Ascending the Mountain Once Again

Hacked to pieces and hammered with unrelenting possessed fury for a decade in the hellish furnace of diamond seeking demon smiths, the soul of the mountain lion plummeted into an abject abyss;

Its compressed, congealed, comatose and stone-cold carcass was left in prostrate unison with the elevated terra firma that it was named after.

Now, after four added years of shaky democracy, the soul of Sierra Leone, the 5.7 million –strong, composite Lion Mountain ascends once more;

It repossesses its previously hopeless, helpless and mutilated body; bringing it back to life in grand style.

The elections that ushered in the new Ernest Bai Koroma – led government in Sierra Leone last year was unique in more ways than one.

First, they were closely and keenly contested, which necessitated a run-off. Despite this, barring a few incidents, the polls were widely acclaimed to have been free and fair.

The National Electoral Commission (NEC) announced that Koroma won with 54.6 percent of valid votes, defeating the incumbent Vice President, Solomon Berewa who had 45.4 percent. There was also an impressive turnout estimated at 68 percent of registered voters.

Ernest Koroma is a Christian from the mostly Muslim north, indicating that voting was approached in a mature and objective manner – devoid of myopic religious bigotry.

Koroma, leading the opposition All People’s Congress (APC) was able to unseat the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP).

This is a commendable achievement which is extremely rare in Africa.

The core lesson to be distilled from the Sierra Leone experience for the entire African continent is that democracy is truly a government of the people.

The people have the power to decide who rules them if they are as desperate as the Sierra Leoneans were.

Yes, there are valid fears of seat-tight incumbents and predetermined successor stooges foisted on nations against popular wish, but a focused, pragmatic, daring and slightly more desperate populace can do a lot more than just rock the boat of election rigging and racketeering.

They can add real value to their franchise and truly make them count.

The situation in many other African states must not be underestimated however. This is because they are mostly relatively bigger and far more complex with a myriad of multidimensional forces interplaying on the political landscape.

Cases in point are the current political crisis in Kenya and the unending fracas in Zimbabwe.

Nevertheless, when the people begin to see themselves as truly one nationality, wonders of people power can turn the tide in popular favor.

The primary ingredient for accomplishing this is the formation of selfless and visionary critical masses that will work in deliberate concert to carefully craft out a proactive, extensive, highly intelligent and effective blueprint that will completely outwit the current dull-witted, corruption-suffused and conscienceless ruling class in many African states.

Such blueprints could take several years to make impact, but will be effective if executed religiously. This is the challenge of our time.

Can such critical masses be formed and sustained across Africa?

Meanwhile, I propose a toast to the Lion Mountain and its aptly named capital – Freetown. A toast to true and lasting democratic freedom.