TWITTER SPECIAL, the Gossip (14/02/13)

PEACE HO! SIERRA LEONE’S GANI FAWEHINMI AND THE ELECTRICITY BLAST The people are once again debating another letter from Lawyer Blyden Jenkins-Johnston about the state of affairs in Sierra Leone, with particular reference to the months of a woeful electricity supply in Freetown. He writes: “The Electricity situation has been deteriorating steadily and is now at rock-bottom, thereby causing serious inconvenience and substantial financial losses to citizens, and further putting the lives of citizens in danger by encouraging armed robbers to operate easily under the cover of darkness at night” POLITICO – Well first of all we congratulate lawyer Jenkins-Johnston for standing up for the people once again. Actually what he wrote had been clearly articulated by many other Sierra Leoneans but the force of his personality and character made this a real national debate. The cries are all over the place now about armed robbery in different parts of the city. Neighbourhood watch groups are springing up because Francis Munu and his police have failed. Only De Pa believes Munu is a good policeman. Or that the force as structured can deliver like any modern police force. And we know why De Pa has confidence in the police chief. Overheads for small businesses have sky-rocketed because of huge fuel and generator maintenance costs. Even in this situation, there are many people benefiting directly from the regime who are busy harassing people who dare to grumble in public. “I recall that during the last election campaign, a lot of noise was made about the completion of Bumbuna, and the fact that we were now going to enjoy continuous electricity in Freetown. What a sick Joke!! The Electricity situation is worse now, than it has been in a long while. So Mr. President, what is the truth about Bumbuna and the Electricity Supply in Freetown? How long are we going to continue suffering from this Blackout?” POLITICO – Sir, De Pa has always used electricity supply from Bumbuna as his trump card. There was a time in this country when every minister began answering questions about their ministries with this 24 hour electricity claim. Here’s what typically happened: Journalist - Minister of Education, why haven’t you captured any ghosts after five years of hunting and laying ambushes with our money dished out to bogus Ghostbusters? Minister of Education - (the Journalist must be very lucky to get this interview). Well, well, well now that De Pa has brought 24 hour electricity, the country will move forward. Journalist – But sir, I was actually asking about your ministry, not the presidency or the ministry of energy and power. Minister of Education – (In his usual mood swing) In fact you are an SLPP Journalist, I am out of here. Hahaha. Sir, (Jenkins-Johnston) you describe the power supply situation as “a sick joke”. We think you are not too far from being absolutely correct. You say “the Electricity situation is worse now, than it has been in a long while. How far back did you go sir? We reckon that we are right back to the days just before the 2007 elections. Kabbah Tiger (Or should we change the name?) is back in force and people have started shouting for joy again every time the light comes on. “We the citizens want answers!! Honest, Truthful and Sincere answers, not excuses. We want answers from N.P.A; we want answers from The Minister of Energy; and we want answers from you, Mr. President, for whom the citizens of Freetown voted solidly in the last Election, as indeed the buck stops at your desk!!“ POLITICO The closest we have come to hearing anything coherent and sober is from an interview NPA manager Zubairu Kaloko gave to one radio station. The problem is, he emphasized too much on his not-too-cordial relationship with the management of Bumbuna. The accidental minister of Energy is completely out of his depth in the ministry and we shouldn’t expect much. He specializes in something else. We agree with you that De Pa is the man who should speak to the people directly. After all it was De Pa who claimed the credit for the light so he should face the flak for the Blackout and address us. “Most citizens in Freetown can no longer enjoy a drink of cold water in their homes anymore; our fridges, freezers, microwaves, electric irons and electric kettles etc are all now items of furniture in our homes. Freezers have to be emptied out and food thrown away even though they were purchased at great cost. Those who sell “cole wata”, coolaid, yoghurt and cold drinks for their living are now out of business. Many offices are at a standstill because computers, printers, photocopiers etc cannot work without electricity. And the list goes on!!” POLITICO On the face of it many people will think that only elites like you can afford such modern facilities. That’s totally wrong. These are the very basic things that most of the people in government today enjoyed when they lived in other countries. Why shouldn’t deny their own people enjoying them too? Besides for about three years of reasonably good power supply under De Pa, people have saved money to buy these materials just to live a good life in Mama Salone. We insist that these are just the basics of life and every household deserves them. In the area of business, Production cost and other overheads have risen sharply and people have lost jobs as a result. “Is this what the Agenda for Prosperity is all about?? Can anyone prosper in such a situation of perpetual darkness?? We want answers, Mr. President, and we want relief from this problem.” Thank you, and God Bless you. Yours Faithfully (A totally Angry and Frustrated Citizen.) POLITICO Again, we are not among those people who believe that the Agenda for Prosperity will succeed in the current situation and the time available to De Pa. It’s a good catchphrase to sell his ideas though. We can understand the word PROSPERITY from any definition from the dictionary – from Michael West to the Oxford Advanced Learners. We will arrive at this conclusion: Sierra Leone simply doesn’t have the money, infrastructure, political maturity and national character to prosper even using the current agenda of De Pa. We have seen prosperous nations mainly in Scandinavia. We know how they got there. Sir, you sign off as “A totally Angry and Frustrated Citizen” There are many Sierra Leoneans like you but they are not as strong, influential and articulate like you to register their serious concerns in this way. You are in good company sir. IS BLYDEN THE ONLYPERSON IN THE WILDRRNESS? Information Minister Alpha Kanu has already accused you of being “disrespectful” to the president in your choice of words in addressing the president in your open letter. We find nothing wrong with your words; you were very measured and deliberate. That’s the lawyer in you. We think you should ignore the minister and, as the Americans say, keep your eyes firmly on the ball - the main points in your letter. As usual, Alpha Kanu wants to move the debate from the survival questions to an issue of you being “disrespectful”, please don’t allow that. He’s not able to give you a political tag (na SLPP), so he goes for your manners. We will help keep this debate where it should be. In a country where those who speak for the nation are looking for jobs, contracts and other forms of patronage from politicians, only people like you who are self-sufficient, not afraid of putting your personality on the line and not greedy, can afford to be so selfless. Others as educated, strong and articulate like you have fled abroad or built huge mansions with high walls in exclusive neighbourhoods in Freetown, to keep out the rest of society and couldn’t care less about the world outside. They shop at St. Mary’s, they can afford 24 hours electricity, and they have many young people working for them for pittance. The rest of us live in the real Sierra Leone. Here’s a fact: Sani Abacha would still be in power today, if GOOD NIGERIANS like CHIEF GANI FAWEHINMI didn’t stand up. We will continue to live sub-standard lives in this country, if many more people fail to stand up like you to tell our leaders; “we deserve better”. We are not cows to just give salt to.