Mustapha Wai’s keynote address at Sierra Leone’s 50th Independence Anniversary candlelight vigil
Hosted by Sierra Leone Youth Facebook group, “Le We Talk” April 30, 2011, Hyattsville, Maryland, USA
My Fellow “Le We Talk” Members; Organizers of this Historic 50th Independence Candlelight Vigil; My Fellow Countrymen and Women; Friends of Sierra Leone present; All protocols observed:I must first of all profoundly thank the organizing members of this historic event for doing such a fantastic job. You know, when I was ask to deliver the address at this event, I could not help but ask one question– “What time should I arrive at the event?” In response, I was told to report at 4:00 pm. I made sure to ask whether it was 4:00 GMT as in Greenwich Mean Time or AMT as in African Mean Time. Contrary to popular perception, we are actually here on time starting at 8:00 GMT or 4:00 AMT.
Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in putting our hands together for our brothers and sisters who worked tirelessly in making today’s event such a proud moment for all of us.
My brothers and sisters, about half a century ago, the people’s cry for freedom, independence, and self-determination spread across the continent of Africa. My native country, Sierra Leone was no exception as our founding fathers embarked on a bold journey laying the bedrock for what our sovereign nation has become today. But this journey has been anything but a smooth ride. As the renowned astronomer, Dr. Carl Sagan once said, “you have to know the past to understand the present”; equally so, our accurate prediction of the future depends on our ability to understand today.
On this note, I would like to take a moment to share with you a synopsis of Sierra Leone’s journey. I promise to make it quick. I know we are here to also enjoy ourselves and not necessarily to listen to “langa langa” speeches. I therefore ask for your indulgence for just a moment.
Current day Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, with a natural harbor sandwiched between two rivers– the Sierra Leone River and the Sherbro River, became an ideal place where slave ships anchored to trade with local chiefs as part of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. This same site was selected by the British Abolitionist, Granville Sharp for his experiment in philanthropy—the securing of a safe haven for freed slaves. Upon the abolition of slave trade, Freetown became the destination for freed slaves. In 1808, immediately after the abolition of slave trade, the British government established Freetown as a base for campaign against slave ships.
During much of the 19th century, the colony around Freetown remained small although the British entered into treaties of friendship with local chiefs along the neighboring coastal areas. But as the scramble for Africa grew, the British realized that a deeper hinterland was necessary for Freetown to remain valuable. The threat of the French occupation and expansion of their colony in neighboring Guinea to the east was a paramount concern in the British expansion of the colony of Sierra Leone.
By 1896, Britain had entered into an agreement with French-Guinea to the east and independent Liberia to the south. The imposition of a protectorate of Sierra Leone was underway. Without their consultation on this development, the local chiefs became angry and launched an uprising in 1898, the most notable of which was the Hut Tax War, led by Bai Bureh. An agreement was subsequently reached where the local chiefs retained much of their local authority under the overall authority of the British Administration, while some of them were appointed to the legislative council in Freetown.
After World War II, an era that brought exposure to many of our founding fathers, the limited political involvement in the central administration was generally seen as inadequate as internal self-government based on universal political suffrage was introduced in 1951. This marked the beginning of the ultimate struggle for an independent state. On April 27, 1961, Sierra Leone became an independent state. Ladies and gentlemen, it is this day that we are here to commemorate.
But as we look back at the last 50 years since independence, the legacy of slavery and colonialism seem to fade away when it comes to accounting for factors responsible for our demise as a country and the entire Continent of Africa. Therefore, I ask that we reflect on history honestly. By so doing, we must give credit where credit belongs and hold to account where need be. In the case of Sierra Leone, the few years immediately following independence became the most memorable functioning democracy as the county declined into a long era of repressive rule, corrupt regimes, and military coups and by the end of the century, a terrifying state of anarchy witnessed by a civil war considered by many as the most brutal of our time.
This state left our country handicapped in terms of its ability to harness its natural resources as well as its human capital. And we the youth making up the largest population demography have come to bear the most consequences. We were the child soldiers and political thugs, and most of us were out of school during the entire eleven years of the civil war. It is now clear that our proactive involvement in deciding our future is more than critical.
However, recent development in Sierra Leone shows prospect. There is evidence we are moving in the right direction with a reasonable degree of optimism. Over the last decade, particularly after the civil war which ended around 1998, Sierra Leone has taken a bold step in the right direction. The holding of three consecutive relatively free and fair elections, particularly the most recent one in which state power turned over from a ruling party to the opposition. I believe these achievements were largely facilitated by the creation of an atmosphere that respects fundamental human rights including freedom of speech, rule of law, and political tolerance. I therefore call on all Sierra Leoneans, particularly you the youth, to stand up to the moment and get involved in moving our country forward. We must unite in pursuit of a shared national vision to develop our nation regardless of our tribe, origin, race, economic status, or gender.
The next fifty years will be remembered for what you and I do today and tomorrow. Our children will look back in history fifty years from now and judge us based on the legacy we leave them. I therefore believe that this moment in history is just as promising for Sierra Leone as the moment when freedom came and independence spread across the continent of Africa giving birth to new nations. But the heroes of this new movement will not be giants like Bai Bureh or Sir Milton Margai and others who will determine Sierra Leone’s future. Instead, it will be you and me. It will be the young men and women brimming with talent, energy, national pride, and hope with uncompromising commitment to claim the future that so many in previous generations were unable to realize.
But to realize that promise, we must first recognize the fundamental truth that must be brought to life in Sierra Leone: Development cannot be achieved without good, accountable and transparent governance; good, accountable and transparent governance cannot be achieved without a vibrant democracy; democracy cannot be achieved without free, fair and transparent elections; free and fair elections cannot be achieved unless demanded by the people; and the people are you and me. It is our fundamental civic duty to hold our leaders and public officials accountable. I therefore ask you to join me in answering the call by our president in his 50th Independence celebration speech for public monitoring under the framework, “Transparency Sierra Leone”.
Often times, we tend to blame our government for all the challenges our nation face. What we fail to realize is that our government is made up of our brothers and sisters that we elect. Therefore, our government is as good as the due diligence we exercise in electing the kinds of brothers and sisters who serve us. It is therefore incumbent on us to elect those of our brothers and sisters with honor, good moral standing, and moreover those that have a sense of commitment to development for the greater good. This is the ingredient which has been missing for far too long. This is the change that can unlock Sierra Leone’s potential. And this is a responsibility that can only be met by all Sierra Leoneans, particularly you the youth.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is only with this ingredient that our country will take its rightful place in the global village. The true sign of success of our country is not to be measured by the amount of donor handouts or the numbers of sources for perpetual aid that help us get by. Instead, it’s whether we are partners engaged in arms-length transactions geared toward building the capacity for sustainable transformational change—a change that is built on the bedrock of true democracy as opposed to selective democracy; equal opportunity as opposed to nepotism; accountability and transparency as opposed to corruption; and peaceful resolution of conflicts as opposed to violence and civil wars.
With these ingredients in place, Sierra Leone can become a better country. I have no doubt that Sierra Leoneans including all of you in the Diasporas hold the promise of a broader base of prosperity. It is self-evident. Witness the extraordinary success of Sierra Leoneans in America. You’re doing very well. So there is no doubt you’ve got what it takes to make a better country. You’ve got the talent, you’ve got the entrepreneurial spirit, you’ve got the technical knowhow; and more importantly, you’ve got the financial power. The question is, how do we make sure that we succeed in Sierra Leone and thereby help in the nation building effort?
Sierra Leone is one of the richest countries in the world in terms of natural resources. We’ve got diamonds, gold, iron ore, bauxite, rutile, timber, etc. And guess what? We now have oil. From the small Ormolanka rider, to Abacher street vendors, cookery shops owners and small farmers, Sierra Leoneans have shown the capacity and commitment to create their own opportunities. But old habits must also be broken. We cannot become what we dream of being what we are. We can only be competitive as a nation if everyone is empowered to reach his/her individual maximum productive capacity.
Ladies and gentlemen, I am not going to tell you that this promise is going to come easy. It will only be done if all of you take personal responsibility for our future. It will take time and effort. It won’t be a smooth ride. There will be challenges and setbacks. Sometimes the future will appear out of reach. But we must keep matching towards the promise. For the opportunity we are longing for won’t come from any other place. It will come from the decisions that we all make, the things that we do, and the hope that we share and hold in our hearts.
The independence we are celebrating today is our inheritance. Now, it is our responsibility to build upon the foundation enshrined in the freedoms brought by it. And if we do, we will look back fifty years from now to places like Kabala, Sulima, Koindu, Freetown and everywhere in-between and say this was the time when the promise was realized; this was the moment when prosperity was forged, when pain was overcome, and a new era of development began.
Long live Sierra Leone! And Happy 50th Birthday! Congratulations to all of you.
Thank You.
Mustapha Wai, USA
Stay with Sierra Express Media, for your trusted place in news!
© 2011, https:. All rights reserved.
