What Is Gov’t Doing?

By Edwina Sia Janga

When August 10 happened, the authorities maintained that they had intelligence of what was to happen, so they decided to direct that no such protest is allowed. We all know how it panned out, leading to the unnecessary loss of lives of both security and civilians. Today, the social media is awash with another call from the same quarters for another action. This time, the authorities will not say they did not know. But what are they doing about it? Are they waiting for April 27 to happen before any serious action will be taken to stop it?

 

After the August 10, both ruling party and opposition party condemned the act and even dissociated themselves from the entire event, and at the end, innocent Sierra Leoneans died. Now the warning signs are everywhere. It is on social media, and no one has come out to condemn it. Not the government or the opposition parties, or even Civil Society organizations, including the Peace Commission. At such times, it is the duty of all stakeholders of our peace to engage the airwaves and talk to Sierra Leoneans not to heed the call of detractors of the country’s peace.

 

Whilst the police may simply feel that arrest is the way forward, some social commentators believe that prevention is better than cure. The issue is all over social media, and heard by a good majority of citizens, including those in authority. This is not the time to wait for it to happen and then do arrests. It is time to engage the airwaves and tell people about the danger that the call poses to the security of the state, as well as their lives.

 

Some school of thoughts believe that the opposition has a role to play in convincing their supporters not to heed such a call. This they can do through the messages they send to their respective regional offices to be disseminated to their supporters. Similar action should be taken by the ruling party to warn against such acts. The Inter-Religious Council also has a role to play, especially as their constituency is the largest in the country. Pastors, Imams and all religious leaders should admonish their flock to avoid involving in such acts, and since their work is more about preaching to the people, they have the time and platform to talk to their respective congregations about the dangers of involvement in such a call.

 

Whether one is fed up with a government or not, there are constitutional means to remove a government and not by force. The General Elections is barely two months away, which gives citizens the opportunity to make the choice of leaders they want to rule them. This is what the country’s Constitution provides for and not otherwise. If a political party feels it is strong enough to challenge the ruling party, they should endeavour to use the ballot box and not through any back door means. Sierra Leone is a country of laws and people are expected to embrace the law in whatever they do.

 

The government, on its own part, has the ministry of information, which should, by now be engaging the populace via the media to warn against involvement in such dangerous acts that have the proclivity to destabilize the nation and cause more deaths. Al stakeholders should engage the public via the media, public address systems etc. Issuing press releases will not address the issue, as a good number of Sierra Leoneans do not read, and depend on what people tell them, but if Public Address systems are employed, they will be able to reach many, especially in the market places and town centers. This is not a matter for one institution to embrace, but needs the participation of all stakeholders, using whatever means they have at their disposal to pass their messages.