Sierra Leoneans are currently celebrating the 50th anniversary of the country. However, it is my view that rather than pretending to be having a good time in a country that is severely stressed at many levels, Sierra Leoneans should be making a solemn pledge to each other. As a matter of fact, I am not sure that in the last fifty years of independence, Sierra Leone has much to be proud of. It is therefore surprising that the name Sierra Leone is being associated with pride. If Sierra Leoneans are proud of the last fifty years which has been characterized by widespread thievery among the elites and the brutalization of the people, then the country knows no shame. The last fifty years in the history of Sierra Leone should be one to be ashamed of, if for no other reason than the fact that the country is often rated among the last in the world in terms of standards of living. That is why Sierra Leoneans should be making a solemn pledge to each other that they would strive to make things better for each other in the next fifty years. The thieving ruling elites should in fact be apologizing to the people for having made their lives a living hell; they should be pledging to do better in the next fifty years. It is this lack of remorse on the part of the thieves who pass for leaders that this anomalous celebration is happening. Even by African standards, Sierra Leone is still at the bottom. To celebrate this woeful lack of achievement and to pronounce that one is proud of doing so borders on the bizarre. In a song about the celebration which I heard on BBC but which I cannot find right now, Sierra Leone is described as a mother. This description gives mothers a bad name. If Sierra Leone has been a mother to her children, she has at best been a very abusive mother who needs jail time. Her ways need to change drastically. Hopefully, it will in the next fifty years.
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