Journalists Organise National Public Lecture

The Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) organized a national public lecture at the British Council Hall, Tower Hill in Freetown, on Monday 18th April 2011.

The Lecture had as it theme: “Sierra Leone at 50: How Far, How Near?”

Opening statement by SLAJ President Umaru Fofanah is published in the ensuing.
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Mr Chairman, Lead Presenter and Lead Discussants at this Public Lecture, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. I would like to thank you very much for finding time to come to this National Public Lecture on the first working day in the week which obviously is a very busy day for you all. Your being here today shows your commitment to the world of intellectualism and dedication to finding a solution to our nation’s myriad of challenges fifty years since we gained our independence.

In the last year or so, SLAJ has been organising a series of talks funded entirely by the BBC World Service Trust. Not only have journalists had the chance to listen to different issues being discussed by different speakers, local and international, they have also benefited from quizzing especially public officials and donors on how funds are donated and expended.

SLAJ President Umaru Fofanah

In the coming months we intend to expand on this to include more public officials coming forward to defend their policies and actions. This will not only enhance open governance whereby public officials will give an account of their stewardship but will also put straight wrong perceptions held about such policies and officials.

Today, as journalists, we are joining the rest of our compatriots in marking preparations in the run up to our country’s 50th independence anniversary. The topic: “Sierra Leone at 50, how far how near” has been carefully chosen. Clearly we have come very far since our nationhood in April 1961. The majority of the country’s current population was not yet born when the Union Jack was being lowered 50 years ago. And what especially our generation has seen has been a rapid decline of our nation’s fabric.

Clearly the decade-long civil war destroyed our country; but perhaps that war only killed a dead man as we were already on a slippery slope. Justice no longer existed for the ordinary man; education was for the rich; employment was for the chosen few; politics was based on cronyism; the list is long and probably endless. Since the end of that war almost another decade ago, have those acrid realities changed? If, somehow; why not somewhat? If, no, why not?

What factors are holding us back to attaining what I dare refer to as our rightful place of prosperity, justice and sustainable growth? Have our huge mineral deposits been used for our betterment, or are still being used for such? Hasn’t our politics become more polarised today than ever before? Are our politicians more concerned about the people they are supposed to be serving than seeking self-aggrandisement to better their own lot and the lot of their families?

How about the vexed issue of tribalism and Colourization in politics which is being stretched to affect our daily life? Is anyone responsible for belonging to their ethnic group for them to be favoured or punished for belonging to it? Why is it that outside politics and favours, tribe doesn’t seem to matter at all in our beloved land? But when it comes to especially the selfish intent of politicians and their cronies, and the backward-pointing overlapping proclivity that politics is, tribalism raises its ugly head? Let me feel free to wear my red neck tie or green shirt without being seen from someone’s heart in stead of their eyes. Let my family name be Massaquoi, Sesay, Conteh, Rogers, Kamara, Bangura or Koroma without being aligned to one political party or another if only to get us nearer to prosperity for all, regardless.

But in all of this we are blessed that we still are a religiously tolerant nation with members of the dominant Muslim and Christian faiths living together in harmony. But beneath the veneer of that harmony belies the threat posed by some new and young radical Pastors and Sheiks becoming fiery in their preaching? How do we keep the gene in the bottle?

Thanks to ActionAid and the BBC World Service Trust for funding this Public Lecture, which provides an opportunity for us all to suggest possible answers to these and many other questions, to reflect on our 50-year journey devoid of our political, tribal or other affiliations.

The Lead Presenter, Dr Kelfala Marah who’s the Chief of Staff at State House, and I were in college together even if he was my senior, and we have fond memories of those days. I regret to inform him if he doesn’t already know that the Fourah Bay College we were at and the one that exists today are different for more reasons than one. Tribal and national politics is eating into the students’ union fabric; itself a mirror of our present day society.

I am not oblivious of the fact that I am not a panellist here today. Therefore I will end here by informing you all, that the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists will in the coming months take centre stage in reawakening the spirit of pride and patriotism in the Sierra Leonean.

The love of our anthem and the country’s tricolour flag must not disappear with the passing of our Golden Jubilee celebrations. The different colours that have been attributed to our national colours during these celebrations stand to show our knowledge, or not, of these colours as a people.

Together we can lift this nation again and make it stand taller than it was, and taller than any other. Once again welcome to this National Public Lecture and may we imbibe all what will be discussed here today for love of country.

Government Lies Against Stranded Citizens

Hundreds of Sierra Leoneans are still left stranded in the war-torn North African country of Libya. Since the deadly conflict erupted in that part of the world a couple of weeks ago, not a single Sierra Leonean national has been repatriated back to Sierra Leone or to any other part of the world. This situation has left relatives of the stranded Sierra Leoneans back home in a worrisome state with no idea of what will happen to their family members as the deadly fight intensifies between the government and rebel forces.
 

As all of this is happening, the All People’s Congress (APC) led Government of Sierra Leone is yet to make any realistic effort in locating and rescuing Sierra Leoneans living in that country.
 

While other African countries like Nigeria, Ghana and even neighboring Guinea have since instituted pragmatic efforts to repatriate their citizens, government officials here in Sierra Leone are busy politicking the whole issue at the expense of the lives of hundreds of its citizens. It is over a month now since this brouhaha started and the government of Sierra Leone is yet to present a single citizen that has been repatriated from Libya. What a disgusting shame!
 

Worst of it, the government is engaged in a massive propaganda spree that runs in total contrast with the correspondences from Sierra Leoneans trapped in Libya.
 

Reports monitored from Libya clearly indicate that the APC led government is not telling the truth about the status of Sierra Leoneans in Libya. The government is lying about the status of those Sierra Leoneans either because it has no idea about the status of its citizens or lacks the diplomatic knowhow and connections to get its citizens out of the troubled zone. Some people even have cause now to believe that the government is not saying the truth because it is in the nature of its officials to toy with issues of national importance.
 

Initially, the Sierra Leone Embassy in Libya urged all legal Sierra Leonean residents in Libya to register with the embassy for possible repatriation. This happened at a time when the no-fly-zone sanction was yet to be imposed on Libya. It was around this same time that other countries moved into action to repatriate their valued citizens.
 

A total of one hundred and twenty-five Sierra Leoneans registered with the embassy and that was the end of it. Nothing has happened further than registration process. 

Even when other countries are busy repatriating their citizens by road and sea on the imposition of the no-fly-zone sanction, Sierra Leoneans are still left stranded with no hope of being repatriated.
 

A recent government press release on the status of Sierra Leoneans in Libya made believe that the trapped citizens prefer to die in Libya than to be evacuated to Sierra Leone. “However, after concluding arrangements with the British Embassy in Libya, most of the registered Sierra Leoneans turned down the offer, stating that they would only agree to be evacuated to either the US or the UK; and that they would rather continue to stay in Libya than return to Sierra Leone,” the government press release stated. But who will believe this, especially when the Chairman of the Sierra Leone Community in Libya, Sallieu Mansaray, is insisting that such an assertion by the government is nothing to go by? 

According to Sallieu Mansaray, ninety percent of the registered Sierra Leoneans with legal documents in Libya have consented to pay their travelling expenses to Tunisia if only the Sierra Leone Ambassador to Libya will facilitate for them to be welcomed by the United Nations on their arrival in Tunisia. Sadly, the Sierra Leone Ambassador to Libya, Abu Bakarr Jalloh, is nowhere to be found, and unconfirmed reports have it that he had since fled Libya.
 

The government press release furthered that a total of forty Sierra Leoneans have expressed willingness to be evacuated. Sounds good, but where are these Sierra Leoneans? How many of them have been repatriated to Freetown or to any other part of the world? None.
 

An attempt by the APC led government to claim credit for the repatriation of twenty three Sierra Leoneans from the troubled Libyan capital of Tripoli to the Tunisian border has also been exposed as a cheap lie. The Deputy Chairman of the Sierra Leone Committee in Libya Joseph Peters has told newsmen that the repatriation exercise was coordinated by the Sierra Leonean committee in Tripoli with aid from International Office for Migration (IOM). While the government is deceitfully claiming credit for repatriating twenty-three people to the Tunisian border, the repatriated Sierra Leoneans are bitterly expressing their disappointment over what they described as the failure of government to save the lives of its citizens.
 

The least said about other Sierra Leoneans living in Libya with irregular documentations the better.
 
Bottom-line, this is a clear indication that the Sierra Leone Government is not capable of protecting the lives of its citizens in other countries. To the government therefore, I say telling lies about the status of Sierra Leoneans in Libya is no sure way of addressing the plights of your citizens. Institute realistic efforts now to repatriate your citizens or keep quiet and allow your citizens to die in peace. Stop making a mockery of the situation, please.
 

My stranded Sierra Leonean brothers and sisters keep your faith in God and you will come out of Libya alive.

By Abdul Fonti