By Joseph E Kamara
I am not an avid football fan but this week I followed an online discussion regarding the upcoming Sierra Leone Football Association presidential elections. In an unusually frank and blunt conversation a journalist advised Rodney Michael, one of the contenders for the Presidency, as follows – ‘Rodney and Paul Kamara's problems have absolutely NOTHING to do with Rodney's race or his skin colour being white. I think Rodney needs to step up his game away from promoting that false theory of racial discrimination being behind his problems. If Rodney continues along this line, he will end up losing valuable support.
The main problem between Rodney and Paul Kamara is that Rodney is unabashedly an opposition SLPP supporter (he makes no secret of this) and there is an underlying deep fear within APC circles that if Rodney wins, he will influence votes in the same way the APC's Nahim
Khadi influenced votes for the 2007 elections. That is the bottom-line in all this brou-ha-ha.’ (quote is verbatim)
The journalist further advised Mr. Micheal to ‘Play down your SLPP links and portray a more unifying image of yourself. Right now, you are too green in too many ways. J.S. Keifala jumping up and down all over the place on your behalf, is NOT helping your cause. Trust me on this my brother. He is damaging your cause. He fell plumply into an offside trap (yes, ar sabi small football jargon afterall) when he refused to resign after Nahim Khadi and Alie Commoner did. Step back and look at the current scenario as laid out... Keifala is the next SLPP Mayor of
Kenema and he is the only one running SLFA's helm as of now. Hmmmm...
Think about it my brother. What does that say? No to offside trap de man don fordom? Highlight the fact that your SLPP links have NOT
stopped you from continuing your long-time friendship with key APC persons including the President himself who is a family friend of
yours.’ (quote is verbatim)
If the proclamations by the journalist are factual, they are not shocking.
In recent times, it seems party and tribal affiliations are all that matter in our country. It is the defining factor. There are
accusations and counter accusations on both sides. The pro-SLPP mouthpiece New People in an article entitled ‘The worst President
in the history of Sierra Leone...Ernest Bai Koroma’ (Saturday, 11 August 2012) states that ‘President Koroma has turned Sierra Leone
into a country where one must also have his or her tribes people in position of authority in order to get a contract or be employed. This
anomaly is responsible for the lack of progress in the country as tribal lineage is regarded far above every other factor in our
society.’
The pro-APC Sierra Leone Daily Mail online in an article entitled ‘Politics of Tribalism and Betrayal in Sierra Leone: SLPP feeling the Blues’
(15th June 2012) states that ‘contrary to the slogan of “One Country, One People”, tribalism has blossomed in the SLPP, causing more hard core members to think in terms of their tribes first, and scornfully letting others either stomach the humiliation or take the painful exit from the party they once acknowledged as home. This status quo is an embarrassingly unfortunate route to take especially for a party which touts a slogan of oneness. Sheer hypocrisy!’
From SLFA to national elections, our country is polarized. The dividing lines are largely tribal and political. You are expected to be either red or green. Whatever you say or do does not matter, it is twisted and misconstrued to fit the red/green divide. If you are red or perceived to be, all the reds like sycophants endorse what you say regardless of whether it makes sense or not. The same is true vice versa. If you have not publicly declared your affiliation or they cannot tell, you are treated with suspicion and people make all sorts of speculations. Your every move is watched. Even the way you dress matters. Make the mistake of wearing a red shirt or a green tie and people will draw conclusions for you. You cannot be neutral. You are either for us or else you are against.Red or green has never mattered to me. In 2002, like the majority of Sierra Leoneans, I felt Ahmed Tejan-Kabbah (green) was the best candidate and in 2007 Ernest Bai Koroma (red) seemed the best out of the lot. For me, it does not depend on the colour of the party but the candidate they put forward and who I believe will be best for Sierra Leone. The colours – green, white and blue – matter more to me than green or red. The pledge that I took was to love and be loyal to my country Sierra Leone (not any political party) and to work for her unity peace, freedom and prosperity. It is high time many of our nationals do as
they pledge and put the interest of Mama Salone above all else not just in rhetoric but by their deeds:
