By Syl Cheney-Coker, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Hello Gibril,
With regards to your paper: ten years is a long time in any endeavour, be it that of a marathon, or the nerves of steel required for writing a novel. In these troubled times, when the Egyptian regime and others of a very disquieting tendency are busy locking up journalists ( a most unacceptable outrage to me), the newspaper business in much of Africa is also one of fortitude and challenge.
On the whole, I believe you have done fairly well informing the diaspora about what is happening in Sierra Leone, and vice versa. Your paper is quite well edited and not hard on the eyes. Quite often, no doubt from your advantageous relationship to some of the hierarchical actors of the Sierra Leonean political narrative, you have published informative articles not available in other outlets.
But, recently, there seems to be a worry sense of aporia, regarding what is deemed important, on a daily basis, and what is regarded as evanescent. It seems to me, and perhaps to quite a few others, judging from the correspondences in some of your editions, that there is too much political encomium in the recent editions, thus leaving very little space for some of the things you used to do very well: articles by your contributing editors on the arts, environment and social justice in Sierra Leone and the region.
So, while I congratulate you on keeping this fine paper going, and being aware that no one really spits in one’s own hat, may I say that, as with all ventures, we will be most glad of the need to see the variegated sense of colour and voices of Sierra Leone occasionally reflected more.
My very best wishes to you and the paper for another ten years to come!!
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