By Edison Yongai, Australia.
Sierra Leoneans everywhere did heave a sigh of relief when the presidential and parliamentary elections ran smoothly without any serious incident. But shall we heave the same sigh of relief for the approaching presidential run-off?
The power-thirstiness of African politicians is quite obvious. They always believe that “once in power always in power” even when they are no longer wanted by the electorate. A democratic institution that does not cherish change is bound to become the opposite of democracy. This has often been the cause of some, if not all, military coups and civil wars in Africa.
In the developed world, politicians resign quickly, and most times honourably, when they realize their characters are being tainted either by their own act or that of others. They believe that a political system that does not change or accept change becomes tyrannical, corrupt and an enormous danger to the citizenry.
In Africa, particularly in Sierra Leone, never-do-well governments of corrupt and over-ambitious officials fight to rule forever, even at the detriment of their own lives or those of innocent civilians, because they don’t want to be held accountable for their corrupt activities when they leave the throne.
Let me take the present situation of Sierra Leone where millions of dollars for post-war reconstruction have been pumped in by the international community, need not talk about the billions of dollars gained from mining activities - the country still has the darkest, the dirtiest and the most under-developed city in the world.
Ten years of war have shattered the lives of the youth and ten years of misrule have shattered those lives further but, unfortunately, it is the youth who are in the forefront today of fighting and risking their lives for those politicians who spat on them and threw them crumbs from the tables of their over-fed families and girlfriends.
Freetown has never faced any serious water shortage before except during President Kabbah’s SLPP rule. Sierra Leoneans have never faced hunger so much before except during the ten years after the war. The destruction done to lives and property, especially in Freetown, on President Kabbah’s return from exile when the AFRC put him to flight to Guinea, was equally more serious as that done to civilians by rebels. I can still remember the smoke rising from countless number of charred bodies of perceived opponents of the government set on fire by mad militants on the streets of Freetown. Many young men and women who should have been profitable contributors to the improvement of our country today were either butchered to death or burnt alive as President Kabbah happily regained his throne.
The August 11 2007 polls are a clear indication that the majority of the people no longer want the SLPP government to rule them for the next few years. If the government had been useful at all, the people feel it has outlived its usefulness. Its officials have used every means available to win the election - bribery, intimidation, etc. but the people of Sierra Leone have strongly demonstrated that they want a change of government. Sierra Leoneans will not afford to live on unfulfilled promises for the next four years or so. Kono District, which received more destruction than most other places in the country, cannot afford to live more years in its dilapidated and neglected form.
As the run-off election draws closer, this is the time for Sierra Leone youth to realize that they have been fooled before and cannot be fooled all the time. The youth can be bribed Le500,000 to Le600,000 today, but what happens when the money finishes and the wrong person is still in power? The poor youths are pushed back into the gutters. But I think this is the crucial time that The Youthman should think that sugar-coated vibes will not feed or clothe them for the next few years.
An old man once told me that bribe money is sweet to eat without doing what you are bribed for, especially from a buffoon politician who has pinched it from somewhere else.
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