Commentary
By Dr. Peter A. Dumbuya, Freetown, Sierra Leone.*
Whenever possible, I attend ceremonies commemorating the end of World Wars I and II, and those commissioning newly enlisted men and women in uniform. I do so in memory of my late father (May His Soul Rest in Peace!) who, along with his compatriots, fought as part of the British Empire’s West African Frontier Force in World War II in Burma and Myohaung, among other places. Fast forward to the present; relatives, friends, and acquaintances of mine serve in
the armed forces in Sierra Leone and in the United States of America.
And so when I learned about Armed Forces Day, I decided to attend the celebration, and I appreciated every bit it. I met friends I had not seen in decades, conversed with accredited dignitaries from other countries, and greeted friends in and out of the political class, including HE the President, Vice President, Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Defense, Information, and Transport, and the Inspector-General of the Sierra Leone Police. For me, it was an evening to remember with photos to prove it!
This Year’s Celebration
On February 16, 2002, the then President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah declared an end to one of the most brutal civil wars (1991-2002) in the modern history of Africa. The conflict cost the lives of thousands of non-combatants, wrecked the economy, and devastated the educational system.
So it is a fitting tribute to the service and memories of the uniformed men and women who lost their lives defending the nation against rebels without a cause that February 16 should now be commemorated as Armed Forces Day in Sierra Leone.
The three-day celebration began with an interdenominational thanksgiving service at the Hockey Pitch (Wilberforce Barracks) and a pilgrimage to the war graves, and ended yesterday (February 18) with performances by personnel of the military’s physical training wing, a colorful and masterful display of talent by the winners of the drill competition (4th Brigade from Makeni), and the presentation of awards to a Brigadier-General (Mamadi Keita) and two non- commissioned officers for their service at home and in peace keeping missions in other African countries. The armed forces band played a variety of musical compositions that were truly original and entertaining.
President Ernest Bai Koroma’s speech highlighted major themes that reflect Sierra Leone’s domestic concerns with professionalizing its armed forces and its growing international commitments to peace keeping missions on the continent. These are sacrifice, rewards for gallantry and bravery, discipline (which drew a loud applause from the audience outside the security barriers to the left of where I sat), duty to one’s country, due diligence, improvements in pay and living conditions, and augmenting the conditions of service for the members of the armed forces. External support to countries wracked by civil conflicts and therefore similarly situated to Sierra Leone before President Kabbah declared on February 16, 2002, that “de war don don” is manifested in the country’s participation in peace keeping missions in the DR Congo, Sudan, Somalia, Liberia, and Mali. No doubt, these countries can learn from Sierra Leone’s experience during the eleven-year old civil war and the measures it has put in place to reconstruct the nation.
To that end, President Koroma declared: “With increasing revenues, we shall do more for our Armed Forces because they are also doing more for this nation. My Government will relentlessly continue to capacitate the RSLAF to meet the growing demand for addressing local security issues as well as participation in International Peace Support Operations. As training is a hallmark of professionalism, lots of training opportunities are now open to members of the
RSLAF, and these run across all ranks.”
Conclusion
In light of my current research interest in national policy and programs geared toward gender equality and mainstreaming, I was also hearted to hear the president commit his government to “creating more opportunities for women to be enlisted both as officers and other ranks and be able to compete with their male counterparts.” No nation in the post-industrial world can compete successfully in the market place of ideas and innovations by disabling half of its
population through discrimination. More to the point, in Sierra Leone women constitute slightly more than half of the population of six million people, and just over 48 percent of registered voters (according to figures published by the National Electoral Commission for the November 2012 general elections). So, for any meaningful socio-economic development to occur, women have to be part of the calculation.
More often than not, suggestions or proposals for gender equality especially in the armed forces draw the ire of male traditionalists in many parts of the world, developed or otherwise, who raise all sorts of objections that are calculated to keep women in subordinate positions.
On the strength of its gender policy, Sierra Leone, I am sure, is on the right track to climb out of grinding poverty and into what the “Agenda for Prosperity” calls “middle income status” by 2035.
* Dr. Peter Dumbuya is a US-based academic currently a Fulbright Scholar in the Law Department of Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone.
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