Overcoming the challanges and national unity in Sierra Leone – part 4

By Rev. Gibrilla Kargbo

MAY 8, 2020: The reality of COVID-19 is upon us as a nation and with the concerted effort we are certainly going to beat it out of our motherland. However, I am bothered by the fact that our effort in realizing national unity and cohesion is fast becoming an enigma if not a mirage as it has eluded our grip for the last Fifty-Nine (59) years of national independence amidst our different governance styles and strides – whether it is in the first or second republics with due consideration given to multi-party democracy in the early and present time, military rule and the one-party state. On account of its impact on national development, our minds should be engaged as well-meaning citizens of this land that we love to examine the root causes of the situation as we focus attention on the challenges that we should overcome in attaining the lofty heights of national unity and cohesion. Already, ten challenges have been identified to deal with them one after the other as the foundation is laid for a Sierra Leone that enjoys genuine national unity and cohesion. The identified challenges are stated thus:

1. Ethnicism, Tribalism, and Regionalism;
2. Resource Allocation and the Lack of Equity in the Distribution of such Resources;
3. The Existing Electoral System that makes the Winner take all;
4. The Weak Literacy Level and Limited Level of Political Education in the Country;
5. The Negative Influence of the Old Boy Network, Campus Cult and the like in the context of State Capture;
6. The Influence of Certain Interests in the Context of Party Politics;
7. The Economy and the Employment Situation in the Country;
8. The Stratification of the Society with the Emergence of a Seeming Class System;
9. The Politicization of State Institutions especially the Security Sector;
10. A Legal System that does not serve the ends of Justice.

Previously with the opportunity to check them out on Social Media and the Regular Media, three challenges have been addressed to include the following:

1.  Ethnicism, Tribalism, and Regionalism;
2. Resource Allocation and the Lack of Equity in the Distribution of such Resources;
3. The Existing Electoral System that makes the Winner take all.

In this edition, the intention is to examine the fourth challenge as we focus attention on the subject “The Weak Literacy Level and Limited Level of Political Education in the Country”. Essentially, the state of literacy in the country will be examined especially with a focus on the implication for a refined and more cultured society in addition to the negative consequences of illiteracy to the individual and the society as a whole. Due consideration will be given to what it means to have a more literate society than we currently have. This is in addition to examining the existing limitation in terms of civic consciousness and the implications of being good citizens. Suggestions will be made as to how we can enhance national unity and cohesion in the context of political or civic education to enhance the right civic culture in our motherland.

Our beloved motherland is a very complex and interesting country with highly educated people, but with a very high percentage of illiterate people as well with far-reaching consequences and implications for the individuals and the rest of society especially about people not understanding the issues and therefore not acting by best practice in the context of being good citizens. With the latest census findings, the figures are not favorable for our literacy level especially for a Country that had attained the academic height of the “Athens of West Africa”, a reputation that is the outcome of academic excellence back then. It is the highest expression of irony to have attained and stood on such international pedestal, but we are still struggling to have a good number of literate compatriots thus casting a slur on our national human capital development index with implications for meaningful and sustainable development that is rooted in conscious ownership of national development. The literature is replete with the benefits that accrue to the individual and the society when there is mass literacy in a country with the citizens relating to the issues from a perspective of understanding on the backdrop of mutual respect and tolerance. We know fully well that as a nation, we are yet to fully benefit from the positive social interaction that accrues to nations that have invested in the long term on the education of the people. It is for this reason that recent investment in the Free Quality School Education should be commended with an appeal for it to be sustained and made compulsory as it will serve in the best interest of our motherland even if the result is not evident now.

It has been noted that there is a direct correlation between the level of literacy in a country and the level of comportment of the people to the issues especially as they relate to law and order on the foundation of the rule of law. It is no doubt that in our country, there is a serious challenge in getting the people to relate very well especially in the context of political tolerance as people allow primordial sentiments to override their better judgment with the obvious division on especially partisan lines stemming from very parochial considerations. In our context, the situation is made worse by the limited level of Political or Civic or Citizenship Education, thus preventing us from exhibiting the right civic culture with far-reaching implications for national unity and cohesion on the backdrop of mutual respect and tolerance.

It has also been observed that in countries where the literacy level is low and coupled with limited Political or Civic or Citizenship Education, the people are mostly “idiots” and “tribalists” and hardly do you see “good citizens” as they are in line with descriptions made available by Greek philosophers from observation of people in the context of the State. Consequently, these categories of people, the “idiots” and the “tribalists”, pose a serious threat to the wellbeing of the State with the exhibition of evident selfishness from the “idiots” and evident intolerance from the “tribalists” as they are limited in their thinking to the individual and the limited group, respectively. If we are to turn the tide against intolerance and ensure national unity and cohesion, we must strive to transition from being “idiots” and “tribalists” into becoming “good citizens” that are ready to transcend the pettiness associated with being “idiots” and “tribalists” and work for the common good and in the best interest of the State. It is a sad reality that there are more examples of “idiots” and “tribalists” in our beloved motherland than we have “good citizens”, a situation that should make us sit up to fix the problem in our beloved motherland. For how long can we continue as “idiots” and “tribalists” and wreck the good fortune and destiny of our beloved motherland?

The situation that obtains in our beloved motherland is systemic and it is an expression of the failure of our educational system, an expression of the limited level of civic consciousness that obtains and the very evidence of the very high level of illiteracy or the low level of literacy in the Country. A nation that is bedeviled with these challenges can hardly experience genuine national unity and cohesion as the people will always embrace lawlessness, indiscipline, and criminality as the norm. Shakespeare illustrated this aptly in most of his plays regarding the mentality of the crowd or commoners or the rabble and how they can be easily persuaded to engage in activities inimical to the wellbeing of the State through easy persuasion or even demagoguery so that they easily disturb public order and clash with authorities and the state apparatus for security. With our refusal in the past to invest significantly in human capital development, we have created a society of disgruntled elements that are susceptible to being used in anti-state activities as they can be easily persuaded to rock the boat and engage in subversive activities.

For anything, we should blame ourselves for not emphasizing the importance of education whether it is the regular form of education through formal or non-formal schooling or Civic or Citizenship Education. Remember the expression “den say Bailor Barrie, u say Davidson Nicol” – our expression of clear cut abhorrence for enlightenment and willingness to embrace mediocrity, a situation that has affected us in very distinct ways in realizing the purposes of the State. When you have a very large mass of illiterate people, you have with you a large mix of poverty and deprivation, the perfect breeding ground for apathy and disaffection with room for political manipulation and a ready base to recruit rouge elements and thugs or social miscreants to carry out the bidding of some elite elements in the society and they end up blaming these miscreants for disturbing public order, thus becoming both perpetrators of violence and victims of the manipulation of the elite class and other rouge elements that are usually worldly-wise and ready to use the corridors of power to make wealth. As it stands, we could only wish we had not neglected education. With education including vocational education, an opportunity is provided for creativity and endless possibilities to engage in more profitable activities that are sure to take your mind away from anything or everything that can affect the peace of the society, otherwise, you have nothing to lose, but everything to gain when chaos breaks out especially because you are not engaged in anything profitable since you were not prepared for that through any formalized means of learning.

With our neglect of Political or Civic or Citizenship Education especially in the long haul, we have also created a very serious deficit in the civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions of the people and as such, they are not akin to nationalism or patriotism with the sad realization that the political class hardly understands the importance of following due processes through legitimate institutions and processes.

Some way somehow, we are a nation of victims and the sooner we sit up to address the huge challenges we are faced with, the better it will be for our beloved motherland with the realization that closing the existing gap cannot be accomplished overnight. We must be ready to provide different kinds of education for all including Adult Education especially in a bid to reduce the huge literacy gap in the Country. If you are a Professor and your neighbor is a stark illiterate or semi-illiterate, his negative actions in the context of the society are sure to affect you adversely. Even as you celebrate your successes or achievements, the general failure of others is sure to affect you as they would easily direct their resentment against you. We should be familiar with the concept of the conspiracy of the masses. You can only be safe when you have more of your kind in society as your peace is guaranteed in a society where the majority of the people enjoy equal opportunities not where the opposite obtains.

It should be noted that in a society where there are massive illiteracy and low levels of civic consciousness, there is room for a “gullible public”, sycophantic civil and public servants, and the rise of benevolent or full-blown dictators as they ride on the limitations of the people. In our present reality, we are in breach of our civic duties or responsibilities as we have refused to train our children very well with the neglect of the family, religious institutions, learning institutions and the like and as such we have raised social misfits with no place in a civilized society, thus making it difficult for mutual respect and tolerance, not to talk about collective responsibility for a common national identity. We should be reminded that in their generality, the ordinary people are mostly illiterate in both general and Civic or Citizen Education whereas the political class is mostly illiterate in Civic or Citizenship Education with far-reaching implications for good governance in general and national unity and cohesion in particular.         

There is always a time in the political history of a nation when the need for a deliberate and decisive decision is required as the people take responsibility for their collective destiny as they transcend parochial considerations and primordial thinking to attain the purposes of the nation-state. There cannot be a better time in Sierra Leone than now to change the narrative for a better situation in our beloved motherland. In the context of the State, every view matters and as such we must be ready to accommodate each other regardless of the nature and magnitude of the views or ideologies espoused even as we encourage mutual respect and tolerance with readiness to uphold the rule of law with the need to work for the common good. In our quest for national unity and cohesion, we should strive to establish the right civic culture in our beloved motherland. Accordingly, Political Scientists and Civic Educators have identified three categories in explaining the concept of enhancing the right civic culture with a focus on the Parochial Civic Culture as exemplified by the actions of “idiots”, the Subject Civic Culture as exemplified by the actions of “tribalists” and the Participant Civic Culture as exemplified by the actions of “good citizens”. It should be noted for clarification that the right civic culture is anchored on acceptance of the authority of the state and willingness to participate in civic duties. It should be further noted that for the authority of the state to be accepted, it should be anchored on legitimate institutions and processes with nationalism and patriotism underpinning willingness to participate in civic duties. Attaining the right civic culture in the context of the State is not a mean feat as it should be predicated on long term investment in education generally and Civic or Citizenship Education in particular.

It should be noted that it takes the courage of a leader with a vision to get the nation to be focused on such a laudable venture with the willingness to bring everybody on board in the best interest of the State. The West made that investment a long time ago and other nations that have made some progress in the recent past succeeded by making a deliberate decision to invest in human capital development and they continue to benefit from such investment with the production of “good citizens” whose knowledge of good governance has brought more peace and stability to their countries on the backdrop of mutual respect and tolerance with the governors and the governed being fully involved in accountable governance with the willingness of the greater majority of the citizens to participate positively in the governance of the State. It is a worthwhile investment as we pursue free quality education in schools, but this laudable venture should be extended across the educational spectrum with room for a revised national curriculum that will make Civic or Citizenship Education a standalone course as we provide the right impetus for our democracy to work on a very sound footing. It should be emphasized that education should be made free and compulsory across the board and even for those that have missed out in the past, something should be done by a deliberate policy directive to make them benefit from the free quality and compulsory education as we build the base for comprehensive human capital development. It has worked in other countries and our beloved motherland should not be an exception. Together, we can get it done!

Feel free to share as we look forward to the publication of Part 5 on the series of “Overcoming the Challenges to National Unity and Cohesion in Sierra Leone” in the not-too-distant future.