An Open Letter to the Vice President of Sierra
Leone
Raymond Dele Awoonor-Gordon
8 December 2011
Sir
Permit my impudence, but there is an irony in the
fact that the administration of which you are a
part, won a mandate for change four years ago and
just about a year to the renewal of that term of
office, it is now, more than ever before, faced with
a stern test of all its platitudes on 'Attitudinal
and Behaviour Change'.
President & Vice President |
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There is no doubt, that there is an
urgent need for our new generation of
leaders to clear the cobwebs of
decadence and political scavenging of
the past, and the Timbergate issue, in
which you have found yourself embroiled,
is from all indications, one of the
perfect opportunities to do just that.
Amid the dark whispers, what the
whole saga points to, is that people are
simply saying that the present
administration was supposed to represent
a new dawn; a fresh approach to politics
and governance; but believe rightly or
wrongly, that it has flattered to
deceive.
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This may be why sympathy for you and by extension
the government, is in short supply at the moment.
I am therefore fascinated by the report that you
are interested in taking legal action against the
broadcast network, and by extension, the producer of
the programme. Openness is a guarantee of probity
for those with nothing to hide.
So, I wish you the best of luck; because not only
will you be needing it, the outcome of such a step
is going to be either a long march to freedom or a
short walk to oblivion.
Meanwhile, as the circus remains in full swing
however, let me respectfully point out to you that,
bold statements have a nasty habit of boomeranging.
Talk is cheap but action speaks louder than words.
So please do us all a favour and head for the
courts.
Already, in street corners and bar joints, in the
safety of their rooms and backyards; in poda-poda
and in the markets, people are raising eye-brows
about a few niggling thoughts, especially after the
several feeble and ill-conceived attempts at
rubbishing the programme instead of correcting
probable misconceptions.
Show me your friends and I’ll tell you who you are -
readily comes to mind.
The vacuum created when trust evaporates is what has
crystallised the public’s anger at having been taken
for fools. The fiery sense that the political class
has insulated itself, while continuing to presume
the gullibility of the masses is why all politicians
have been tarred with the same brush.
Truthfully, politicians have lost authority, because
they have become dangerously disconnected from those
they chose to serve, through their self-posturing
and lack of accountability. Pathetically, there has
been little to expose or dispel this fallacy.
Cynically, people wonder if and when the rock of
graft is finally lifted, God knows what we’ll find
crawling underneath. It is the belief that those
helping themselves to our collective wealth are
peeping at us from their great heights and laughing
in our faces.
The culture of finger-licking, despite all the noise
being made is now seen by many as being part of the
DNA of our society - a culture that makes you sick
to the pit of your stomach.
Your Excellency, I hope you are not reading meaning
to this piece. But there is a saying that when two
brothers go into a room to talk and come out
laughing, then they have not spoken the home truth
to each other.
From history, we have continued to see that the
great and the good have feet of clay like everybody.
The Timbergate drama is an extraordinary experience
that has reputational damage that will be hard to
repair.
But try you must - for the sake of all of us.
Especially as it appears certain elements are
surreptitiously raising the bar. In other words, you
are as much a victim of your 'friends and admirers'
as of those perceived to be your enemies - and
believe me, both sets have now got you where they
want.
The task is not who, what or where you are going to
carry out this fight, but how you expect to win.
Because if you lose, you’ll soon discover that the
horrors of war are not only at your doorstep, but
are now sharing your luxurious bed.
A man alone hasn’t got a chance, and those who urge
you to fight against great odds are looking for
nothing but a 'dead' hero.
The
High Court - Freetown
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So, I hope your legal team will be proving
amongst others that:
• You did not have any contact with suspected timber
merchants
• That your image was super-imposed in the meeting
that took place? - At least that was in your office,
I believe.
• That you did not promise to refer the timber issue
to the agriculture minister? Which is a tacit
endorsement of the issue?
• That you did not know the two 'gentlemen' who used
your name to extort money - as is being bandied?
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• That the programme specifically mentioned that you
collected money for your error of judgement?
Entertaining a discussion that should have been cut
short from the first sentence with the authority and
clarification that is expected of a number two man
• That the English word 'Office of the Vice
President' does not have a connotative and
denotative meaning that encompasses all that
transpired during the course of the recording,
through inference even?
• That…………etc. etc.
Let me also point out some of the obstacles that lie
ahead. But do not let them deter your determination
to pursue the issue to its logical conclusion.
While not holding brief for you or for the programme
makers, your stoical approach to the issue appears
to have all the finesse of an elephant trying to
tap-dance on an oil-smeared floor.
For one, the hysteria that was used on your behalf
by comedy capers, to try and gather up a storm of
emotional public support, is what also helped to
turn the attention and tide of public opinion.
But a war ensues whether an individual is part of a
great army or is fighting for his own life. The
discordant, mildly opportunistic note from your
colleagues, amid the furore, is rather disconcerting
for me and it points to the fundamental conclusion
that all is not well.
By the way, dare I tell you that this is already
in the public domain; no matter what colour of flag
the Independent Media Commission raises in a
desperate bid to shush the whole episode.
There have been snide remarks since your
administration came to power. All that was missing
was the proof of the aspersion. This is why it is
imperative that you bite the bullet by heading for
the courts.
Sir, from my dispassionate observation, you fumbled;
irrespective of any aspect of the programme that is
discredited. Your cameo appearance and subsequent
pronouncements cannot be erased by threats or
outcome of a legal action.
Don’t let the gulps of power-brandy give you a
giddiness that promises to expose the garb of
recklessness and uncouthness, under the shinning new
coats of those of you who are now leading us.
No matter the result of your case, there is a
sceptical, unbelieving and hungry mob out there who
have not only made up their minds, but who are also
under the impression, following the Independent
Media Commission’s feeble attempt at shutting the
mouths of the lion, and the absurd display of
dynamism by the Anti Corruption Commission.
For one, I might be wrong but not even during the
'Coke and Bull' drama involving your erstwhile
colleague, Kemoh Sesay, or the long-drawn cash and
fish saga of Afsatu Kabbah or even the recent
sensational Mayoral cash-banquet, did the ACC openly
appealed to the public or the government for
permission to interrogate individuals concerned. Yet
this is a more straight forward case.
Similarly, trust in the judiciary is totally eroded
for reasons which I am very sure must have also come
to your attention. However, allow me to give you
just one example.
When the late Olu Richie Gordon (remember him?)
published a story way back in January this year
about the Mayor swindling Morgan Heritage, he was
threatened with legal action. Nothing happened until
May this year when his paper, PEEP, published a
story about the brother of the Chief Justice being
involved in a land scandal.
A few days later, following the failure of the paper
to succumb to subtle threats and intimidation to
drop the story, a writ was slapped on them regarding
the Mayor and the Morgan Heritage report.
Again, the already battered image of the political
class especially concerning broken promises creates
the impression that their words are a rainbow
creation.
Just recently, your boss went to Regent Village and
promised the long-suffering people of this suburb,
that the injustice of being left in the dark for the
last five years and being taunted by the ignominy of
seeing their more affluent segment of the village
which hitherto had no poles, rewarded with light;
while they sleep in total darkness despite needing
only rewiring, will be corrected by
September/October this year.
Suffice to say that like the completion date and
several other promises, it is still a strange world
for them.
Very many of the rich in our country today, and
since this administration came to power have been
either in government or around government. This is
the grim reality of the raging thunderstorm over the
Timbergate issue.
I know that your government is still in thrall to
the fantasy that it is the best thing since slice
bread, simply because it played 'God' and said let
there be light. But majority will rather give an arm
and a foot to have their thirst sated and their
hunger satisfied, right now.
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And with poverty spreading at an
alarming rate, the unspoken question
from the voiceless majority is and has
always been: "why are people in
government and their cohorts making so
much money, while the rest of us go
about with six o’clock faces?"
No doubt, poverty is repugnant and
abhorrent. It invokes an instinctive
reaction from those at the tail end;
especially when those expected to tackle
the issue and change the lot of those
bearing the brunt do so with dangerously
complacent psychology. |
Sir, if others won’t tell you the truth, I’ll simply
say that "you got yourself into this mess, now
please get yourself out of it".
We’ve heard his master’s voice from the I.M.C. We’ve
listened to the pathetic plea of the ACC. Now let’s
hear the rallying cry from you.
Do us all a favour and let’s get this issue out
of the way. Let the court drama begin.
Yours sincerely.
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