Tejan-Cole’s resignation minces corruption fight in Sierra Leone
By the look of things, it is obvious that the recent resignation of the once vibrant Anti Corruption Commission boss has undermines the tough fight against crimson corrupt elements in Sierra Leone. Mr. Cole’s very resignation has minced the momentous fight against the dormant corruption fight in the ousted SLPP regime of former Ahmed Tejan Kabba. The corruption fight under the out gone president Kabbah regime was characterized by government interference into the Commission’s prosecutorial matter, unlike the APC which seems to give unfettered prosecutorial powers. Indeed the fight against corruption by the then Government was one that was treading on a snail pace with no prosecution and trials which many Sierra Leoneans came to see as a mere ‘white elephant.’ (Photo: Abdul Tejan-Cole)
With the ascendancy of president Koroma to the most powerful throne in the land, optimistic Sierra Leoneans have thought corruption would be something of the past. Hopes were indeed high when the first gentleman of the state took the bold venture in declaring his assets, though not publicly made known to the assessors (we the people), many saw it as a laudable precedent set in his no-nonsense fight against corruption.
Obviously, the present trials and humiliation faced by many Government ministers would have been avoided had there been a fare declaration of assets by government ministers and civil servants. But on the contrary, since many state’s functionaries had many things to hide under their sleeves, they obstinately refused to declare their assets as this can also be confirmed in our local parlance-‘monkey nor dae lef e black an’. Now, we the people have no other choice, but to look at these politicians with absolute contempt when they drag the country into the mud.
When the loud trumpet of change was blown in 2007 by H.E Ernest Bai Koroma, many Sierra Leoneans who had explored the Diaspora for quite a long time in search of ‘greener pastures’ started flooding the country- some with the ulterior motive of developing the country, while others with the sole aim of ‘milking the country dry.’ As the pull Him Down Syndrome (PHD) and witch-hunts are endemic in the politics of this country, many of these political entrepreneurs have seen the appointment of Mr. Abdul Tejan Cole as a threat and obstacle in executing their shady.
In the ubiquitous fuss over Mr. Tejan-Cole’s resignation, many Sierra Leoneans have absorbed the fear that the tough fight against endemic corruption in the country crippled and eventually come to sudden halt. In this standstill situation of filling in this vacuum created by the resignation of Mr. Tejan-Cole, concerned citizens are of the fear that unchecked practices of corruption have taken the centre stage in president Koroma’s must- do- list of Agenda for Change. The former ACC’s boss resignation was celebrated news for many government functionaries who saw his intolerable stance in the fight against this corruption disease which has plagued this nation with retrogressive backwardness. Now that Mr. Tejan- Cole is gone, these same people who have crucified this sacrificial lamb with intimidation and incessant abuse are making fuss over his resignation.
As the cliché that says, ‘when the mouse is away, the rats are always happy’, so the resignation of Mr. Tejan-Cole appears in the eye of some political vampires in Sierra Leone who are immersed in doing nothing but embraced corrupt practices. May God save Salone from the venomous clutches of marauding politicians. Amen.
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