By Isaac Massaquoi
We are getting deeper and deeper into that season again when politicians come out of their “supernatural” forms to become ordinary people once again. These days they are seen all over the place, pretending to be very friendly. They are now visiting old friends they abandoned five years ago; they are visiting densely populated depressed communities, making gestures and engaging in naked bribery just to secure votes. Why do these people believe we can’t see through this ritual façade?
Last night I did a quick count of on-going mini football leagues around Freetown and the figure is amazing – more than a dozen and let me make two quick clarifications. I was only concerned with those leagues that bear the names of well known and aspiring politicians. And I counted only those that came to my mind as I wrote this piece. There may be many more I haven’t mentioned. I am sure most people in Freetown know why this is happening.
We have always had mini-leagues in Freetown and they’ve served as reliable training and recruitment pools from which Premier league clubs have benefitted immensely. What we cannot fail to notice is the fact that almost all the mushrooming mini-leagues have politicians’ names attached to them.
Politicians have discovered that the mini-leagues are powerful rallying points for many young people who have just attained the voting age of 18 years and in their naivety can be easily swayed by flamboyant politicians splashing cash in those deprived communities that still don’t have even the very basics of life. The young boys play the game in the afternoon and then hunker down in their leaky roofs at night beside pools of mosquito-infested water with human excrement in plastic bags floating freely. Our big man politician leaves the scene just after the kick-off and returns only to hand over trophies at the end of a league that is normally plagued by mindless violence. These people definitely need to play football but what about the condition of our municipal schools which many of them attend? What about clean drinking water? You know, the day they start asking the politicians such difficult questions will be the day the politicians will melt away.
The other day, somebody told me that two MPs from the ruling party were working behind the scenes to piggyback on donations that a corporate institution was planning to make in the provinces. The corporate body wanted to pass the items and scholarship grants through the Paramount Chiefs in the areas covered by their corporate social responsibility but the MPs intervened.
They argued that it would make no difference if the Chiefs presented the support to the people because Chiefs have “a life-term mandate” and that the political capital they would get if they presented the package to the people would be invaluable in the run up to the election in November. Corporate, houses being what they are, will surely yield. The Politicians have gone home congratulating themselves for being “clever” but for how much longer can they continue doing this before the people find them out?
We are approaching Ramadan and mosques have become political football pitches where politicians play for votes. Donations from all political parties are rolling in thick and fast and the Imams and their congregations are busy collecting and praying. Can I please ask how many times those politicians visited those mosques and Jamaats between late 2007 and September 2011? Life is very interesting indeed. I am not versed in religious doctrine but wouldn’t it be a good idea if the Imams and jamaats asked a few hard questions like where the gift was coming from? I suspect some dangerous money is being laundered in this way.
There’s this MP who was on radio a few days ago urging the government to hurriedly construct a key arterial road in his constituency. He spoke passionately on radio to the extent that a friend who is visiting from the UK wanted to know what the speaker was so passionate about. I quickly explained the essential points of the interview to him and he was very impressed with this “tough-talking MP who cares so much about his people’s welfare.”
I waited a bit for that to sink in before I turned back to him and said, “we are only a few weeks to elections and our dear MP will be fighting for his political life once again”. My friend replied “Oh, now I see.”
There’s this other MP who proudly explained to me how he has improved the life of the young people of his constituency. I was anxious to know what he did. He said he bought a widescreen TV, a small Kabbah-Tiger type generator and hundreds of Nigerian home videos so that his people could watch movies every evening under the supervision of the youth chairman. “Is that all”? I asked. He noticed some disappointment in my question so instead of answering directly, he turned to me and said, “But you know, the people really love it.” “Is that all?” I asked again.
Now he was losing his cool and I could feel the adrenalin rushing through his veins. “You journalists like to criticise all the time. What have you done for your country”? We had just settled down for drinks at a popular night spot in Bo and we had a lot of other personal issues to discuss so I wasn’t going to allow this TV issue to spoil the evening by going into a long speech defending journalists from this attack. I told him to “forget about the issue” and let’s continue with our drinks. By the time we left the place about three hours later, I was firmly convinced the guy wouldn’t get beyond his party’s primaries. I am waiting for his constituency party to disappoint me.
Last week, I was in Senehun attending the funeral of the Paramount Chief who was killed in a road accident less than one hundred yards from his house. All the chiefs in Sierra Leone were there as were many MPs including those from that part of the country. I cynically suggested to one of them that he was really just there to make a political point and see how that plays out at the polls. He didn’t like it, but he is used to me trying to make him uncomfortable every time we meet. He assured me his constituency was safe and that he would be back on Tower Hill in November. Well given our voting patterns in Sierra Leone, he was probably correct.
What intrigued me though was what he told me he did to consolidate his hold on the constituency. He said since he was elected in 2007, he had single-handedly paid for all female initiation rites in his constituency and that his people appreciated it very much and they’d told him so. So here is an MP in modern day Sierra Leone actively promoting female genital mutilation or FGM, a practice that is medically proven to be harmful to the health of women. He could say that his people think FGM is fine with them and as an MP he was only attending to their needs. I can’t argue with an MP who does what his people want. I can only ask just when will politicians actually lead and stop this cynical search for votes and recognition.
Call your local MP or some minister friend tomorrow and don’t be surprised if the minister himself picks it up. Don’t be surprised too if your politician friend you’ve not seen for four years comes visiting and brings your wife a little gift because the children are returning to school soon.
Let me repeat this point: I wonder why politicians think they are so intelligent and the rest of us are not capable of seeing through those maneuverings for what they truly are.
As a young man growing up in Brookfields in the 70s and 80s, I was very familiar with the case of the son of late President Siaka Stevens, by the name of Alex. He was running for what was then Freetown West Two constituency, now called constituency 109. There were three other candidates, including a poor guy called Thomas Conteh who was the most popular among them. He was certain to win. Alex played around with his father’s power and wealth hoping to intimidate and win. It was so serious that when a BBC reporter insisted on getting to late president to comment on the issue in an explosive radio interview, Stevens lost his cool and insulted the journalist.
The ordinary people of Freetown West Two were determined to stop Alex in his brazen display of power. They developed a slogan: Chap you chap en get you man – loosely translated to mean collect what you can (money in particular) but vote for the candidate of your choice. Defeat was written all over Alex’s face.
In the end Thomas Conteh sold out and declared his support for a ne’er-do-well called Morado, leaving the people very disappointed.
Praying that we don’t get any more Thomas Contehs of this world, I believe that this is definitely another season of Chap you chap en get you man. We must beat the politicians at their own game.
