Random musing – the last fig leaf of denial
The recent ‘peace-like-a-river accord’, by the gladiators in the billowing clouds of political incense and the encircling ocean of maneuverings in the SLPP, may end up as nothing more than a flea kiss – (you never feel it).
It is merely an exposé of the carefully coiffured political act that has covered the cracks and flaws in our main opposition group and which has crippled the effectiveness of the grand (?) old party.
With just over a year to go to the next general elections and as the build up sees everyone desperately searching for anything that will give them an edge, the internal politics of tiff over the garden fence, bickering and gratuitous distractions are not likely to diminish but gather momentum; especially as some are already reading meanings to the so-called accord.
Basically, the political mischief and imbroglio that have trailed the various crises in the party indicate a more sinister undertone rather than the lack of genuine democratic management or statesmanship.
And what the plethora of court cases and defections alongside the inherent gladiatorial mess engulfing the opposition groups in general reveal, is a flaw in our political DNA and a character, which hints at the moral bankruptcy and ideological prostitution of the dysfunctional rabble that we call politicians.
No doubt by extension, a national, general social decay.
However, the rather discomforting but poignant fact from the on-going pantomime in the SLPP is that “it ain’t a joke and we should really not be laughing,” even though it appears like a case of lions led by confused donkeys.
The SLPP, despite its benighted and chequered history flourishes as a party.
However, while it has often escaped the stormy seas on its path, it is surely in stagnant waters now with something like foot-in-the-mouth plasas and egg-on-the-face boil-stew menu.
But, you cannot have a tumour and continue to massage it with all the blood. It is just a fig leaf of denial.
Riddled with poisonous and selfish factions from old prejudices and stereotype, the party, since losing the last election, has yet to realise that being out of power makes you a name from the past and condemns you to a footnote on the page of current history.
Instead, like a spurned lover who clings to the hope of reconciliation against all the odds, the SLPP continues to adorn the mask of the ‘People’s Party’ without realising that apart from owing the same people an unreserved apology for betraying their trusts the last time round, its in-fighting and internal intrigues are doing its bruised and battered image no justice; while eroding the chances of re-grouping for power.
The slow song of the ruling party’s first term has started; yet there appears to be no one to hold the hands of the SLPP thus ensuring that it will end up with tears rolling down its cheeks as the 2012 music pitches on the high note.
The challenge for the SLPP was to look like a must-have designer outfit rather than a tailor’s dummy; but instead, its members are busy waving their hands like a happy drunk at the start of a funeral.
And this is why the 2012 election of a flag bearer and party unification, now look like two mountains for the party of the people; which is still struggling to climb the small fractitious hill of losing power in the last election.
Instead of making a headway on a landscape fit for a moonwalk, members of the party, still reeling from the self-inflicted sucker punch of 2007, have single-handedly and more than the surreptitious underplay and sponsored incursions of its rivals, ensured that the party is in no frame of electability, by putting its prime in the rear-view mirror.
To the average politician, politics is all about crude conquest maniacal ego trip irritating display of absolute ignorance and rabble rousing; as well as sectional, ethnic, religious and such shameless sentiments and that is why the underlying but unwritten principle of politics is ‘no permanent friends but permanent interests’.
So, granted that democratic practice presupposes that it is inevitable for some followers to seek redress through political litigations that will challenge the very fundamentals of the same process of democracy, it is delusional to think that what’s going on in the SLPP or the other groups, is a good showcase of democratic ideals.
Because what is true in our part of the world is that cross-carpeting and political litigations are more often than not, an effective tool of destabilisation, mischief, etc and the daily bread; or preening vanity, of habitual, star-gazing and/or obsessed political harlots.
The polarisation of opposition groups by and through extraneous influences as well as the internal disunity is also an unfortunate dynamics that our nascent democracy can do without.
Even if it is ineffective, a more united opposition, with committed and dedicated followers and leaders is generally preferable to enhance the image created after the last general elections.
The electorate would also always prefer that when the rock of governance is lifted, there is, like in 2007, an effective opposition available to run the government to the ground and keep it on its toes, challenge any perceived excesses and effectively ensure that the rule of law prevails always and the legislature is vibrant.
But, when you approach the task at hand at a time of intense desire, with as much sense of adventure as that of a butler laying out fine china for a state banquet, (as the SLPP seems to be doing), then those who are passionate about the development of our society and democracy are right to question the rationale of seeking any change from the current status quo.
While the existence of the SLPP would be a valuable component of the political plurality landscape, at least until there is a re-engineering of the Salone civil society itself, there is contradictory tripe in wanting to be different and yet displaying the morals of a stray dog.
What three and a half years of reactionary inertia and the inability to fundamentally address its inherent problems have produced; is the-lit-match-in-a-crate-of-dynamite scenario, which is now tugging at the very seams of the party.
If they do not gather their acts together and find a formula to resolve the issues tearing them apart amicably, the elders and rank and file of the SLPP will discover that they have chewed their way through a swarm of wasps and have ended up pressing the self-destruct button.
Somehow, politicians think they exist in a bubble. But without a shadow of doubt and at the rate they are going, it will take another decade or more before they can think of smelling the corridors of power.
Those who are hung up on nostalgia can pretend that today is yesterday when the party was running the country and just go out and continue to have one hell of an imaginary time.
The lickspittles and grovellers in the servant quarters can also start fuming about this perception. But those who are not snared can reflect on this for its national importance and the significance to Sierra Leone’s political development.
Several years ago in the chambers of the legislative house, the then German Chancellor, Helmut Kohl, told a fuming opposition bench in unmistakable language: “Ladies and Gentlemen of the opposition, bark as much as you will, the caravan is pulling on”.
That appears succinctly to be the message to the opposition groups in general and the warring factions in the green corner, in particular.
By: Raymond Dele Awoonor-Gordon. awogordon@yahoo.co.ukStay with Sierra Express Media, for your trusted place in news!
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