NEWS > Commentaries Truly is Sierra Leone Not One Country, One People? Posted by Charles Bamikole Carr, LLB (Hons) Law, LLM in Business Law, Lecturer in Law, University of Westminster, England. on Jun 16, 2008, 18:23

There are certain incidents which when seen or even heard of, one is left with no alternative but to appraise those who have made it happen, just as well as when things happened negatively one utter curses on those who are responsible for the bad incident, such as the 10 years civil war that left our country dragging on its knees.

Well, thank God Sierra Leone has moved on and in the seat of power is HE President Bai Koroma, the head of state, who, not only has taken the mantle of power in our blessed Sierra Leone from where it was left by former President Ahmed Tejan-Kabba, but is ensuring that the peace is maintained and not destroyed. Thus, our generation have seen and/or witnessed, just as well as the next generation would read, as history may have recorded, the loyalty and patriotism of one country, one nation, which President Bai Koroma, the current Head of State and the Leader of the All Peoples Congress (APC) Party, is not only preaching but has demonstrated by being in the midst of his opposition party’s Group, the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), in the launch of their Unity Radio 94.9 FM on Thursday, 12^th June 2008 at the Miatta Conference Hall.

President  Bai Koroma’s bold step to accept and honour such an invitation to launch the Radio station belonging to the country’s leading opposition Party, the SLPP, is one of admiration and the promotion of civilised politics. It is also a laudable act of the SLPP Executives to think of inviting, let alone allowing, their opponent’s leader to participate in their progress. What a breath of new life in the politics of Sierra Leone as ‘A One Country, One People democracy.

This political new life is a demonstration of tolerance between the two opposing Party Groups in the launch of the Unity Radio 94.9 FM. It is a life that can be taken as a kind of benchmark for the attitudinal change that President Bai Koroma has been preaching to the Nation since his inauguration to the seat of power in our blessed country, Sierra Leone. 

Yes, I mean benchmark because even in the Western democracy it is uneasy for the politicians to demonstrate such practical tolerance.

Quite recently in the USA primary election to select the candidates of the different Party Groups, Democrats and Republicans, for the country’s forth-coming election in November 2008, it has been seen how two people can be bitter rivals even in the same Party Group and later become friends, as they realise that their objectives are the same despite their ideologies may be slightly different in tones.

Consequently, it is time that all the politicians in Sierra Leone, be they members of the APC or SLPP or any of the other Party Groups must collect the things that had fallen apart and copy the ideology of One Country, One Nation and preach to their supporters tolerance in the Land that we love our Sierra Leone.

The tolerance that the two Parties, APC and SLPP have demonstrated on Thursday, 12^th June 2008 should be a base upon which all the politicians in Sierra Leone should now step on to rebuild our country. It is a tolerance that shows strong commitments to good politicking, which if hold on to by the politicians and their supporters, it would see Sierra Leone develop to the state as Athens, not only of West Africa, but of Africa, as it was in the past glorious days when the country had sons like the Late Lamina Sankoh, I.T.A. Wallace Johnson and Sir Samuel Bankole-Jones, to name but a few, whose main political objective was to develop one country, one nation in Sierra Leone.

Let’s not forget that Sierra Leone today, like every other day, needs that lift of tolerance amongst its people to drive the attitudinal change, to eradicate corruption and unethical morals from our society and to implement, fully, law and order. Thus, as we have seen and or read it happened, let’s not waste time in saying ‘Bravo to Mr President (and his APC) and the Executives of the SLPP.

The people of Sierra Leone need more of that tolerance shown by the APC and SLPP on Thursday, 12^th June 2008 at the launch ceremony of the Unity Radio Station. The reflection by the people of Sierra Leone on that Radio launch project will, surely, begin to draw the minds of the different Parties stalwarts and make them realise that which ever Party is in power, such opportunity is given to that Party to develop our country and its nation. It will also remind the people of Sierra Leone that whatever progress made within the country can be of benefit to every citizen regardless of the ideology linked to the particular development, be it to oppose or to appraise.

Such tolerance is a clear message to our media ‘Gurus’, lawyers, doctors, entrepreneurs, police, army and administrators, all of whom have greater roles in the progress of our nations’ development. It is a tolerance that must shed light to mean that violence, theft, bribery, nuisance and all harmful offences will never be encouraged in our modern Salone.

That breath of the new life by the APC and the SLPP on Thursday, 12^th June 2008 should continue as a symbol of progress to the people of Sierra Leone as they realise that their tolerance in response to the politicians’ must be creativity, hardworking and enterprising, especially at these times of world market crisis when the socio-economics of Sierra Leone is receiving heavy hammering of the impact of the constant increasing price of the black gold.

Thus, the new life will see supporters waving good bye to the politicians to return to their farms, just as well as other pieces of the nation’s industrial jigsaw will easily be fitted as the men and women of the yester politics realise that they have more to benefit by being creative, hardworking and enterprising than participating in the political rallies that benefit only the politicians themselves.