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THE VISION AT FIFTY: SIERRA LEONE INDEPENDENCE GOLDEN JUBILEE

Mr. Crispin Cole | April 28, 2011

by Crispin Cole Sr on Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 8:13pm.


Happy Independence Day Sierra Leoneans!!

Freetown, Bo, Makeni, Kenema, Kono, and all four corners of the twenty five thousand square miles of real estate, and six million wonderful people at home and in the diaspora of Sierra Leone.

Today we are charged-up with excitement, jubilation and carnival-esk celebration. A little bit of steam letting and rallying around a common purpose such as elements of national pride and solidarity are always great therapy.

After all the jamboree, after all the flare and razzmatazz, after all the eating, drinking and dancing. We are bound to ask ourselves what does fifty years of independence mean for Sierra Leone and its citizenry.

Independence does not only mean freedom from colonial rule. Independence is freedom from control, influence, support, aid etc. It means freedom alright; but it also means responsibility, and the ability, skills and requisite capacity to provide for our basic needs as a people.

So far the philosophy of independence gladdens our heart, but the hard work and practical investment into producing our own food, void of imports, aid and grants elude us. The dignity and pride that comforts, from our educated elites being able to manufacture simple utilitarian technologies and applications is still a pipe dream after fifty years of self-determination. One may not be out of track to prime our reflections by asking what our daily menus would be like without foreign imports; what our homes and offices would be like without foreign imports; what our transportation system would look like without foreign imports. You can add to this ad-infinitum list.

As we celebrate fifty years of independence, a realistic image of our nation is this fifty year old individual that lives at home with his parents, but dare to rely on them for his food, clothing and activities of daily living. When mom and dad would request his assistance in contributing to the bills of maintaining the home, our fifty year old boy/man screams!! Who are you to tell me what to do, don’t you know that I am an adult???

The underdevelopment in Sierra Leone is sickening, despite the unprecedented ratio of well-educated players.

We have an unprecedentedly large pool of lawyers...Yet justice is an illusion.

We have an unprecedentedly large supply of engineers… Yet Sierra Leone is in a structural morass

We have an unprecedentedly large pool of agriculturist... yet we cannot produce our own food.

We have an unprecedentedly large supply of doctors… yet people continue to die from common treatable diseases.

We have an unprecedentedly large body of scientists…yet we cannot produce anything.

We have an unprecedentedly large pool of economists... yet we cannot survive without foreign aid.

We need a radical paradigm shift if the next fifty years is to be more meaningful and productive

We need a national vision that is larger than ourselves This vision must transcend pedigree, tribe and religion. It is one that sees Sierra Leone as a modern nation, not dressed in borrowed robes; gifted robes, or used clothes; but one where everyone is engaged laboriously in paving the foundation for a better tomorrow.

We need to rapidly enter into a creativity and productivity revolution.

Most Sierra Leoneans regardless of their training and discipline seem to end up being a teacher, manager, administrator and politician.

What are we teaching and managing when there is no productivity or goods to manage?

We need to stimulate and reward creativity, inventiveness and practical skills application.

Did you remember how Sierra Leoneans looked down on the Asian economies and educational systems in the 60’s and 70’s? If imports weren’t made in England, Germany and America, no one was buying it.

The sad but real news for us though is that those countries we considered inferior are now calling the shots as global economic powers, while we are still in-dependent of the powers we extricated ourselves from in April 27, 1961.

Lets stop dumping useless stuff into Sierra Leone in the name of development. The time is now when we must begin to award and allocate funds for grassroots research and inventions.

We need to stop buying cakes and figure out how to bake cakes. We need to stop importing rice and begin to grow rice. What is the rocket science in this?

God willing, my vision for Sierra Leone in the coming years is to team up with anyone of you that reads this piece, to form a grassroots ingenuity and invention spotting expedition, to spot grass roots talents and inventions across Sierra Leone, and assist in packaging and marketing these locally and internationally. Our objective will be to discover and promote the talented ‘small man/woman’ in Sierra Leone and make them owners of their destinies.

Congratulations again fellow Sierra Leoneans! We have aged fifty since self-rule, but we have remained stunted in self-determination. There is an urgent call for a national vision for a productive future. We all can invest in it. For my part I have declared the little piece I want to carve out of the national vision. I invite other visionaries that feel for this idea to let me know what you are being led to do. I will not be entering this as a job as I have a good job and my needs are provided for. This is a give back voluntary effort.



Crispin Cole Sr. is President of Sierra American Ventures Inc. Florida. and owner of www.SierraConnection.Com