By Jensen Brian Abass Cummings
Loyalty…
In Sierra Leone, friendship is often revered as one of the strongest bonds that tie people together, bringing mutual support, trust, and a sense of belonging. But when does loyalty cross into complicity? Are we helping our friends grow, or are we shielding their bad deeds—and ours—from accountability? This question resonates deeply not just within personal friendships, but also in governance and community dynamics, where loyalty can sometimes pave the way for unchecked misconduct.
Personal Friendship and Loyalty
In many friendships, loyalty can easily turn into blind support. Picture two close friends who have been together through thick and thin. One of them, let’s call him Ahmed, often borrows money and never pays it back. His friend, Musa, aware of Ahmed’s irresponsibility, continues to lend him money and even covers for him when others complain. Musa sees his loyalty as helping Ahmed in hard times, yet he inadvertently enables Ahmed’s reckless financial habits. These dynamic traps both in a cycle of dependency and secrecy, hurting their relationship and finances. In this case, loyalty mutates from support to silent complicity, masking one friend’s bad deeds under the veil of friendship.
Governance and Loyalty
In governance, the loyalty among leaders can play a significant role in either strengthening or compromising their ability to serve the people. Leaders in various governmental departments often form alliances based on friendship, which can cloud their judgment when one of them acts unethically. Consider a situation where a minister overlooks corrupt practices of a close colleague, reasoning that loyalty demands he protect his friend from public scrutiny. This loyalty, however, doesn’t benefit the country or its citizens; rather, it sacrifices ethical governance in favor of shielding friends, keeping misconduct under wraps and allowing poor governance to flourish.
The Sierra Leone Situation
The culture of loyalty is deeply embedded in Sierra Leonean society, extending from personal to professional realms. In Sierra Leone, citizens often observe a double standard when it comes to accountability. Political figures, for instance, may offer their loyalty to certain associates by ignoring their wrongdoings—misallocation of funds, misuse of power, and even turning a blind eye to blatant violations of ethics—because they believe it’s in their best interest to keep powerful friendships intact. Such loyalty may come at the cost of Sierra Leone’s progress, as it reinforces a cycle where accountability is avoided in the name of friendship.
In ordinary life, too, this pattern emerges. A typical example might be friends or family members who aid a loved one evading consequence for stealing from local businesses, justifying their actions by emphasizing loyalty over honesty. When loyalty becomes more about covering up wrongs than guiding someone to do right, it negatively impacts society as a whole by eroding trust and transparency.
Constructive Advice
True loyalty is about guiding friends toward growth, responsibility, and ethical behavior, not covering up their bad deeds. In Sierra Leone, we must redefine loyalty as a commitment to truth, not to silence in the face of wrongdoing. To improve society, citizens, especially leaders, should practice a loyalty that holds friends accountable rather than excusing their misdeeds. Constructive loyalty promotes honesty and mutual respect, pushing friends to take responsibility for their actions while offering support through correction, not silence.
In governance, this means creating systems where loyalty to the nation takes precedence over personal allegiance. We must encourage leaders to place the country’s progress above individual friendships, fostering a culture of accountability that benefits everyone.
In personal relationships, too, loyalty should mean having the courage to tell friends when they are wrong, rather than covering for them. In the long run, this approach builds stronger friendships and a more transparent, accountable society that benefits from the genuine support of friends who lift each other up—rather than drag each other down by hiding harmful deeds.
