Cheap lies and poor propaganda
A friend of mine who recently arrived from the USA drew my attention to the ongoing construction work on the much adorned Congo Cross/Wilkinson Road in the west end of the city. (Photo: Adeyemi Paul, author)
My friend wanted to know the rationale behind the expansion and who stands to benefit after the completion of the road.
Some of his questions, I admitted, I didn’t have answers for. Personally, I told him that when completed the road will stand out as the pride of Sierra Leone. He asked why. I pointed out to him that for the first time in the history of this 50-year old country, we will be driving on a four-lane highway, a major infrastructural development initiated by the Ernest Bai Koroma led government.
My USA friend stood aghast and asked: “you said what, a four-lane highway?”
The guy was amused. He was turning things in his head. For him, the idea of a four lane highway in the Sierra Leonean context was an amazing joke.
“Ade,” he turned to me, his eyes wide open. “You call a two track road four-lane?”
“Well, that is what the authorities here want us to believe,” I replied rather embarrassingly.
I recalled that when the idea of a four lane was mooted, it created a whole lot of excitement among the local population here. Today everyone is looking forward to the speedy completion of our darling road with much excitement.
I turned to my friend and said to him: “whether you like it or not, Wilkinson Road is a four lane highway”.
The man was a little cynical. “In the US when we talk of four-lane, it means four vehicles going opposite direction way. What I‘m seeing at Wilkinson Road is a two track road – two vehicles running opposite direction,” the young man explained.
With a subdued expression of ignorance, I told him that Sierra Leone was not the USA. Our own meaning of a four-lane might be different from what the Americans consider as a four-lane highway.
Upon a second thought, that is, after listening to my friend, I realized that as old as fifty years as is Sierra Leone, even the most educated, do not understand what a four-lane highway means. We have all swallowed the lie ignorantly, cheap lie at that, just as President Koroma said at the recent Makeni Agricultural show, that during his second term in office Sierra Leone would no longer import rice.
Cheap lie and poor propaganda at work again!
Sierra Leoneans have heard that before: “By 2007 we’ll not go to bed hungry…our stomachs will be full”. We were told so by our then president.
Now it is President Koroma yet again raising false hopes in Sierra Leoneans.
Why is it that politicians take delight in telling lies, I ask myself? How is President Koroma going to do the magic? The one million euro question!
And listen to him: he inherited 30 tractors when he took office in 2007 and boasted that in a short spell in office, his government was able to acquire 300 tractors for the farmers. But an old farmer retorted upon hearing his promise and remarked ‘when there were only 30 tractors a cup of rice was being sold between Le 300-400. Now that we have three hundred tractors at the disposal of farmers a cup of rice is being sold at Le 1,000.
Given the current economic trend, how will President Koroma achieve his goal? In any case, Sierra Leoneans welcomed his pronouncement with great expectation. The day we stop importing rice, that day every Sierra Leonean will go bed with a full belly, the dream of the last president.
Like President Kabbah, like President Ernest Koroma, the saying goes. We pray that their dreams may come true, but Sierra Leoneans are tired of listening to cheap lies.
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Fuad
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Some of you are stupid and the way you interpret issues is bias and self destructive. Not what goes in America goes around the world.
6th April 2011In china when they talk of four lane is very simple. the number is four, either is a 2*2 or 4 single. that is whether it is a 2 way track or four way track they are called lane.
Some of you are so selfish and disgruntled that if you are today given positions, you will be the most selfish and destructive element.
No matter what your interpretation of four lane might be in your american context, what we illiterate Sierra leoneans know is that, Wilkinson road is a four lane track.
babson kolleh
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Ade. please hold your breathe and be patient. President Koroma is doing his best to salvage our dead economy and our present living conditions. It is not an easy task. The rice importation issue was a target by His Excellency and not just lies. Sometimes we don’t have to put all the blame on our Leaders as you guys normally do. Our own brothers and sisters are also to be blame for the lack of support and their non-patriotic attitude. Remember the old saying, You can take a cow to the river but you can’t force it to drink. The President has made (UNCOUNTABLE)number of calls countrywide for Sierra Leoneans to embark on food production but who cares. Look at the city of Freetown filled with idlers doing sweet nothing, 85% of them abandoned and migrated to the city. Imagine, the vast fertile lands in our countryside wasting, no body wants to become a farmer this our days, All the farmers are now in the city lanquishing with no good food to eat and some are even homeless. The few farmers that produce rice and other food stuff smuggle their produce to neighbouring Guinea and Liberia at our own expense so are you blaming the President for not achieving his clarion calls to be self sufficient with our staple food. (NO Mister), I don’t think so. I think we have to start all over again with the UN drive (DDR)of returning these useful farmers and provide them accomodation and cash to start with A NEW life back in the farms. Register all of them with a secretariat set up to monitor their activities. This is just a suggestion about your article captioned cheap lies, It is not a one man show but it is all our concerted efforts. Anyway Keep it up.
6th April 2011Alphonso Williams
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(Cheap lies and poor propaganda)
I had a similar discussion with some Sierra Leoneans living in the UK a couple of weeks ago, and I had to also educate them that it is not a four lane road, but a dual carriage way.
Dont blame the fools!
6th April 2011