By Ezekiel Nabieu
A well-known maxim that “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely” is now a cliché and it is apt here. In this Republic we are about to witness the onset of absolute power judging by recent events.
Power is flattering and deceiving but it can lift up and cast down. The question that should be staring us in the face is not where the power comes from but who should possess it. In other words the Head of State is the most important person which is why a separate election is done for the presidency.
A green snake in Tokpoi’s green grass since 2007 has been causing so much national havoc that it will take an extraordinary snake charmer to contain it. Curiously enough it was nurtured by the then Tokpoi leader in the party’s backyard little knowing that it would not be in their interest at the end of the day. Now it has metamorphosed into a python that is almost untameable.
APC II was catapulted into power with its leader snorting that he would rule like his infatuated mentor Siaka Stevens of detestable memory but he is forcing the issue against overwhelming odds in extremely altered circumstances that may cause explosions. Ironically it is the APC that caused the civil war according to Foday Sankoh, that is back at the seat of power poised to destabilise the country if we don’t take care. The power intoxication continues unabated regardless.
In another episode of this party with a tendency to stifle democracy, their founder built a comfortable and elegant lodge with self-contained rooms telling himself “Soul take your case and be merry”. Rumour is that he used to sleep in various rooms to enjoy life more. He ruined this country in his bid to become leader of the then Organisation of African Unity (OAU). In the process he was widely rumoured to have sponsored the mysterious killing of a Bank Governor. Let me also mention his execution of those who opposed his dictatorship and one-party stance. He is said to have had a fortune of $500 million. That was enough for the best medical facilities in the world. Yet he did not live much longer than many mortals that strut along the streets of our cities and towns. He died of a stroke after all with a disfigured jaw. Any lessons? Are we not receding to thraldom?
Our Parliament
According to the Oxford dictionary a parliament is supposed to be an assembly to make laws for a country. How those laws are made and whether they be good or bad the dictionary does not say. In any case this thing called parliament in Sierra Leone has become a mockery far from the days of old when it fulfilled its mandate to the letter. Those were the days of Speaker Sir Ernest Beoku-Betts, Bankole Bright as opposition leader and even the despotic Siaka Stevens. There was cut and thrust and a flow of soul. There was quality representation and not of uninformed hoi polloi. Our parliament is now composed mainly of citizens who sit there because they are known and favoured by a political party that has no ideology. Some of them are behave like pimps of tyranny who prostitute the liberty of the people.
In the days of old, parliaments used to do anything but to turn a boy into a girl. This is possible these days through transsexual operations and this is what our parliamentarians have been doing without the necessary surgical instruments. Someone thinks up a doctorial idea, suggests it to the green snake who is more than an eager beaver. He immediately takes up and supports the idea. A bill is enacted and the damn thing is soon passed into law. Our parliament is now known as the Official Rubber Stamp (O.R.S) purging the rest of the populace of any residue of moral integrity left in us.
The Judiciary
The concept of Separation of Powers as espoused by Baron De Montesquieu is one of the main tenets of democratic governance as popularised by the British government that has an unwritten constitution. The rationale behind the concept was to prevent bedlam in governance by spelling out who is responsible for what. Grand idea. But this practice seems to be prostituted in Sierra Leone. Instead of assisting their independence the judiciary is seen by many to be kowtowing to the Executive. The flimsy technical points on which SLPP candidates were disqualified in constituencies 05 and 15 are cases in point. We need good and faithful Judges who prefer to do what is right to what is expedient. When a Judge departs from the letter of the law he/she becomes a law breaker.
Leadership from God
Who does not love power? If you do not you may not be human. Men very naturally seek money or power. And power is sought because it is as good as money. Alexander Pope in his Epilogue to the Satires said “yes I am proud; I must be proud to see men not afraid of God but afraid of me”. See that? It’s the impudence of power.
The Bible states in Romans 13:1 “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but from God: the powers that be are ordained of God”. This passage of scripture is misinterpreted every so often by sycophants to mean that even sadists in power are ordained by God. How can God sanction such wicked fiends like Idi Amin, Bokassa, Siaka Stevens, Stalin and others?
The fact is that some people do not realize that according to the Bible Satan is prince in this world and he has control over our his own rulers albeit in a limited way.
Obedience to the state is an ordinance of God. In the biblical passage quoted above nothing is said about the form of government. The passage emphasizes government itself and its administrators when these function properly.
The ruling party is acquiring boundless power and abusing it boundlessly. Be not deceived. Mali-acquired juju power can never ever be from God. With visits by our politicians to marabous in Mali and other places, only God with real power can remove our evil politicians? Or, perhaps by miracle.
(C) Politico 06/12/13
