By Umaru Fofana
Abdul, that is what he prefers to be called, is a serving member of the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF). He hails from the north of the country but at present serves with the 9th infantry battalion at Simbakoro, Gbenseh chiefdom in the eastern Kono district. During a recent visit I made to the barracks, Abdul and I had a completely-by-chance meeting. He lives in the barracks with his family. Their home is a one-roomed mud house that looks ready to be crumbled by the lightest wind that blows towards it. What is more, like hundreds of his colleague soldiers who live in similarly appalling housing conditions, he built it himself. He had to save from his salary to buy the zinc to roof it. He used his soldierly survival techniques and strength to put it up. Others live in the district headquarter town of Koidu where they pay rent from their salaries. Those who are luckier, if that is the right word, live in shelter that relatively qualifies to be called a house. But even there…It is reasonably well built and is compartmentalised into two bedrooms and a living room. But that must be shared by two soldiers and their families with each and their family living in one tiny room. The situation is no better in Kenema. And it has been this bad since Adam was a boy and eve a little girl. Go to Wilberforce and other barracks and see the living condition of men and women who signed up to die so we can live. Some use Mobile Toilets. There is hardly anything that qualifies to be called a proper toilet so they ease themselves in polyethylene bags which they throw away. Did you just say that is inconvenient? How about the health hazard that poses to the soldiers and those living in the neighbourhood? Now forget about all that for a moment. On Monday 18 February 2013, for the first time in Sierra Leone – as far as I can remember – Sierra Leone observed the first public holiday to mark Armed Forces Day. It is the latest in a string of attempts made by President Ernest Bai Koroma to court members of the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces. It is a great strategy especially for a president whose political party had, not once but twice been overthrown by the military; although it is unthinkable to imagine any such attempt now or in the future. Now, if the charm offensive for the hearts and minds of members of the army is a policy of government then it is a book that is probably worth borrowing from by any government especially in Africa. Even if this should be done in a manner that does not make the top of the army take political sides to punish those members of the force deemed to be not supportive of the party in power. A thin line exists, I know, but a line nevertheless. But if it is aimed at genuinely address the welfare needs of the soldiers, then the right things are yet to be done. It has to be said that our army has come a very long way. They have metamorphosed from that group that betrayed the people and joined ranks with rebels to overthrown an elected regime instead of protect the government. They ended up unleashing an orgy of terror that can only be imagined and not experienced. That, as they say, is now history. We now have well trained men and women who are representing us overseas through UN peacekeeping missions. I felt proud the other day when in April last year I met some Kenyan security experts in Nairobi who spoke very highly of our officers serving various UN outlets and missions in the east African nation. They are a group of Sierra Leoneans who have learned their lessons the most. Our politicians have learned theirs the least. Talking about peacekeeping, all the soldiers are now clamouring to go on UN peacekeeping. However dangerous the place may be. And the reported cases of corruption that accompanies deployment abroad is such that it needs to be investigated with confidentiality guaranteed. But these men and women also want to go overseas if only to avoid the appalling conditions under which they live, and ameliorate their live on return. I have not bothered to talk about the pay of soldier here and how some senior officers laud it over the rank and files. It begs the question therefore why President Koroma thought the most pleasing thing to do for all our soldiers was to declare as a public holiday, Armed Forces Day on 18 February. Forget about the economic losses this begets the country. Let us discuss the necessity of it, at least for now. What does it benefit the ordinary soldier just because Armed Forces Day has been declared a national holiday? Nothing! What does benefit a soldier, like Abdul at the 9th infantry battalion in Kono, is addressing his welfare needs especially food, housing and education for his children. In the last few days I have put through calls and sent emails to my colleague journalists in 11 African countries. They include in Ghana, Liberia, Guinea, Cameroun and Nigeria. All but Liberia say they do not have Armed Forces Day as a national holiday. Now, it would seem that the example for having Armed Forces Day declared a public holiday here was borrowed from Liberia. And it is not easy to know why our neighbours would choose it as such. They have a holiday for virtually everything. They have as a national holiday the birthday of almost all their former heads of state excepting Charles Taylor. For example 29 November is a public holiday for William Tubman. March 15 is J.J. Roberts' Birthday Day. They have a National Day set aside to go to the cemetery and booze. They call it Decoration Day. Soon they will add to that long list the birthday holidays that of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf’s. Etc Etc Etc. So clearly Liberia is not a country worth emulating in this regard. In Cameroun Armed Forces Day is on 1 January and the public holiday is more for New Year’s Day than for the forces. If we must have a national holiday for the soldiers, then we should have crafted it around our recent war calendar. 23 March, 6 January, etc. Such an occasion would be used to pay tribute to those who died in defence of the motherland. Or even add to that the innocent civilians who died or got maimed. The army may have betrayed the nation in the end but for most of the duration of the war they fought a great deal and many died to protect us. Otherwise what is wrong if the police ask for their own Day and for it to be declared a national holiday. Teachers will also ask for theirs. Nurses and all others. Journalists, why not, will also ask for 3 May to be declared a holiday. So in effect, what our soldiers really need is a thorough and deliberate addressing of the myriad of problems they face around their welfare needs. Their children. Not a public holiday declared on Armed Forces Day. During my recent visit to the Simbakoro barracks, I went to a hug pen built by the HIV campaign group POSCHE for people, among them soldiers, living with the virus. I was filming for a documentary and the place was wrongly identified to me as one of those I should include. Then I saw a lady chasing her nephew who looked very jovial and marched like a soldier. She held a cane and threatened to beat him up if he did not stop behaving like a soldier. I took offence and said to her that it was one of the most rewarding jobs and started preaching to her some Hadith – the sayings and deeds of the Muslim Prophet Mohamed (pbbh) in which he says that one of the sets of eyes that will not see hell is that which remains open to guard over people while they are asleep. A righteous soldier, a righteous police, etc. The lady would have none of it. When I asked her why, she started outlining the litany of deprivation the soldiers suffer owing to the depravity of those at the top. At the most, Armed Forces Day should be a Working Holiday., while the real problems of soldiers are addressed and not just a false dawn created for them. (C) 20/02/13
