By Dadson A. Musa

Sierra Leone is a country still grappling with high unemployment, lack of opportunities for the youths especially in areas of sports, academia, quality health care, social amenities, etc. It creates a whole lot of malaise, despair and destitution. These are hard realities facing us as a country. Justice, which is the one thing that should bridge the gap between rich and poor, weak and strong, powerful and less fortunate in Sierra Leone is for the exclusive preserve of the powerful and those who can afford it. All of these make our country, Sierra Leone less attractive to live in. America is an attractive place to go because of the opposite of all of what i have highlighted that operates in our country. Can we turn things around? My answer is a resounding  “yes” we can. America did not start as great but struggled, fought their wars, disagreed and in the end mend their great differences. To achieve this, they got the leadership right; leaders who were selfless, cared about their fellow citizens and put country above all else. Unity that knows no colours, race, tribe or other differences is what has sent America to where it is and made it a country of the world’s envy. It is the reason Donald Trump is behaving the way he is doing even those deportees have contributed to the development of America.

Sierra Leone, after independence in 1961 was in sound economic shape. Our Leone was pegged to the pound sterling and economy was in sound shape with good reserve. Those glorious days have kept slipping away year after year until we are where we are today because of bad leadership, greed, lack of patriotism, etc. This has made almost all Sierra Leoneans you talk to nowadays, especially the youths will tell you that they want to fly abroad and live there with premium destination being America. From independence to now, leaders who have had the chance to lead this country that was blessed with so much should be bowing their heads in shame and asking God almighty and citizens to forgive them. A country blessed with so much is reeling from deep-seated poverty, malaise and despair which it does not deserve. Opportunities given to them by our colonial masters to make their country better was blown away leaving their citizens suffering.

Yes, i agree that there has been some foreign conspiracy to get us where we are but who gave them the leverage to do so? We are quick to give foreigners opportunities over fellow Sierra Leoneans out of tribalism, pittance we get from it. Now, a felon as president of America is teaching us how to do it, and the hard way. Worst of the things they do is take our wealth abroad including to the USA, leaving our country drained. God, almighty is not partial and does not love America alone, He loves us all. So if America can be great, Sierra Leone has the potential to be great too. It will take change of attitude from us citizens first and then our leaders. Over one thousand Sierra Leoneans have been given the marching orders to return to their home country, a place they have never dreamed of coming back to. Why should this be when the old adage goes “no place like home.” Is it that Sierra Leone is not home for them? It is simply that they are coming back to a place where life is going to be completely different from the one they experienced in a foreign country. So where is home for us as Sierra Leoneans, America? Our leaders, both in the APC, SLPP and the other political parties need to learn from this put their acts together and learn not to disappoint themselves, their country and their fellow compatriots.