemies of the nation, and progress on attitudinal change

I do not know who Mr. Osman Boie is, as a matter of fact, I know a friend who is a strong advocate of Mr. 0sman, who is trying to influence my vote for him. This reference by name is by no means to defame Mr. Boie but to put a national point of interest across, when one hears the magnitude of his involvement in the ambiguous vanishing of the largest diamond discovered in Sierra Leone an astounding 1,444 carat miraculously replaced by a grain of 104 Carat while he was Mines Director.  (Photo: Dr Augustine Kamara, author)

Surely, as a concerned and patriotic citizen of Sierra Leone I am inclined to raise an eyebrow. Many questions should be asked and this is a matter to be treated of utmost importance.  The minerals of any country are blessings of that nation and proceeds of those minerals should be used for the sustenance of that nation. Why a case of this nature should be left under the table for so long without thorough investigations.   How many more cases of a similar nature have been condoned or waiting until the last minute, is the 64000 dollar  thousand question?

We have seen how delaying in solving national issues could be dangerous. Could it be that Sierra Leoneans are still naive that we are afraid of asking pertinent questions in the heat of the moment? Give me a break!  President Earnest Koroma is here with attitudinal change with freedom of speech and good practice of democratic governance, freedom of   the press, religious and political tolerance, there is no more going to be any” SHUMU SHUMU talk least to say falsification of any kind.  The eyes of all Sierra Leoneans are now wide open and can  see clearly and ready to remove all obstacles that have once plagued our freedom and development in the hands of swindlers or 419ers or political bandits.  Therefore, everything has to be on the table for transparency and accountability.

If we are to remain progressive and developed, transparency should be the rule otherwise our future sons and daughters of Africa shall ask the questions that we may shy away from answering and perhaps with an ugly price. God forbid it. As history evolves let’s take our place in history positively. As we move forward with development in beleaguered Sierra Leone the race for achieving higher goals features in many meaningful Sierra Leoneans agenda. In so doing one should take into consideration  past mistakes that have crippled our country’s economy and have it dwarfed in many ways also.

Therefore, its correction time baby, and onward with progressive attitudinal change. In this article I am featuring the chief immigration officer Mr. Alpha Kholifa Koroma and his department.   Let me start by thanking Mr. Koroma for the facelift he has given to the immigration department. The immigration though needs to be removed from its present location to a more respectable space considering its importance to the country in combating unnecessary influx of undesirable aliens. The opportunity of meeting with the immigration chief when I applied for a landing visa for a proposed businessman to Sierra Leone and the efficacy in which the issue was handled gave me an impression of professionalism in Mr. Koroma’s handling of affairs in the immigration bureau.

One particular question he asked me during the interview was if the proposed businessman has anything going on in Sierra Leone? I answered in the negative-he then politely told me that he would approve him for a single entry until he begins something on the ground.  Unlike in the past, when the gates of the airport were frequently left open like that of a pub, free to enter free to leave without much scrutiny. I was also impressed by not being harassed for a tip a common occurrence in the past. This is a good practice which is reflective of President Bai Koroma attitudinal change.

I was also impressed with the foreign ministry’s facelift and protocol in controlling visitors. By and large many signs of development are seen in the construction and recon-structuring of roads. The need for decentralizing remains to be seen by many city folks to the rural areas.  Thanks to the African Minerals and London Mining Companies that have brought employment to Sierra Leoneans. In fact most of towns in those mining areas are bubbling with youths who have been either hired or waiting to be hired.

Within this growth of development a few hiccups still faced the unemployed lack of skilled knowledge has left some of our youths unemployed. However, among these unemployed some expressed some form of dismay that some unskilled jobs like cleaning still go to foreign workers. Another interesting discovery is the presence of copper in the Lunsar mines blended with the hematite originally known to be present there. Perhaps this finding which is still a rumor should let government take a second look at our mineral deposits. There is a great possibility of more minerals deposit in one area than originally thought to be. Don’t you think attitudinal change should be extended to the mining companies? This is a food for thought .

Written by Dr. Augustine A. Kamara, Virginia, USA

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