And the good work continues

After the shocking and grief-stricken moments that gripped the country following the deaths of two senior statespersons – Sierra Leone’s first mother, Mama Alice Koroma and Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Honorable Chukuma Johnson – President Koroma (together with the APC leadership) has demonstrated that he has the wherewithal to continue the rapid progress the country has been witnessing despite those great losses. (Photo: Umaru Jah, IA, Germany)

I must say that though in both sudden and anticipated death, there is pain that is difficult to get over but we nevertheless have to move on as a nation. Hearing about the loss of your parent can be extremely difficult to handle, but then, we must remember that there is one thing the Almighty has still got control of – the birth and death of a man. This is the right moment for us all to bow down to him, ask for peace and forgiveness and pray that our beloved mother and deputy speaker continue their good works in eternity.

One thing those losses have shown us is that even though we might belong to different political groups, we still have a common bound that tied us together as a people and a nation. We have all seen how people from all walks of life, not excluding the opposition SLPP and its leadership, in a united manner empathized and sympathized in their own way with President Koroma and his family during the funeral of Mama Alice. The same, I believe, will apply to former deputy speaker of parliament, Hon. Chukuma Johnson. I have to stress again that this is a clear sign of the solidarity and distinct democratic tolerance that exist in our beloved country.

It is against this backdrop that I join the whole nation to mourn the deaths of Mama Alice and Hon. Jukuma Johnson. MAY THEIR SOULS REST IN PERFECT PEACE.

As the government including the people of Sierra Leone, is preparing to move on with development activities after those sad moments, I want to join the bandwagon by continuing with my usual swap of ideas regarding the Ernest Koroma administration, its success and achievements which have been transforming mother Sierra Leone to a better place.

This article will take a slight turn especially after my last critique, where I explicitly described the APC success as a catch all strategy, which has attracted many new players impressed with the government’s sound development agenda, prompting more critics to realise the nitty-gritty of our media campaign messages.

Yes, I will call it media campaign because it is planned, coordinated, sustained and multifaceted and is designed to accomplish a pragmatic goal – to provide accurate information to the public regarding government’s strides to make Sierra Leone a better place for all. Readers of my articles will agree with me that I have been accusing those failing to acknowledge the good work of the Ernest Koroma led-government even when facts, figures and the reality on the ground authenticate our arguments. But it now seems as if our persuasive and awareness-raising messages aimed at giving reasons as to why we continue to market the good work of the Ernest Koroma’s leadership have not only started paying dividend but also making incentive appeals.

This was evident in an article written by Oswald Hanciles, published on Cocorioko in July 4, 2012. It was about an erudite Sierra Leonean based in the US, fondly called Behmankhan who according to Oswald, “has been a constant caustic critic of the APC government (s) and President Ernest Bai Koroma,” but now acclaimed President Koroma’s role in Agriculture which has seen remarkable improvements in cocoa exports and other development initiatives in recent times. The reason being that adequate information has been provided to him by the Hon. Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Sam Sesay, whose continued efforts in helping President Koroma to realize his priority in Agriculture has remain extraordinary.

Going back to the Behmankhan issue, this is exactly what is expected of a critic. One who expresses valued judgment and weighs a particular combination of factors both for and against a particular schema. Though I have not seen most of his criticisms as I am not a member of their social media forum, I strongly believe that he (Behmankhan) is constructive in his criticisms and even provide solutions to problems he thinks affect local famers in the country. That is why he gave advice regarding government subsidies to farmers to enhance their livelihood. The information received by Behmankhan is what spurred him to ascertain the fact that Ernest Koroma is doing well in Agriculture. It has nothing to do with his political affiliation or views, which I honestly respect because man by nature is a political animal. And we shouldn’t share the same views when it comes to party politics.

Therefore, we are going to continue with our effective dissemination of messages to offer a series of substantive arguments for or against the development goals of the Ernest Koroma administration, buttressed by credible evidence and well sourced assertions for critics to decipher. As communications experts, we will use all what it takes to change the beliefs regarding the probability component as our prime communication strategy. Again, I am calling on colleagues in our media campaign strategies to let the beat go on …

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