{"id":58642,"date":"2013-07-04T03:27:26","date_gmt":"2013-07-04T03:27:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sierraexpressmedia.com\/?p=58642"},"modified":"2013-07-04T03:27:26","modified_gmt":"2013-07-04T03:27:26","slug":"fallamakata-the-chinese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/?p=58642","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Fallamakata\u2019 the Chinese (??!!)"},"content":{"rendered":"

President Ernest Bai Koroma returned home yesterday from China!!\u00a0 Triumphantly!!\u00a0 From Lungi International Airport he drove straight to State House, and started work in his office. On Friday, \u00a05th<\/sup> July, 2013, President Koroma, to be flanked \u00a0by the Ministers and State House officials who travelled with him, would host a Press Conference in State House to inform the nation about his (and the nation\u2019s) \u2018Chinese triumph\u2019.\u00a0 They are no doubt brimming with ideas as to what great developmental ideas they have seen in China which they can \u2018fallamakata\u2019 (imitate) in Sierra Leone. If President Koroma\u2019s administration doesn\u2019t \u2018fallamakata\u2019 the best parts of the Chinese \u2013 in agriculture; in industry; in tourism, etc. \u2013 posterity (especially today\u2019s youth whose interest he has pledged to seek above all else) \u00a0would condemn him guilty for \u2018going to China\u2019 (\u2018Going to China\u2019 in Quranic terms \u00a0mean taking great risks to go in the quest of esoteric and utilitarian knowledge) with a large delegation of government ministers and not bringing much back home.\u00a0 It is likely that this generation, and, those not yet born, would always extol to the skies the developmental strides of President Koroma, and, his diplomatic savvy in romancing with China as results of his Chinese venture begins to unfold.\u00a0 About the very best and most prolific of Sierra Leone\u2019s media professionals, John Baimba Sesay (Press Attach\u00e9 in the Sierra Leone Embassy in Beijing), and Jarrah Kawuse-Conte (State House Communication Unit Manager) tapped the President for information while he was still inside a plane flying over Chinese territory – on what benefits \u00a0to Sierra Leone would come from his high-powered visit to China.<\/p>\n

Billions of dollars Chinese investments for Sierra Leone<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

In WE YONE newspaper of July 3, 2013,<\/span><\/b> the interview of the President by the two intrepid journalists was reported: \u201c….Now for the projects we had already negotiated with the Kingho Group and the Hainan Group….There was a great commitment on the part of the chairman to replicate the kind of industrial park they have there in Mongolia in Sierra Leone.\u00a0 They have already signed 6.5 billion dollars agreement with the Sierra Leone government to develop a mine and a por<\/b>t….Again, the Hainan Project….It is also a 1.5billion dollars project that will grow rubber and embark on irrigation of rice<\/b>.\u00a0 We have also concluded discussion on the airport project….\u201d.\u00a0 Mouth watering offerings for the indigenous business people who are waiting to take advantage of the APC government\u2019s \u2018Local Content Policy\u2019 (which would mean that whatever investments are made here, about 10% of goods and services would go to\u00a0 businesses owned by Sierra Leoneans!!); frenetic trading awaits our energetic petty and medium-size traders who are growing up to become importers and exporters; more money in the pockets of all the citizenry is imminent; \u00a0exhilarating news for the APC \u00a0politicians \u2013 for it would mean the surge of the Sierra Leonean economy would significantly \u00a0increase the money that gets into the pockets of the ordinary man and woman, and there would be greater \u00a0satisfaction with our governing APC. \u00a0Votes galore for the APC – come 2017!!\u00a0 \u00a0The most excellent information from the President was the one on \u2018excellence\u2019<\/p>\n

Chinese-supported Centre of Excellence for Sierra Leone<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

\u201cYou know that they have made an offer of 250 RMB, which is given to us as a grant, with a commitment of supporting the construction of the Centre of Excellence….\u201d.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0 The President has yet to elaborate on this \u2018excellence\u2019 thing \u2013 but, it connotes something we all \u2013 especially children and youth \u2013 should look forward to with exciting expectation.\u00a0\u00a0 Sierra Leone must not only be glad in the huge quantum of investments from China, but, should primarily focus on \u2018gaining\u2019 knowledge from China, and, \u2018fallamakata-ering\u2019 China\u2019s meteoric rise from being an inconsequential developing country some 70 years ago into a Big Power today<\/b>.<\/p>\n

Of course, in this day of internet technology, one would assume that the proposed Centre of Excellence would have heavy doses of Information Communication Technology; and, I hope\u00a0 research in biological and chemical sciences, which is almost completely ignored in Sierra Leone today; research and utilitarian knowledge in mining and mineralogy; research and development on our infant tourism industry….. But, I hope we should not forget not only teaching \u2018rote history and philosophy\u2019, but, \u00a0guiding our youth especially in the deeper meanings of those two \u2018Centre Subjects\u2019 (according to the book by German Philosopher, E.F. Schumacher, \u00a0\u2018Small is Beautiful\u2019).\u00a0 Sierra Leone needs to desperately study the \u2018Mind of China\u2019, their history and religion and philosophical underpinnings, so that we would understand what has spurred the speediest \u00a0\u00a0race forward for the largest group of humanity ever in human history. <\/b><\/p>\n

It would certainly be helpful if Sierra Leoneans learn, and, \u2018fallamakata\u2019 Chinese students \u00a0who attend classes five or six days a week – \u00a0from early morning (about 7a.m.) to early evening (4p.m.,\u00a0 or, even later). On Saturdays, many schools hold required morning classes in science and math<\/b>. (The failure in science and maths in Sierra Leone\u2019s\u00a0 educational system is massive and disgraceful!!) Many students also attend \u00a0(buxiban<\/i>), or \u2018cram school\u2019, in the evening and on weekends in China. There is also a lot one-to-one tutoring after normal school hours. .<\/p>\n

Aside from math and science, students take Chinese, English, history, literature, music, art and physical education. China\u2019s teaching methodology differs from Western education methodology. Rote memorization and a focus on math and science are emphasized.\u00a0 When Chinese\u00a0 students get to \u2018middle school\u2019 (the equivalent of our BECE class) the preparation of\u00a0 these students would\u00a0 frightening \u2013 for they wake, sleep, and talk only their school exams; avoiding every other engagement. (Unlike\u00a0 Sierra Leone,\u00a0 where our students spend 90% of their time talking about European football, or sex). \u00a0Like it is with Asiatic nations like Singapore and Japan, students in China are obsessed with learning and making excellent grades.\u00a0 We have to train our children to \u2018fallamakata\u2019 this part of Chinese life.<\/p>\n

E-government must be speeded up in our country<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

I am glad that John Baimba Sesay asked the President pointedly about \u201cbuilding our human resource capacity\u201d.\u00a0 And, the President\u2019s answer was exhilarating: \u201cThe Kingho Energy Group is committed to support Sierra Leoneans to come here (China) and be trained, especially those that will be interested in involving their outfits… The Chinese leadership has also indicated strong commitment to support the development of our human capacity with frequent in-house trainings of government officials and other officials to enhance their professionalism in what they are doing, and also learning from the Chinese experience\u201d.\u00a0 Bingo!!<\/p>\n

Immediate mechanisms have to be set up by President Koroma to ensure that these ideas are followed up on, and, sustained.\u00a0\u00a0 In 2005, I attended \u00a0a briefing \u2013 attended by the cr\u00e8me de la cr\u00e8me of Sierra Leonean society – by the Chinese Hauwei Group on the introduction of\u00a0 E-government in Sierra Leone. It was chaired by the\u00a0 then information minister, Prof. Septimus Kaikai.\u00a0 Of course, there is very little information that has been put in electronic form in nearly all the public space in Sierra Leone. There is very little \u2018Knowledge Management\u2019 in the public sphere in our country.\u00a0 We learn little from past experiences, and \u00a0to access information from a file just five years old could take months!\u00a0 Work that should take three minutes in government offices could incredibly take three months as people turn over old files and papers!!\u00a0 There is almost no cross-fertilization of ideas, little inter-disciplinary approach to problem solving, at nearly all levels of government in our country because of the lack of electronic means of storage and retrieval of information.\u00a0 Thus, too many Sierra Leoneans are too satisfied with being meek recipients of technology from anywhere out of the country, and, too shamelessly take it as normal that outsiders should do any intricate work that demands thought and ingenuity.\u00a0\u00a0 If there is one thing we have to learn from, and \u2018fallamakata\u2019, the Chinese on, it is….Self Pride!! Self Reliance.<\/b>\u00a0 Floating a vision by the leadership, and staying the course, no matter what….. is a forte of the Chinese which is now being lauded by even the Americans who used to vehemently denounce them some forty years ago.\u00a0 This is something President Koroma can \u2018fallamakata\u2019 \u2013 i.e.:\u00a0 being tough about \u2018enforcing\u2019 attitude change, not just preaching about it; enforcing the rules on Operation WID\u2019…..<\/p>\n

The President \u00a0should \u2018fallamakata\u2019 the tough\/visionary Chinese leadership<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

As China struggled to develop in the 1960s, there was a crescendo of criticism from the Western world.\u00a0 Growing up in Sierra Leone in those days, we all brought Western propaganda on the Chinese \u2013 that they were brutal to each other, and, would violate every tenet of human right to suppress their own people; that they are the epitome of the word \u2018brainwashing\u2019; that they are so banal and lack fashion sense, they all wear shapeless dungarees all the time……\u00a0 Though the Moa Zedong-inspired Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution were over-ambitious experiments to industrialize China and to weed the psyche of the people out of negative habits were monstrous experiments in governance, nonetheless, they were mistakes borne out of good intentions at mass mobilization for emancipative goals.\u00a0 Those social and political experiments need NOT be replicated in Sierra Leone, but, the principle in them can be useful: rapidly transforming a nation cannot be done by the mild in spirit of the leadership<\/b>.\u00a0 \u00a0No society in human history\u00a0 has\u00a0 made any rapid positive transformation without anguish and pain!! The era of the Industrial Revolution in Europe witnessed horrific scenarios of the majority of Europeans.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 One problem we have in Sierra Leone is that we imagine that transforming our countries can be done by nearly\u00a0 all workers sitting down in air-condition offices; that we can be\u00a0 what \u00a0America or Europe or China are today through the intensity of our prayers in mosques and churches, or, how fervidly we argue in bars and \u2018diamba potes\u2019.\u00a0 It would not be sufficient to learn from China their present position as another Big Power almost at the same level as Russia and the US \u2013 but, to learn\u00a0 from China how they got there.\u00a0\u00a0 To \u2018fallamakata\u2019 China positively.\u00a0 <\/b><\/p>\n

\u2018Positive Fallamakata-ering\u2019 should be inculcated into especially youth<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Sierra Leone largely marched into modernity by \u2018fallamakata-ering\u2019 the British who colonized us.\u00a0 But, largely, what part of the British did Sierra Leone \u00a0\u2018fallamakata\u2019?\u00a0 The clothes and food of the British; some of the legal system of the British?\u00a0 Sierra Leoneans have largely failed to \u2018fallamakata\u2019 the inclination for advance scientific and technological research and action of the British; the entrepreneurial drive of the British; the successful empire-building push of the British.\u00a0 In other words, Sierra Leoneans have \u2018fallamakata-ed\u2019\u00a0 about 21% of the positive attributes of the British.\u00a0\u00a0 As we embrace the Chinese today and the Chinese embrace us, we must not make the same mistake in \u2018fallamakata-ering\u2019 only the superficial of the British.\u00a0 \u00a0Indeed, since \u2018fallamakata\u2019 is so fundamental in the learning process for all humanity, since the lingua franca of our country, Krio, is steeped in \u2018fallamakata-ering\u2019 of diverse languages, since Sierra Leoneans have the propensity to blindly \u2018fallamakata\u2019, we must now consciously embark on aggressive and imaginative push for \u2018positive fallamakata-ering\u2019 \u2013 setting up projects, and institutions on this.\u00a0 Not only the Chinese!! But, positive pro-survival values and ideas from all over the world \u2013 including other African countries!!<\/p>\n

Oswald Hanciles, Freetown<\/i><\/p>\n

Stay with Sierra Express Media, for your trusted place in news!<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

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President Ernest Bai Koroma returned home yesterday from China!!\u00a0 Triumphantly!!\u00a0 From Lungi International Airport he drove straight to State House, and started work in his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":58289,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[671],"tags":[16389,84,1055,16354],"class_list":["post-58642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","tag-china-and-sierra-leone-ties","tag-development","tag-president-ernest-bai-koroma","tag-president-koroma-in-china"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58642","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\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=58642"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58642\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/58289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=58642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=58642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=58642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}