By Paul Conteh and Theriyeh Koroma
In Sierra Leone, an unlikely ‘voice of the voiceless’ has survived as a self-styled political and social commentator. Adebayor, as he calls himself, is known for integrating vulgar, explicit, and obscene languages when sharing his thoughts on issues of national discourse. His contents are largely considered as weighted with a staunch sense of incitement in addition to invectives.
Even though Adebayor faces criticism for his approach to his dubbed activism, he still enjoys steady and increasing cheers from a section of Sierra Leoneans.
His rise to prominence though, is intertwined by several factors which cannot be unconnected to the points below:
Adebayor hails from the new media which has afforded many of its users to position as news carriers or citizen journalists.
Also, in this medium, the gatekeeper's concept of journalism is largely neglected and not observed. The gatekeeper’s concept caters for news content to go through several processes before publication or broadcast. There is a flow through which information is scrutinised to match newsroom values.
Be that as it may, the traditional media has been deploying this professional concept as critical to the process of developing news contents. Adebayor, on the other hand, does not feel bound by ethical consideration. He explores and makes popular waves on WhatsApp where he has earned himself an easy reach to a wide audience! There is less room to fact check or consider that his choice of words is ostensibly obscene for children accessing similar platforms.
Moreover, there seems to be a vacuum for a consistent activism programme on the airwaves in Sierra Leone. A few years ago, David Tam-Bayoh’s Monologue programme was the epic centre of governance issues. He (David) used his platform to bring issues of national concern to the policy-makers and populace. The program was sometimes simulcast to reach more audience throughout the two-hour exceptional news presentation period.
After the demise of Monologue and other models, citizens have notably wavered trust for journalists, pundits, academics, and activists, viewing them as parties with great tendency to be bought over by politicians. Thus, Adebayor is merely leveraging on the vacuum by staging a show with his program “Love Salone En Lef Badhat”.
Despite the vulgar nature of his rhetoric, Adebayor has successfully garnered a cosmopolitan listening base from which web educated people are caught.
More so, with the advent of the new media, time and space serve as no boundary in human interactions. As the Canadian Philosopher, Marshal McLuhan predicted decades ago, as various technological advancements come into play, the world would become a Global Village. The world now is seconds away from all of with the pressing a button. Thus, Adebayor, living in the Netherlands and reaching out to his expectant fans, confirms the reality of the world as existing as a Global Village. Also, many people are tempted to think that his current location has so far saved him from the possibility of being arrested and charged with either defamation or incitement.
Historically, politicians and artists have helped shape pop culture slogans in Sierra Leone. They utilize words or statements that resonate with their supporters. Before he was elected President of Sierra Leone, Brig (rtd) Julius Maada Bio and his party members were known for saying “paopa Salone for beteh”. This slogan became a huge part of his campaign message. The main opposition party, All Peoples Congress, used “tolongbo” as a slogan during the elections period. Popular rapper, LAJ, is known for saying “raaaah” in every one of his songs. This statement has defined the rapper’s musical and personal brand.
In his case, Adebayor has crafted consistent slogans from the beginning and ending phases of his program. From the introduction, listeners know they are ready to hear another Adebayor voice note. This pattern has helped him maintain a trademark presence in Sierra Leone.
Love him or hate him, Adebayor has made himself a voice of relevance in the Sierra Leone socio-political discourse. This has been enhanced by his use of social media, distance, slogans, and a missing media activism program.
Is it a case where mediocrity reigns over professionalism?
Paul and Theriyeh are young Sierra Leonean social commentators and activists.
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