By KABS KANU :
The pledge by the International Community and the United Nations ( UN ) to give full backing to the Agenda For Prosperity has handed President Ernest Koroma another major international boost. The pledge has also given the President a major initiative to continue what he has been good at–Promoting socio-economic and political development in the country.
The UN Secretary General’s Special Executive Assistant , H.E. Hans Toyberg-Frandzen told the German Broadcasting Service : “The government has prepared its agenda for prosperity and the international community and the United Nations are backing the government on achieving that strategy”. This is another good news for President Ernest Koroma, the All People’s Congress ( APC ) Government and the people of Sierra Leone.
While President Koroma as the sovereign and constitutional Head of State of sovereign Sierra Leone does not actually need validation from external forces in the execution of his job, we live in a globalized world and the international community and the UN now have stakes in what happens in the other countries within the redefined definition of national sovereignty. Even the world’s only superpower , the United States of America, can no longer operate within its own narrow cocoon as the world has a legitimate interest in what happens in America because in the globalized village the world has become, whatever happens in America affects what happens in other countries. Contemporary studies and trends in International Relations will teach anybody this salient message.
The pledge is also significant for the fact that the UN and the international community helped to position Sierra Leone at the pivotal stage she is in today , where the UN Secretary General would openly confess yesterday in Freetown that Sierra Leone has taught the world a lot of lessons. When the country was on the verge of being erased from the face of the earth by diamba-smoking bandits supported by international conspirators interested in our diamonds and natural resources, it was the UN and the international community that stepped in, albeit belatedly, to stop the war and restore sanity to the country. The UN and the international community then set up structures through which they helped our nation keep and consolidate peace and also get to the task of national reconstruction and national development. We handled it so well that today the UN regards Sierra Leone as the model for post-conflict peacekeeping and national development . It is within this context that the pledge by the UN and international community to support President Koroma’s Agenda For Prosperity is very significant.
This important endorsement and support of the international community is also another demonstration of the fact that President Koroma’s stewardship of Sierra Leone is very outstanding. Regardless of what his many detractors would like to say , President Koroma is thus far a successful leader , a fact recognized by the UN and the international community . Though daunting challenges still remain, as acknowledged by President Koroma himself, the UN and the international community see a lot of positive developments in Sierra Leone that have impressed them profoundly, and in the Agenda For Prosperity, they see a national development program that is credible and achievable as well as brilliant , and capable of putting Sierra Leone on the pedestal as a country moving forward in socio -economic and political transformation. That is the reason that they are pledging full support to President Koroma’s Agenda For Prosperity. President Koroma’s response yesterday was gratifying : “We still face challenges; but we are inspired by the United Nations’ commitment to support us meet these challenges through its new United Nations Country Team. ”
It is now up to Sierra Leoneans to throw their support behind President Koroma. Sierra Leoneans must realize that the task of national development is not on the shoulders of President Koroma alone. The detractors of the President make a sumptous meal out of their rantings about leadership , but do they know that in governance, there is also the concept of Citizens’ Responsibility ? Governance is not just about leaders. Citizens have an equally important role to play. The Ghanaians, the Rwandans and the Tanzanians know this and that is one of the secrets of their success.
Some of the problems we must try to conquer in Sierra Leone are tribalism, regionalism, ethnicity and negative partisanship rolled up in one. Though the President does not belong to our tribe, region, ethnic group or political party, he is not an enemy to be antagonized , defamed and alienated. It is the main reason that certain ill-disposed persons have made it their sacrosanct responsibility to use the internet to defame the President, ministers , diplomats and other officials of government. And it is the main reason our country is finding it very hard to advance, despite the best efforts of President Koroma. Some Sierra Leoneans can only criticize from their armchairs or behind their computers or IPADs. They do not do anything to help move the country forward , as long as their tribesman is not in power.
Progressive and patriotic citizens must fight doggedly to be different. We must realize that Sierra Leone is our country and whatever we can do positively to advance the cause of the President and the government is highly essential . This too much CRITICISM OF OUR GOVERNMENT at Facebook and forums will not help develop our country. Let us take a leaf from the Ghanaians , Rwandans and the Tanzanians. They criticize their Presidents and governments but are so nationalistic that they do all it takes to promote national development.
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