Abdulai Mansaray: 17 March 2018:
The elections have just concluded in Sierra Leone. Better still, Act 1 scene 1 of our democratic process has just been concluded. How democratic it was is anybody’s guess. The accusations, allegations and counter accusations keep flying.
But interestingly, our country has never seen the like of this election. Social media seemed to have come of age during the elections. Fake news gained a lot of currency in the minds of people.
Although there were lots of controversies and the lot, the run off, or better still Act 2 Scene 2 is sure to take a life of its own.
There are a lot of issues, some perennial and some new that have been raised and continue to be, from the recently concluded elections. It is with humility that I confess; that having gone through the political jamboree recently; I feel that I am suffering from political constipation.
My Whatsapp pages have been the best of victims during this cycle. Believe it or not, a new illness is about to descend on us; whatsappmyosis.
It is just half way through the journey, but what sticks out from these elections is the theme of regional and tribal lines being drawn across our country. I recall how people tried and failed to use tribalism to fuel our decade long war.
The spirit of the nation was very strong then. As a nation, we all believed that we faced a common enemy; the rebel fighters. And so those who tried to use and capitalise on our ethnic differences failed miserably. (Photo: Author – Mr Abdulai Mansaray).
Can anyone imagine what it would have been like, if they had succeeded to pitch one tribe against the other during the rebel war? We survived it as one. It’s time to bring back those days of oneness.
Today, my heart bleeds for my country and I am struggling to find words to describe the depths to which our nation has been allowed to sink; using tribal allegiances to determine who is best equipped to lead us into the next political cycle.
Our politicians have succeeded where the rebels failed. Our politicians have succeeded where the mercenaries failed. The geopolitical landscape was succinctly demonstrated by the results of the recently concluded elections.
If there is anything to take away from the elections, it is heart wrenching that our politicians have allowed TRIBALISM to rear its ugly head in our midst.
You don’t need to be an Einstein to fathom this. The voting pattern has left a landscape that is, and will be plagued by tribal consciousness. The worry is all too familiar.
We have seen how one of the largest democracies, one that you would be tempted to use as a blueprint for democracy, USA has been used, misused and abused to become one of the most divisive societies.
America used to be the land of the free. Today, it is the land of us and them. I have no desire to describe any geographical area by its tribal colouration. But suffice it to say that this has been the case. It is a really sad state of affairs that a new wave of tribal instincts has been rejuvenated.
To say that Sierra Leone’s 2 main political parties were juxtaposed along tribal lines is like telling me that the pope is catholic. But unlike today, these tribal differences and allegiances were as subtle as you could get.
It was not uncommon for a Mende person to vote for the APC and the Temne for SLPP. There was an unspoken notion that the SLPP and APC were genetically Mende and Temne parties respectively. In spite of such notions, there was room for the in-betweens.
As a district, Kono was regarded as the Ohio or king maker of our electoral process. The district has never been known to go half way; all or nothing.
But the recent results, which many have described as sticking 2 fingers up the … to the APC, has conjured unusual political alliances that seem to be bordering on the tribal.
This is really sad; that in this day and age, a man’s qualification to represent his country would be largely or solely dependent on the language his parents decided to teach him.
Having gone through the marathon campaign season, you would expect voters to experience some voter apathy. That is a possibility, but if such a low motivation is tinged with the fervour of tribal instincts, who knows. But those politicians who believe that preaching tribal allegiances is the best route to their success would be best described as delusional.
In the first place, except if your aim is just the acquisition of power and nothing but power, a divided country is not the best menu for a new leader. Leaders succeed because they have a united following.
Donald Trump peddled the concept of divide and rule. Today, he cannot get anything done in his backyard. As if to make matters worse, those whom he rewarded with appointments and positions for standing by him are now deserting him in droves; at least one every week.
Our parliamentary composition is very likely going to be a preferably mixed bag. The expectation is that we would have better parliamentary debates unlike the comatose one we had for the last 10 years.
Interestingly, whosoever ends up being the president will have his work cut out. For how can you lead a parliament where its midwife was tribalism? How can one lead a parliament with tribalism as its dominant DNA?
How do you share development projects, political appointments, undertake projects for social mobility based on tribe and region?
I can hear you say it has always been the case. True. But this was subtle then. Just like the elections, this one would be blatant. Many would like to see how you can lead a divided parliament. Ask Donald Trump.
Tribalism is now becoming our country’s compound interests. As a nation, we must resist it; for it serves only those who stand to gain from it. And that is the politicians who, drunk with Machiavellian principles see it as a means to an end.
They are prepared to use you, misuse you, abuse you, and in the end refuse you. And when they achieve their political ends, will the price of a bag of rice, petrol, cement etc. depend on the language you speak?
Will sanitation, good health, good education, and even the weather depend on your tribal affiliations?
With tribalism fast becoming trendy as demonstrated in the elections, we should never allow it to fester among us. We should never allow such ethnocentric way of thinking; who is your uncle to linger among us.
Tribalism will make prejudice seem like physics inter-generationally. It is therefore the most dangerous opponent of philosophy, because it feels the most credible to the average person. If we do, it will succeed where the rebel war failed.
If we look around Africa today, there are lots of examples to choose from. For the sake of Mama Salone, let’s vote wisely; for the price of a bag of rice knows no tribe.
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter (M. L. King).
We hope and pray that this tribal sentiment would not gain foothold in this election. People need to learn that politics is based on merit and potential of the candidates, not their tribal and\or regional affiliations. Long live mama salone.
I personally believe that the only results that will silence the drums of tribalism, is only when the people from different parts of the country vote for the APC or all the political parties elect their flag bearer from the north.
Why can’t we just respect the will of the voters instead of constantly putting people on a guilt trip? Regardless, whatever the outcome, is all the presidential candidates received votes from all the four corners of our country. May the Almighty God open our hearts so we can be tolerant to each other.
The worst mistake Sierra Leoneans can make, is dividing the country on tribal regions. We have never driven this situation so far. What happens with the other people in the country? They all are our brothers and sisters. Should they be abandoned or pushed forcibly to accept another tribe?
These are all stupidity of those who have introduced such problem in the country. I do hope Sierra Leoneans are too clever to be pushed to something that really does not exist in the country. Sierra Leone has gone too far and always together to start such manipulation.
PLEASE, BROTHERS AND SISTERS DO NOT LET ANYONE PUT YOU INTO PROBLEMS AS HAPPENED IN RWANDA. ARE THERE PEOPLE TRYING TO LET THE COUNTRY ENTER INTO THAT SPHERE? I HOPE NOT. “ONE COUNTRY ONE PEOPLE REMEMBER”.
Surprisingly, APC supporters in the diaspora are currently at the heart of injecting naked tribalism in Sierra Leone.
Recently in WhatsApp, a recorded voice was circulated by APC supporters saying an SLPP Chairman at Shellmingo in Bo who goes by the name of Vandi, incited SLPP supporters to identify residences of Temnes and Limbas in Bo for elimination. The second WhatsApp recording was purportedly made by a Themne Trader lady alleging she is running to Makeni because the Mendes are going after them.
In reaction to those voice recordings, a Themne brother in the Netherlands (who has since shown remorse after been told to listen carefully to the accent of this so called Chairman Vandi) went ahead to start telling his friends and family, to start buying matchets, cutlasses and knives for a possible all out war with Mendes in Freetown.
As a former security officer, I have since sent the recorded voice message to a senior police officer in Bo who happens to be a Limba and he said there is no SLPP Chairman by the name of Vandi at Shellmingo.
This is scary and I hope you journalists start naming names so that people will know the dangers of what they are playing with. Whosoever digs a pit will not know that he or she will fall in it. Our country has gone through a lot. Drawing daggers at one another for nothing at all is the last thing we want.