By Amin Kef Sesay
Leone Stars resounding victory in Conakry on Tuesday and the equally remarkable spontaneous turnout of Sierra Leoneans from all nooks and crannies – regardless of tribe, region, religion or political party – to celebrate clearly showed one thing – that what binds us as Sierra Leoneans is stronger than what divides us. Thus, there is no better time than now for President Bio to capitalize on this unique moment of oneness to seal the bond of unity and national cohesion.
Concluding his thank-you tour of Makeni in November 2018, President Bio pledged his Government’s commitment to national unity and cohesion. President Bio told the mammoth crowds that thronged the streets of Makeni city and converged at the Wusum Field that his Government had been busy with inclusive development projects that are devoid of political or tribal considerations.
He added that his responsibility as President is to take tangible and sustainable developments across the country. He urged the jubilant crowds not to accept or promote hate and division and called for everyone to embrace one another for the good of all.
“Today, I am President for all Sierra Leoneans and not one tribe or region. We must stop all forms of tribal and divisive messages to allow the development process to succeed…”
However, despite the President’s appeal for unity and national cohesion, political parties continue to stoke tensions along ethnic and regional lines to gain voter support.
Disunity among Sierra Leoneans is no more a hidden secret. After the 2018 elections, political interactions between the opposition All People’s Congress (APC) and the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) – found expression in threats to the country’s peace and security. Social media aggravated this as a platform for disseminating hate speech and messages of violence.
Civil Society activist, Andrew Lavalie, noted: “The regional and ethnic voting pattern in subsequent elections undermines our national cohesion.”
He lamented, “It is unfortunate that ethnicity plays a salient role in our national politics both as a source for political organization and a basis for support.”
The results of the 2007, 2012 and 2018 elections, he pointed out, clearly depict a pattern of ethnic and regional allegiance.
Instead of seeking solutions to these tensions, party leaders continue to preach divisive messages to their supporters, conditioning them to work against the national Government’s agenda.
In his address to Parliament on 10 May 2018, President Bio noted:
“In the last ten years, the building blocks of national cohesion and the feeling of belonging of all citizens have gravely crumbled. The recent governance strategy has been characterized by tribalism, divisiveness, exclusion and the weakening and subversion of State governing institutions.
Mr. Speaker, to promote unity and national cohesion, my Government will (i) launch a Presidential Initiative that will be heralded by a national conference on peacebuilding, diversity management and rebuilding of national cohesion…”
In that light, a three-day National Dialogue Forum, dubbed ‘Bintumani-III’, took place at the Bintumani Conference Centre in Freetown in May 2019, which brought together Sierra Leoneans to generate consensus on strategies and a roadmap for the establishment of a National Peace Infrastructure.
In his opening speech, President Bio expressed his Government’s commitment to the process. He said “My Government thus believes that the time has come to host Bintumani-III with the view to eventually establish a Commission tasked with turning the vision of a truly peaceful and unified Sierra Leone into reality”. Notably, though, APC did not attend or participate.
The Bintumani-III Conference was to be inclusive and provide the opportunity for citizens and stakeholders to voice their frustration about the failure of Governments to fulfil the recommendations of the 2004 Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Report.
The Dialogue Forum was also to provide the nation an avenue to express our fears about the current peace, security, governance, political and human rights challenges in the country.
It was also to provide the space for diverse views and opinions about how we can create a roadmap for the establishment of our own Peace Commission and suggest ways for the implementation of the TRC Report recommendations.
