*The Shrinking Loyalty Confusion within Our Political Class*
*By Saikujohn Barrie*
Section 13(b) of the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone states that every citizen shall cultivate a sense of nationalism and patriotism so that loyalty to the State shall override sectional, ethnic, tribal or other loyalties.
This section of our revered constitution has been continuously ignored by majority of the supporters of our two main political parties in Sierra Leone.
This writer has been observing the shifting pattern of loyalty from members of these two political parties.
What is apparent is that the majority of supporters of these two non-progressive parties only show sign of hypocritical loyalty to the state when they are in opposition.
For example, in 2009 when a Senior OSD police officer named “Yete Yete” with his group of police personnel was exhibiting and demonstrating police brutality in the SLPP opposition stronghold, we saw how the SLPP and their supporters were the leading campaigners in the calls against police brutality in the Republic.
In another incidents in Freetown involving the current Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Leema, when he was constantly persecuted and harassed by the very police he is now utilising for his party’s advantage, the SLPP and their supporters would come out crying loudly against the police and dubbed the police actions as human rights violation.
The SLPP party and its supporters were the best when it comes to calling on citizens to defend human rights of other citizens in the country.
They were very swift in issuing press releases condemning police brutality and attributing every police action to the APC government.
However, after coming to power in 2018, Sierra Leoneans saw the loyalty of the SLPP supporters fading and shrinking anytime police carry out brutality against civilians.
The more the police perpetuate violence especially against opposition members, the more SLPP supporters’ loyalty shift from the state to their Political Party.
They move from defending and protecting human rights to defending actions that violate human rights.
They have been consumed by power that they shamelessly defend everything including gross human rights violations in the country.
Hypocritically, the APC supporters who were defending Police actions that violate human rights when they were in power, have now metamorphosed into champions of human rights defenders.
These inconsistencies are demonstrated by both senior and ordinary members of both the current ruling SLPP and main opposition APC.
One may tend to give up hope on Sierra Leone anytime a serious incident of politically orchestrated barbarism is meted against citizens perceived to be members of the opposition or anti-ruling party in the country.
You see supporters shamelessly and sheepishly defending the actions they used to condemn when they were at the receiving end.
Inversely, you see those who used to defend the actions which violate human rights when their party was in power turn to born again human rights defenders, arguing against the police actions which they used to defend.
You see ruling party supporters citing human rights violation incidents in the past to justify current human rights violations.
When shall this hypocrisy comes to an end? What is wrong with your psyche?
Since the SLPP came to power, Sierra Leoneans have witnessed police brutality against ordinary Citizens during bye-elections and in other occasions.
We are seeing similar pattern of police heavy handedness against civilians just the same way they used to do during the past APC regime.
The police is being used by politicians to inflict pains on the people opposing the government of the day.
I can’t imagine Lahai Laurence Leema whom I used to pity very much for what he experienced when in opposition, now romancing with the very police who were maltreating him, to inflict pain on perceived opposition members now.
I think power in Sierra Leone is recipe to stupidity and obliviousness.
This is because the people in power now have forgotten that power will leave them one day and is highly probable their wickedness and unfair treatment to others, they orchestrated against the opposition will possibly follow them.
The current ruling class has forgotten that they were in opposition few years back.
I laugh, whenever I hear ruling party supporters saying the opposition party will either never come to power or it will take twenty or thirty years before opposition taste power.
This always reminds me of APC supporters and senior members shouting Maada Bio will never become a President in Sierra Leone or it will take fifty years before SLPP comes to power
But, hello, after ten years of APC rule, where are you guys today?
Sadly, some myopic SLPP supporters are gushing and uttering the same words, and exhibiting the same arrogance.
The truth is that most of the people supporting these two political parties (SLPP and APC) are not loyal to the country as in section 13(b)of the 1991 Constitution.
The shrinking loyalty confusion is rife within our political class.
I rest my case.
