April 18, 2011 – Mr. President, SLAJ, Members of SLAJ, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, May I firstly take this opportunity to thank you and all your members for inviting me as one of your Discussants, thereby giving me the opportunity to speak to the\u00a0 People\u00a0 of\u00a0 Sierra Leone\u00a0 on\u00a0 this\u00a0 unique\u00a0 and\u00a0 historic occasion.<\/p>\n
May I also extend to the President, The Government and the entire People of Sierra Leone hearty and sincere congratulations on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary [Golden Jubilee] of our achievement of Political Independence from our formal\u00a0 Colonial Masters, The United Kingdom on the 27th April 1961.<\/p>\n
We achieved Independence peacefully, quietly, and without having to fight a war, after constitutional talks held at Lancaster House in London, England.\u00a0 I sometimes wonder whether the ease with which we did achieve Independence has affected the way we have conducted ourselves as a Nation since 1961.\u00a0\u00a0Of\u00a0 that,\u00a0 more\u00a0 anon!<\/p>\n
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, 50 years is a long time\u00a0 in\u00a0 the life \u00a0of a human being, and using myself as an example, in 50 years from 1961 to 2011, I have metamorphosed from being a fresh-faced 14 year old schoolboy at the Prince of Wales School, full of hopes, dreams and plans at the time of Independence in 1961, to a 64 year old Grandfather uncertain about the future and wondering what will happen to this country in the next decade or two.\u00a0 It is an interesting coincidence that even before I received a telephone call from Mr. Umaru Fofana inviting me to do what I am doing now, I had decided to do an article to be published in the local press on the occasion of The Golden Jubilee of our Independence.<\/p>\n
My decision to do so was ignited by something I heard over the BBC at about 5am on Sunday 3rd April 2011.\u00a0 As I lay on my bed listening to \u201cThe World Today\u201d a news programme regularly aired over the BBC I heard General Sir Richard Dannat, the former Head of The British Army, who said he had just returned to Sierra Leone, describe SIERRA LEONE as \u201cA wretchedly poor Country\u201d!!\u00a0 Not a poor country, or even a very poor country \u2013 but \u201cA WRETCHEDLY POOR COUNTRY.\u201d\u00a0 I must confess that even though I believe the General meant no offence and was just speaking his mind, I immediately felt a deep sense of hurt, anger, offence, outrage and betrayal all rolled up together, not directed at the General, who had not very long ago contributed to saving our Country from disaster, but at ourselves Sierra Leoneans.<\/p>\n
As a fiercely patriotic Sierra Leonean who prefers Sierra Leone to anywhere else in the world, I kept asking myself \u201cAre we really a wretchedly poor Country?\u00a0 And indeed, after 50 years of Independence ought we to allow ourselves to be in a situation where we are perceived by others as \u201ca wretchedly poor Country?\u00a0 After 50years of Independence with our own Countrymen and women superintending our affairs, ought we to be at or near the bottom of the Human Development Index?\u00a0 After much soul searching, I recalled to mind the immortal words of SHAKESPEARE\u2019S Cassius in his play Julius Caesar,\u00a0 when\u00a0 he\u00a0 said,<\/p>\n
\u201cMen at sometime are masters of their fates; The fault Dear Brutus is not in our\u00a0 Stars,\u00a0 but\u00a0 in\u00a0 ourselves,\u00a0 that\u00a0 we are\u00a0 underlings.\u201d<\/p>\n
And that, Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, leads me to the core message of this my contribution today \u2013 Since 1961 we have been Masters of our Fate, but what have we done with our Independence, and what have we achieved since 1961?\u00a0 Undoubtedly, there are those who would disagree with me, and they are entitled to their own opinions, but in my respectful submission, we have done precious little with our independence, and we have achieved precious\u00a0 little\u00a0 since\u00a0 1961.<\/p>\n
OUR NATURAL RESOURCES:<\/strong><\/p>\n Having regard to the description of Sierra Leone as a \u201cwretchedly poor Country\u201d, I now wish to take a brief look at our natural resources just to see why in my most respectful submission we ought not to be in a situation where anyone would even think of describing us as such.\u00a0 Sierra Leone is a relatively small country with a population of not more than Six million [6,000,000] people, blessed with abundant natural resources such as gold, diamonds, rutile, bauxite, iron ore and other minerals; we are further blessed with abundant marine resources such as fish, shrimps, crabs, lobster, etc; we are further blessed with a very rich soil and agricultural produce including Palm kernels, coffee, cocoa, piassava, ginger, etc.\u00a0 We can grow almost anything in Sierra Leone, including vegetables and fruits like cabbage and tomatoes, plantains, oranges, bananas and pineapples.\u00a0 We also have one of the best natural harbours in the world, golden sunshine all the year round, and refreshing rain for\u00a0about\u00a0 half\u00a0 of\u00a0 the year.<\/p>\n SO\u00a0 WHAT\u00a0 IS\u00a0 WRONG\u00a0 WITH\u00a0 SIERRA LEONE?<\/strong><\/p>\n And my honest answer is\u00a0 –\u00a0 \u201cTHE PEOPLE\u201d \u2013 or maybe I should qualify that a bit further, and restate that to be, \u201cTHE RULING CLASS\u201d from 1961 to now, and this includes both of The Political Parties who have ruled Sierra Leone since Independence.\u00a0 It has been a litany of \u201cmissed opportunities and misplaced priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n It is my very carefully considered and researched opinion that in these past 50 years, we as a Nation [through the ruling class] have not harnessed our God-given natural resources for the full benefit of the People of Sierra Leone.\u00a0 What do\u00a0 I\u00a0 mean?<\/p>\n There was a time when we had The Sierra Leone Produce Marketing Board, which was set up to buy produce from local Farmers and Cooperatives and EXPORT same abroad, with the foreign exchange coming back to us \u2013 what happened to it?\u00a0 It is said that it was sabotaged by the setting up of other Private Businesses to compete with it.\u00a0 Suffice it to say that as a Nation we no longer export produce and that activity is now in private hands with precious little benefit accruing to the people of the Country.\u00a0 There was a time when we had The National Diamond Mining Company [otherwise known as DIMINCO]; we had the Sierra Leone Selection Trust [SLST] \u2013 both engaged in the mining and exportation of diamonds \u2013 what happened to them?\u00a0 Well, don\u2019t ask me, but suffice it to say they do not exist any longer, mainly because of the selfishness and greed of those who were supposed to be superintending our affairs as a Nation.\u00a0 When will Sierra Leoneans take full charge of our God-given natural resources, and when will we stop giving away our wealth in return for handouts from those who are always ready\u00a0 to\u00a0 exploit\u00a0 our\u00a0 naivety,\u00a0 ineptitude\u00a0 and\u00a0 inadequacies?<\/p>\n I submit to you Ladies and Gentlemen, that unless and until we as Sierra Leoneans decide to harness our own resources for the benefit of our people we will remain \u201ca wretchedly poor Country\u201d, going around the world with a begging bowl, leaving others to plunder our wealth.<\/p>\n To this End, I would recommend that the report of The Jenkins-Johnston Commission of Inquiry dated 17th March 2008<\/strong> with particular reference to The Recommendations thereunder BE MADE PUBLIC, so that members of the Public will know what is available to the Government for the improvement of our situation so far as the mining industry is concerned,\u00a0\u00a0 but\u00a0\u00a0 on\u00a0\u00a0 which\u00a0\u00a0 NO ACTION<\/strong> has\u00a0 been\u00a0 taken\u00a0 so\u00a0 far.<\/p>\n I\u00a0 quote Recommendation 17\u00a0 in\u00a0 full:<\/p>\n \u201cWe recommend finally that in all future policy decisions touching and concerning Mining of all types in Sierra Leone, it must always be borne in mind\u00a0 and\u00a0 must\u00a0 always\u00a0 be reflected\u00a0 in\u00a0 all\u00a0 concessions,\u00a0 contracts, leases, and licences granted to ANY PERSON to mine in Sierra Leone, that the precious mineral being mined, be it diamonds, gold or any other, BELONGS EXCLUSIVELY\u00a0 to\u00a0 the people of Sierra Leone present\u00a0 and future, and that the People of Sierra Leone\u00a0 are entitled\u00a0 to benefit\u00a0 from their God-given natural resource as much as possible instead\u00a0 of\u00a0 being handed\u00a0 a pittance\u00a0 from\u00a0 the\u00a0 minerals\u00a0 mined\u00a0 here,\u00a0\u00a0 with\u00a0 the Investor carting off\u00a0 the\u00a0 Lion\u2019s Share\u00a0 every time.\u00a0 There\u00a0 is\u00a0 need\u00a0 for\u00a0 a\u00a0 radical change\u00a0 of\u00a0 Policy\u00a0 in\u00a0 this\u00a0 regard.\u201d<\/p>\n It is also well known and internationally acknowledged that Sierra Leone possesses substantial marine resources, which is why every night hundreds if not thousands of Poachers enter our territorial waters to steal our fish, shrimps, etc with no-one to stop them.\u00a0 Boats come here from as far afield as Russia, China, Korea, etc. to plunder our continental shelf and go away, while there is hardly any fish in the local markets for our people to eat.\u00a0 It is a well-known fact that those who are supposed to monitor such activities are often in the pay of the trespassers and criminals who even have the audacity to come here with factory-ships all of which operate to our detriment.<\/p>\n After 50 years of Independence, is it not time we take full charge of our resources and make sure our people\u00a0 benefit\u00a0 from\u00a0 them?\u00a0 Are\u00a0 we\u00a0 not\u00a0 tired\u00a0 of\u00a0 begging?<\/strong><\/p>\n It is my submission Ladies and Gentlemen, that after 50 Years of Independence it is time for us to assert ourselves as a Nation,\u00a0 it is time for us to rely on ourselves and to stop crying down ourselves and our compatriots and to rely on Foreigners for everything.\u00a0 Every day you hear the Sierra Leone Ruling Class praying for and calling for \u201dINVESTORS\u201d.\u00a0 –\u00a0 Investors are not Philanthropists but Businessmen, and they come here to make a profit for themselves and their Shareholders, not to help us solve our problems.\u00a0 There are\u00a0 a lot of things\u00a0we can do for ourselves for which we do not need to rely on Investors, and it is my plea to all Sierra Leoneans on this day that we need to be self-reliant as far as possible.\u00a0 We need to believe in ourselves and to stop thinking that Foreigners\u00a0 can\u00a0 do\u00a0 everything\u00a0 better\u00a0 than\u00a0 we\u00a0 can.<\/p>\n Let me now look briefly at a few other areas where in my view we have not\u00a0 helped\u00a0 ourselves\u00a0 much\u00a0 over\u00a0 the\u00a0 years.<\/p>\n Medical Facilities:<\/strong><\/p>\n It is a well known fact that medical facilities in Sierra Leone leave much to be desired.\u00a0 I speak from personal experience as I had to rush out of the Country in January last year on the advice of my doctor for a procedure which is really quite a simple one but which was not available here, and as a direct consequence of that procedure I had to undergo a major operation immediately, and may have died if I had not been in a position to go to Britain.<\/p>\n After 50 years of Independence ought we not to have proper medical facilities in our Country?\u00a0 Nowadays you hear every other person with a medical problem going to GHANA for treatment.\u00a0 Ghana achieved Independence only 4 years before we did, but they have now left us far behind.\u00a0 With the very small population we have, coupled with the vast natural resources at our disposal, ought we not to be in a position to provide proper medical facilities in our Country?\u00a0 Quite recently, I know of someone who was rushed to the Connaught Hospital in the middle of the night, but there was not a single doctor available, and he had to be taken to a private doctor in his home for which service he had to pay quite a substantial sum of money. But what if he could not afford it?\u00a0 As we all know His Excellency The President launched Free Medical Care for Pregnant and Lactating Mothers and Children under 5 years –\u00a0 A most laudable venture indeed!\u00a0 But what is happening on the ground?\u00a0 Most of the time the medicines are not available and the women have to buy them outside the hospitals, which in\u00a0 my\u00a0 view\u00a0 defeats\u00a0 the intention\u00a0 of\u00a0 the Scheme.<\/p>\n That takes me back to\u00a0 the Shakespearian quotation that\u00a0 \u201cthe fault is in ourselves, and not in our Stars.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n There are many other areas I would have liked to touch on, but I think I will leave those for the discussion, \u2013 such as Education, the serious deterioration of standards in the Schools and Universities;\u00a0 the non-improvement of the Airport as compared to Banjul International, or Kotoka International, Accra, and Abidjan Airport;\u00a0 rampant corruption, and the lack of electricity and water supply in many parts of the Country not least in the Capital City, Freetown.<\/p>\n At Independence we had a functioning Railway from Water Street, Freetown to as far as Pendembu in Kailahun.\u00a0 Those among us who are old enough will remember that there was a railway track along the Street now known as \u2018OLD RAILWAY LINE, TENGBEH TOWN\u201d leading upto Hill Station, where the Expatriate members of the Colonial Establishment used to live.\u00a0 What happened to our Railway?\u00a0 It was phased out, for reasons which are not clear to me, thereby depriving ourselves of an excellent opportunity of transportation of People and Goods, especially produce from the Provinces\u00a0 to Freetown which has not been replaced.\u00a0 Another missed opportunity?\u00a0 Another misplaced priority?<\/p>\n When I started practice in 1974 there was Sierra Leone Airways which used to fly from Hastings Airfield to Bo, Kenema, Yengema and Bonthe.\u00a0 There was also the direct flight from Freetown to London and back, with Sierra Leonean Air Hostesses on board the Planes.\u00a0 What happened to all of that?\u00a0 Now there is absolutely no internal flight within Sierra Leone.\u00a0 At present People as well as Goods have to be moved by road ONLY, there is no transport by rail or by air.\u00a0 Another missed opportunity?\u00a0 Another misplaced priority?\u00a0 Far from making\u00a0 progress,\u00a0 have\u00a0 we\u00a0 not\u00a0 retrogressed\u00a0 and\u00a0 gone\u00a0 backwards?<\/p>\n There\u00a0 was\u00a0 a\u00a0 time\u00a0 when\u00a0 Fourah Bay College\u00a0 known\u00a0 as \u201cThe Athens of West\u00a0Africa\u201d.\u00a0 Classical Scholars among us will know that the name \u201cAthens\u201d signified the origin of knowledge, wisdom and enlightenment, which in turn tells you the kind of respect which was accorded to our Country at that time as it was not only the Headquarters of the Colonial Establishment in West Africa, but even after Independence Sierra Leone in the form of Fourah Bay College used to be a magnet to which Students from other West African Countries were attracted.<\/p>\n As a student at Fourah Bay college [which was then affiliated to The University of Durham,] from 1965 to 1969, under the enlightened leadership and direction of distinguished Scholars like Dr. Davidson Nicol;\u00a0 Prof. The Rev. Canon Henry Sawyerr; and my own Professor Dr. Eldred Jones, I know the very high standard of Education and Discipline that we enjoyed at Fourah Bay College, not to mention the available facilities like Constant Electricity and Water supply;\u00a0 three(3) Square Meals a day;\u00a0 a well-stocked Library, and the list goes on.<\/p>\n What happened to all of that?\u00a0 I need not tell you what is happening today because you all know.\u00a0 Poor Standard of Education,\u00a0 Examination malpractices,\u00a0 Cultism and violence on campus, etc. etc.\u00a0 Once again, what is happening to our\u00a0 \u201cAthens\u201d?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Another\u00a0 missed\u00a0 opportunity?<\/p>\n In Conclusion, Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, my final message to all my compatriots\u00a0 on\u00a0 this\u00a0 Golden Jubilee\u00a0 of\u00a0 our\u00a0 Independence\u00a0 is\u00a0 as\u00a0 follows:<\/p>\n After 50 years of Independence, it is time for us to wake up out of our national slumber;\u00a0 It is time for us to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps;\u00a0 It is time for us to be self-reliant, to know what is good for us and to stop relying on Foreigners for everything;\u00a0 It is time for us to treat each other with respect, and to applaud the efforts of others and not to cry them down even when they are trying hard;\u00a0 It is time for us to ensure that we harness our natural resources to our full benefit and to stop allowing \u201cSo-called Investors\u201d to take away our\u00a0\u00a0 God-given wealth\u00a0 giving\u00a0 back to us only a pittance;\u00a0 It is time for us and for the\u00a0Ruling Class especially to love our Country more than our pockets;\u00a0 It is time for Sierra Leone to take her place in the top half of the Human Development Index, alongside Countries like Malaysia and Singapore with whom we were once at par;\u00a0 It is time for us to stop being a \u201cwretchedly poor Country\u201d, and to stop BEGGING all the time;\u00a0 It is time for Sierra Leone and all Sierra Leoneans to work with sincerity and commitment for ourselves and for our children and grandchildren yet unborn. And it is time for us to stop attempting to reap where we\u00a0 have not sown. <\/strong><\/p>\n HEARTY CONGRATULATIONS to all Sierra Leoneans on this our Golden Jubilee of our Independence,\u00a0 and\u00a0 may\u00a0 our eyes\u00a0 be\u00a0 truly\u00a0 open\u00a0 from\u00a0 this\u00a0 day\u00a0 forward! \u00a0LONG\u00a0 LIVE\u00a0 SIERRA LEONE !<\/strong> by J B Jenkins-Johnson Esq, Legal Practitioner<\/em><\/p>\n Stay with Sierra Express Media, for your trusted place in news!<\/strong><\/p>\n April 18, 2011 – Mr. President, SLAJ, Members of SLAJ, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, May I firstly take this opportunity to thank you and all […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":75801,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[745,1],"tags":[2397,7458,5005,8046,8047],"class_list":["post-22957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life-and-entertainment","category-uncategorized","tag-50th-independence-anniversary","tag-anniversary-celebrations","tag-golden-jubilee","tag-j-b-jenkins","tag-jenkins-johnston-commission-of-inquiry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22957"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22957\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/75801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nMay\u00a0 God\u00a0 Bless\u00a0 all\u00a0 Sierra Leoneans!\u00a0\u00a0 Thank\u00a0 you\u00a0 for\u00a0 your\u00a0 kind\u00a0 attention. <\/strong><\/span>
\n <\/em><\/p>\n
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