ThinkTank

By Umaru Fofana

I had a chance meeting with Mabinty Bangura. It was on the 4 April 2016. Ebola survivors were demonstrating between the office of the President (State House) and the iconic Cotton Tree. They were demonstrating against what they deemed as the government’s neglect of them and their plight. Most if not all of the protesters had recovered from the debilitating virus. Others had been orphaned or widowed by it. For some others it was a combination of at least two of those.

The issue of education has taken centre stage in Sierra Leone especially recently, with concerns that there is a free fall in standards. Following is a keynote speech delivered by Umaru Fofana at the Speech Day and Prize-giving ceremony of the Islamic Secondary School in Kenema on 16 April 2016.

Salutation:

Mr Chairman, Chairman and Members of the Board of Directors of the Islamic Secondary School in Kenema, Principal and staff of the school, smartly-uniformed students, parents, other distinguished guests, good afternoon.

By Umaru Fofana

By Umaru Fofana

I wonder how closely Sierra Leoneans are following the latest twists and turns in the Ebola jigsaw in Guinea and Liberia. I bet not very much! Or how many are paying attention to their own very lifestyles as they did not very long ago. I bet very few. I wonder what lessons our politicians - not least those in power - have learned from the Ebola outbreak. I bet very little - if any.

By Umaru Fofana

There seems to be no letup in the number of deaths by road accident in Sierra Leone and methinks there is no appetite to investigate them and take even if remedial action only. And memories of that genius of a radio engineer called Gas Pee who died simply because his car rammed into a stationary vehicle abandoned in the dark on a highway and did not have that cheap thing called a reflector.

By Umaru Fofana

By Umaru Fofana

How fast time has flown! How quickly we have moved on! How short our memory spans have shown! So true to the Sierra Leonean SPRINT MENTALITY: we express outrage at something today, days later we let it die naturally! Classic! Vintage!