Sierra Leoneans are we pagans?

It has been a while since I visited the main outlets to our audience. I have been active though in Facebook and other social media. Our country Sierra Leone has done impressively well in moving forward with development. The government as one would see is forging ahead with development so are the people of Sierra Leone. My topic of the day, ‘Are we pagans?’ The answer is an emphatic no! This is just a way of magnifying our faith and to continue motivating ourselves to hold on to the cord of unity. (Photo: Augustine Kamara, author)

As we move on in our search of development and peace it is worth reflecting once in a while to evaluate trends of events that oversee our beloved country in her present form of development. There is time for every purpose. Now is the time for every Sierra Leonean to stand to the test of our survival. Sierra Leone is a praying nation that believes in both Christianity and Islam. If this is right, then we should do the things that are reflective of our religious commandments. Our ugly past gave us a bad stigma for nearly two decades as a barbaric nation. Praise be to God and Al-Hamdullilah, that awkward picture has changed. Please let us continue in honoring the glory of God almighty for making us a peaceful nation once again. The present status of our country is now a hypersensitive one where every Sierra Leonean is aspiring for a luxurious life especially after the past decades of sufferings. This is because too much of anticipation is placed on our minerals and hidden wealth. God has blessed us with these potentials, and it is expected that a realization of this wealth should reach every Sierra Leonean. This is where we have to show our piousness and civil duties for the needful be done. We can either gain or lose everything. We can gain if we show patriotism and continuous prayers for God’s guidance. Both our leaders and we the governed must show unity and honesty. Is this possible? Yes I believe so if we work hard, avoid the blame game, and hatred for one another. It will not be possible because of unfairness and external evil forces. Forces that have been implanted since colonization times the “Divide and rule policy”. The neglect of our culture, dishonesty, and disobedience of law and order has made our development to move at a snail’s pace.

I know I am treading on a dangerous path by being bold and showing light to those who cannot see the light. Our problems are manifold and trying to unravel them by a single person or government alone is impossible. This is where we need to have awareness.

As a nation we have to be educated about being patriotic so that we can stand together and unite for the common good and develop our country. We have had series of successions of leaderships in our country and through the divide and rule policy and the neglect or respect of our cultures we were never united. What were the results? We are seeing brainwashing with political agendas and camouflaging foreign interest policies that brought us down the ladder of human dignity. Today we are left with our dirty politics of hate and insincerity still going on. We are exposed to the virtues of disrespect. What does it feel to be called a corrupt nation? This is the biggest insult an evaluator can give to his student. We are evaluated by foreign governments as being corrupt, yet it is those foreign governments that are doing business with us. Are these governments innocent? Are they not part of the bargain? Are we pagans or morons as to not envisage the truth?

We have to change our way of thinking. A few years after a senseless war should send some senses into our skull boxes. The aftermath of the war has brought keen competition for development. Political rivalry is still sending wrong signals across the country. Infighting within party members, dishonesty in accepting positive actions. We have to accept a fact that no one will help us to develop our country except ourselves.

Since independence we have seen series of coup d’états that hampered the progress of the nation. What did we gain? Nothing except underdevelopment, lack of education, poor health facilities, and poverty. Are these not warning signs to help us correct ourselves? The positive signs of development going on in the country should be applauded and embraced with honor. This will set positive legacies for the next leadership to continue in adding up to positive trends. As we pray also we have to avoid malicious lies against our neighbors, hypocritical actions in deceiving ourselves and our nation. This will show true patriotism and progressive nation.

Today we are seeing a flock of investors to our country. Have we asked ourselves what interests lies behind this influx? I am not standing in their way, but as enlightenment to our nation. These are developed nations, that do not need us, and they would care less if we are developed or not. Their interest would be for their purpose of gaining our raw materials to enhance their growth. It is therefore fair that a symbiotic process be reached in the negotiations. Unfortunately previous governments have defaulted in this area of negotiations. Subsequent governments are now struggling to mend fences with those bad inherited contracts. We have to take a break and assure these investors that we have a right to calibrate their actions too.

We have to stop our infighting as Sierra Leoneans . Let us think great and compete with the influx. We are losers if we do not stop fighting one another. Let us not be pagans.

Augustine Kamara

Stay with Sierra Express Media, for your trusted place in news!