By Josiah Caulker
Back in 2007 and few months into the general elections I had a feeling the then ruling Sierra Leone People's Party were going to lose and I need not go into detail as to the reasons for my thoughts at the time. The greens indeed lost and the reds (All People's Congress) won and assumed political power. Five years have elapsed and another round of polls is just days away. President Ernest Bai Koroma's government in the last five years has done a good number of things which are worthy of commendation – the free health care for under-5s their mothers and pregnant women has definitely saved hundreds of lives since its introduction in 2011. There has also been a remarkable improvement in electricity supply especially in Freetown and Makeni, as well as the on-going road construction projects.
Not that these projects are free of hitches here and there but on the whole they give a promising picture of a country trying to join the queue of nations striving to move ahead in tune with the 21st century. But are the infrastructural achievements of the APC only by themselves enough to guarantee them a cosy ride in the polls? I would say a big NO! Some things have happened over the years since the last elections which have driven away the mainly southerners who in the run- off voted for the APC in response to the call of their PMDC leader Charles Margai after he had pitched tents with the red sun.
When I started hearing ill-advised APC functionaries and their supporters deriding the PMDC leader that they could have won
the elections anyway even without the orange shirts I suspected the edges had started fraying. And the honeymoon was turning sour. Even information minister Ibrahim Ben Kargbo said publicly that Mr. Margai was irrelevant.
Over the past years certain APC bigwigs have been on a purge in government offices and Parastatals of south-easterners and northerners perceived to be SLPP supporters. An acquaintance was among some twelve men at the revenue authority who were shown the exit on one day alone.
These men had relatives in the provinces who depended on their support and so they would have certainly taken the message home that they were sacked for being (perceived) SLPP supporters.
An experience I had at the office of Minkailu Mansaray when he was Labour Minister pricked my mind that some government officials were fully supportive of what I would call tribal profiling, something I hate to say however unavoidable.
A friend of mine, a strong supporter of the ruling APC party, wanted to introduce some white friends to the Minister and I happened to be in the group. As we introduced ourselves the Minister turned to me and asked how was Kono to which I quickly replied that Moyamba was my home district. His expression not only changed but we exchanged few words after that.
A very outgoing lady friend of mine, 24, who had a degree in political science and decided to enrol for a law degree came to my office the other day and was visibly upset. She was going through tough times. The ambitious lady hails from the south and had gone to a government minister and a top APC official to solicit financial assistance. She not only had to ward off amorous advances from the official but had to lie to him that she forgot her APC party membership card after he enquired if she was a card-carrying member of the party. She never got the help she wanted but even more disturbing was when she told me she by chance heard of how a top university staff had been cautioned by State House not to inundate a particular department with students of southern background. I have also heard stories from mostly parents and relatives of graduates who have been denied jobs simply because of their names which portray south- eastern lineage.
Take the case of a close friend of mine who was told by an APC- appointed board member of a Parastatal to recommend someone for a job. My friend sent the name of his preferred candidate, a fresh university graduate, to this ruling party fellow who by his repeated phone calls to him was really desperate to have someone fill in the vacancy. The name reached him but there was a long silence afterwards and my friend, perplexed at the strange development, rang up the board member and to his utter dismay my friend was told the board had a problem with the name! And that message had trickled down even to the remotest village of the disappointed young man's area whose relations would be seething with anger.
Is alienating a particular set of people an assuring way of maintaining power? Who is to blame if not government for these abhorring underhand machinations which has left a significant section of the people feeling alienated? The answer rests in the chance they have at the polls to vent out their anger or even frustration. Over the years, I have found it hard to accept the usual Sierra Leonean way of apportioning blame on government functionaries while absolving the head of state. As the American adage goes, the buck stops at the President's desk. In the case of this present government, President Koroma should have reined in on some of his men who were out on the loose as if the peaceful change of power was an opportunity to persecute a set of people or settle old scores. Fingers have been pointed at Alpha Kanu, I B Kargbo, Victor Foh and Minkailu Mansaray for influencing unpopular decisions and driving away potential supporters. A former APC member of parliament in the east end of Freetown who was denied a symbol to run this time accused the four during a meeting at his home which my cousin attended of being “the problematic figures in government”.
Sure enough, President Koroma should have taken bold steps to stop actions by some of his men who were undermining
his government's relations with people traditionally considered anti-APC. An opportunity to enhance his image among
south-easterners which he really scuppered was when a fresh party convert in the presence of President Koroma described Mendes as “stupid”. All he could have done was to have instantly rebuked the fellow pointing to him that his party, though ready to receive him, totally frowns at such statements and that his government respects all tribes and that the nation is first and foremost. A rued looking Coachie would have been asked to apologise for his reckless statement. The President would have scored more political points!
President Koroma's standing in the south and east of the country with the elections a few days away is an open book. Unfolding
events in the coming days or even hours will tell a lot.
Making a set of people part of nation-building is much more than just constructing roads or providing other amenities. They should actually feel and be a part of the process irrespective of their ethnicity or political ties. By so doing their trust could be won.
This election will be an exciting experience indeed. Peaceful elections are what we crave for and that our God will offer us. And
post-election appointments must treat Sierra Leone as one indivisible entity.
