Awo's farming paradise lost to bureaucrats

By Ifedayo Adebayo

Residential homes built by Obafemi Awolowo for the farmers convenience. Photo: IFEDAYO ADEBAYO

It was meant to be a sign of progress for the people of the state, but the recently built State Secretariat for the Osun State government has disrupted the lives of hundreds of farmers whose settlements now form the bulk of the land on which the new secretariat was built.The farm settlement was itself a government creation, albeit that of an older govern-ment.

It was created in the early 1960s by the Western Region government of Obafemi Awolowo as part of its desire to modernise agriculture in the then young region.

The Oke-osun farm settlement was a 50-hectare expanse of farmland where each farmer had a hectare of land to himself, as well as adequately furnished residences.

It was part of the signal projects of the old Western Region --ranking alongside the University of Ife, Liberty Stadium, Western Broadcasting Service, and Odu'a Invest-ments in prestige.

Buildings were constructed on the settlement for the farmers' convenience and sold to the farmers on hire purchase.

Olasunkanmi Adebayo, the chairman of the settlers, said they never thought they would become vagrants as they were the foster children of the agricultural modernisation project.

The only change previous military administrations had imposed on them was the reduction of the land allocation by half to accommodate more farmers.

"At the outset, everything was going on as planned and envisaged," Mr. Adebayo said. "A lively community was rapidly growing with bumper harvests, ready markets, and farm prosperity.

"Arable crops like maize, cassava, cowpeas and vegetables were cultivated. The farmers and their families were living together happily and we annually organ-ised festivals to celebrate with ourselves. It is a lost glory, but now we are dying and there is no one to attend to our situation."

The fortune of the farms changed in 1999 when the elected government of Bisi Akande decided to provide the state with a "befitting" secretariat.

The government secured 25 hectares of the land for the construction of the secretariat. It also compensated the 25 farmers affected in the exercise and relocated them.

They said the present administration of Olagunsoye Oyinlola was not as fair to the remaining farmers.

"When the governor visited us after his assumption of office, he promised that if he will not add to what Awolowo did for us and the state through the farm settlement, he would not remove from it," Mr. Adebayo said.

"He also wrote the same thing in our visitor's diary. Since then, all that we have got from this government has been ridicule of all sorts."

The special adviser to the state governor promised to present the government's response to the farmer's accusation. He, however, did not fulfil this promise. But Mojeed Alabi, a former Speaker of the state's House of Assembly said part of the tragedy of the country was the absence of visionary leadership.

"Our present crop of leaders, including myself, per-haps do not think beyond the immediate gains of public office," he said.

"The issue of leaving a legacy for posterity, like Awolowo did, is secondary to political expediency in the face of mass poverty which is being exploited by a few to subject the gullible many to suffering."

Ruined farms

What is left of the farm settlement is a desolate land-scape. The feeling of deprivation is heightened by the spectre of the secretariat buildings laid out in the horizon.

Contractors working on different parts of the land daily destroy the farmers' crops. The harried farmers said they sometimes come to their farm-lands to meet bulldozers clear-ing their crops.

Bode Omoloye, the Public Relation Officers of the farmers' group, said his 25-acre plantation of maize and cassava was destroyed while he was away from the farm.

"When I came around, I don't know where to start," he said. "The Bale (communal head) called me. I was shivering. I've been looking forward to when I will harvest my crops. But, what do I have now, a farmland taken over by a building development company at the order of the state government."

Mr. Adebayo said when the farmers visited the state Com-missioner for Agriculture to complain about the invasion, he told them they should have informed the government before going to the farm to plant anything.

"I just opened my mouth and didn't know what to say," he said. "How are we going to start telling the government before planting on the farms given to us years before it assumed office? It was a hard lesson."

The farmers said their travails started when unknown persons suddenly started invading their Oke-pupa settlement at night.

"At the peak of the commu-nal joy and peaceful coexistence amongst the farmers, a jealous gang started coming into the settlement over the night to attack farmers and their families," Mr. Adebayo said.

"The intruders used machetes, guns, and other dangerous weapons to perpetrate their evil acts. We first thought that they were after our money, but their attack on me revealed that it was beyond what we presumed.

"They stabbed me and inflicted very deep wounds on my skull and all over my body. All the money in my pocket and my valuables were not touched and that was when we knew that it was a plan to displace us."

Mr. Adebayo said the attacks initially drove most of the farmers away from the settlement. "We lost a lot," he said. "Little time after then, other executive members and I decided to visit the place and all of us left the place crying.

"Almost all the roofs of the buildings have been removed and some destroyed. Then it dawned on us that someone wants us out of this place."

Now, with pockets of gov-ernment-sanctioned building projects popping up all over the settlement, the farmers fear they are on the way to los-ing everything.http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News

First Published in 2009.

A Nigerian Youth built a Search Engine

A Nigerian youth, Christian Onah has built a search engine called Discovad Search.  The site which was launched on Nov. 19th, has been fully operational after several post release testing. According to the founder, search engines and the Internet in general has become highly imperative in developing lifelong skills of information fluency.

Beyond lex talionis

May be I need to make myself understandable here. Lex talionis, is a latin term, referring to “Law of Retaliation (in English) otherwise “an eye for an eye” as it is referred by scriptures. In a simpler term, he who kills must be killed or punishment be equal to crime. And given that The Gambia extends death penalty to drugs and human trafficking, Kissy-Kissy Mansa argues that this amounts to excessive vengeance.  

"They are going to kill them for crimes they did not commit,” families of the eight treason convicts, including former defense chief, bemoan after justice Amadi declared: “I hereby sentence you to death…”

Three months on, former defense chief Lang Tombong Tamba and co are still breathing  (according to reliable source) but in jail, thanks to their defense team who appealed against the conviction before president Yahya Jammeh fulfils the executioner’s dream.

It is the same fate hanging over Sulayman Bah, who was convicted for killing a housemate over $457 and a Senegalese woman, Tabara Samba, convicted for killing her husband by pouring boiling oil over him after she grew suspicious the man was going to take a second wife.

As these valuable souls await the president to append his signature for them to be asked of their final words, The Gambian parliament recently amended Drug Control Act 2003 and Trafficking of Persons Act 2007, substituting the penalties with death sentence for would-be offenders.

Human rights activists and some Gambians have greeted this move with disapproval, which is seen as the latest move to curb these heinous crimes that are rising at a worrying rate in the country; for it both contradicts the constitutional provision on death penalty, and hefty by all standards.

 “Although one cannot measure the destruction 250g of cocaine could cause, but life is too precious for it. Infact the world is abolishing death penalty,” says Hon. Babanding Daffeh, an opposition National Assembly member.

“In my opinion, in as much as we want to curb drug trade and human trafficking, we should not impose death penalty, but rather emphasize on preventing it and re-integrating criminals into the society.”

The constitution states very clearly that no court in The Gambia shall be competent to impose a sentence of death for any offence unless the sentence is prescribed by law and the offence involves violence or the administration of any toxic substance, resulting in the Death of another person.

“As lawyers or any other person, we never supported any drug trafficking or drug trafficking activities by any syndicate. But, the issue whereby there would be death penalty for anybody, we do not support the death penalty to be part of the penalties for such,” human rights lawyer Assan Martins told VOA recently.

Martins said the penalty for any drug offenses could be “for life imprisonment if he is caught” instead of the death penalty that the person will face under the new measure introduced by the government.

The Gambia, the tiniest country in Africa with an estimated human population of 1.5m, is among the first African countries to abolish death penalty – in 1981 – during the first republic.

Since independence in 1965, death penalty has been executed only once, on Mustapha Danso for killing the then commander of the Field Force, Ekou Mahoney.

However after the military take over in 1994, the junta re-instituted it by decree in 1995, and it was later incorporated into the 1997 Constitution. This resulted in the commuting of the life imprison of one Lamin Darboe to death sentence after he was accused of being the ring leader of hunger striking prisoners. Death sentence initially applies to murder and treason, but now extends to drug and human trafficking, pending President Jammeh’s assent.

According to the new amendment on Drug Control Act, any person found guilty of being in possession of over 250g of cocaine or heroine shall be sentenced to death, while human trafficking has been extended from life imprisonment to death sentence.  

“The menace of drug trafficking and the activities of major drug lords have started to rear their ugly heads in this jurisdiction in recent times,” justice minister Edu Gomez told lawmakers. “Therefore this bill seeks to nip the negative developments in the bud by providing sentences which will serve as deterrent to anyone wishing to use this country either as a transit or destination point for hard drugs.”

On human trafficking, he says, “Both the strategic location of The Gambia as a gateway to the western world as well as our liberal immigration policy has attracted the attention of unscrupulous persons in using the country as a transit route for trafficking in persons.

“Therefore this bill seeks to enhance the penalties in order to protect vulnerable persons.”

This move came hard on the heels of an upsurge in both illicit drug trade and human trafficking in the country, with a view to curbing the menace.

Indeed, The Gambia has in recent times witnessed a sharp rise of trade in illicit drugs, to a magnitude Kissy-Kissy describes as “a Mexico state”.

June this year, security agents seized about two tones of cocaine with an estimated value of $1billion bound for Europe, a discovery that shocks the nation.

Former chief of anti-drug agency and four of his staff are facing trial over drugs. Separately, the former police chief and two top military officers are also alleged to have lied against the president that he gave them illicit drugs to sell. The trio is facing trial at the High Court in the capital, Banjul.

In the fight against drugs, the president has issued several stern warnings. During celebrations marking 16 years of his rule – military-turned civilian – he vowed to clamp down on the practice.
“I would rather die than allow some misguided elements to use The Gambia as a drug zone,” Jammeh was quoted as saying.

This was followed by dashing-out of 9 brand new four-wheel drive vehicles to the National Drug Enforcement Agency, following which, hardly a week goes by, without seizure of either cocaine or cannabis.

The introduction of death penalty is seen as the latest move towards the “all-out-war against drugs. Can it be justifiable?

Martins and Badinding may not even know about each other, but they echo the same concern; there is a possibility that innocent people could be executed for crimes they have not committed.
“We need to rehabilitate our criminals” Daffeh says and Martins buttressed: “The fear is that an innocent person may also suffer or may end up being a victim. We don’t support anything of collective punishment of both the innocent and the guilty”.

It is worthy of mentioning that modern penal systems are designed to be correctional or rehabilitative and not primarily punitive in nature, for the fact that once a criminal could not always be criminal.

In Islam for instance, the Quran permits exact and equivalent retribution, but softens the law of an eye for an eye by urging mankind to accept less compensation than that inflicted upon him or her or to forgive altogether.

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth'. But I say to you, do not resist an evildoer. If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also" says Jesus Christ.

After all, the whole world agrees with an Indian civil rights leader, Mahatma Gandhi that: “the law of an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.”

Prayer: May You Not Fail Like NAWEC

Many people express concern why KISSY-KISSY MANSA hasn’t been featuring for a while. There are fears I was cowed, but no! Those that send me email, sms, or others, I thank you all.  I was away to the land of gold - Gold Coast - present day Ghana to broaden my knowledge.  Synonymous to its name today  is, champion of Africa’s democracy. Here we go again with a special prayer I offer to all those who wish to say Ameen! May you not fail like NAWEC.  

Frowned beyond recognition, Alpha Omar Bah, 23, sits at right at the entrance to his internet café, as if to bar customers from entering. On the contrary, he wants them in, but none was coming in.

For the past few months he is getting used to sitting whole day without a customer, no money thanks to erratic power supply or lack of it sometimes by the country’s energy giant NAWEC.

 “NAWEC is really killing me,” he says, without changing his mood. “I am not making any returns. All my investment is going down the drains”.

It has been two years since this industrious young boy finished his secondary education. Unlike most of his colleagues who fail to further their education because of lack of either financial or other support, Alpha’s family assisted him to study computer science.

Again, a privilege most of his colleagues lack and are left frustrated with business propositions but without a kick starter, Alpha got financial support from his sister in abroad to set-up an internet café.

He partnered with a friend Abdoulie Sillah, 23, who as well got some money from his sister in abroad.

Having attained some level of computer literacy, both Alpha and Abdoulie hope Internet business will help them at least make ends meet in the face of growing demand for them lend a hand in running the affairs of their families.

However, little did they know that in a country where providing a basic need as energy has become so laissez-faire that, as a Senegal comedian says (about our power supply), everybody has his or her own NAWEC (generator) at home, technical know-how and (good) location are not enough for such a business venture, which relies solely on energy, to thrive.

“From day one, it has not been easy,” Alpha says. “We encounter numerous challenges here. At times we loose [internet] connection for some hours or in some instances a day or two.

On the heels of these challenging moments, comes a more devastating one; that is the unprecedented load shedding by National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC).

“How are we going to pay our bills” he quizzes rhetorically knowing very well that whether he makes money or not his landlord will make a request end of month.

But Alpha and Abdoulie aren’t alone in this dilemma. It is a national problem. And the president, who would have ordinarily dismissed his energy minister, is himself doubling as the nation’s energy minister.

Families abandon their beautifully decorated air-conditioned houses seeking for fresh air as house turn hell.  

According to a veteran journalist Bijou Peters, “the sudden disruption of electricity supply can be dangerous for families, most of whom have to resort to the use of candles during a black out.

“It creates a hazard also for the elderly members of the family who are unable to find their way safely in a darkened house during power failures. Reports of accidents in the home have been recorded, some of which have resulted in fatalities.”

Members of the community who require a regular supply of energy such as welders, bakers, tailors, fishermen, fish processers and dryers are particularly hampered by these frequent power failures which affect their works and earnings daily.

“I have many contracts to work on but due to the constant power interruption I cannot execute it,” says, a welder, who was speaking to Daily News recently.

Bakers are now buying bag of ice to mix flour to bake breads, newspapers go off the newsstand, ice sellers have their ice boiled in the fridge, fishers no longer keep the fish fresh and many others have their appliances spoiled, all but thanks to NAWEC.  

Dram at parliament

Recalling what could be described as a drama at the National Assembly recently when Hon. Sedia Jatta lamented about NAWEC’s poor performance. Vice president responding to him tried to defend but before she finishes there was a power failure.

“I am vindicated” Sedia said, amid laughter. Even the journalists burst into laughter.  

Power resumed almost a minute after vice president took her seat and the Speaker was saying it was not a power failure, but rather they are switching from generator to NAWEC when there was power cut again.

“What is it this time” Sedia teases and there was even more laughter.

No pleasing news

NAWEC rarely gives pleasing news. Public notices from NAWEC always read: NAWEC regrets to inform general public that….”

Remembering few years ago, while still going to school we were three in a room having a small radio set giving us some entertainment. But nothing entertains us more than news releases from NAWEC. Anytime the announcer announces: “This is a public announcement from NAWEC, we would burst into laughter. Without listening to what would come next, we would turn-off the radio and then turn it on seconds later, predicting that the final part of the release would read: “NAWEC apologizes for any inconvenience.”

Promises again

Meanwhile after remaining unreasonably mute over this issue, NAWEC has finally broken the silence.

According to news reports, the problem was due to an inferno which damaged its machinery, but it is poised to do better.

Praying for people’s goodness or otherwise is not only religious, but a culture. One of the reasons I used to greet my grandma every morning is because of the prayers she offers to me, which I found not only a blessing, but interesting. “May you shine like sun,” she would say even after I left.

However, nowadays, these metaphoric prayers are no longer likened to nature, but rather the prevailing man-made circumstances.

Among them are: “May you not fail like NAWEC, May you rise like the price of commodities.”

The freedom of the press in Africa : Benin’s constant downgrading since 2007

In 2006, the Beninese people in general and the press in particular were very happy to learn that their country has been selected as the first African country where the freedom of the press is guaranteed. It was, according to many observers, an illustration of the vitality of the country’s young democratic process. When choosing in 1990 democracy as the new political system, Benin took the oath to respect, among others, the freedom of the press. From 1990 to 2006, the Beninese press has not relatively been gagged by political authorities. It is true that some media professionals do not respect the requirements of their deontology and many a time, the Deontology and Ethic Observatory for Media has condemned journalists who published stories without sufficient investigation. In spite of that, there was not any massive imprisonment. Only, a few colleagues have spent some days or months in jail for diverse reasons. But things will change with the coming on power of President Boni YAYI. Two journalists have been jailed for writing about the President’s private concern. These imprisonments followed by many others and added to the lack of professionalism of some journalists brought Benin to lose its first rank. Only a year after its continental consecration, the country became in 2007 the 9th African country where the freedom of the press is respected according to Reporters without borders. The report on the situation in Benin shows that the media professionals are not really exposed in their profession. There is no pressure from the Government. The report also mentions that it is rather the journalists who prefer communication to journalism. But in Benin, it is crystal clear that public media are controlled by the Government. The opposition political parties have no or very limited access to public media which devote 75% of their publications to the Government’s official and political activities. Concerning the private radio stations, TV channels and newspapers, the Government signs financial agreement with them so as they write good stories on their policies. But some of the media (these are very few) show resistance and bring out some scandalous affairs. This annoys the Government of President Boni YAYI. The spokesman of the President’s cabinet came on the national public television and threatened any journalist who will publish again bad stories on the Government policies. But the media immediately denounced dictatorship and promised not to be intimidated. The 2008 Reporters without borders’ report placed Benin at the 11th rank in Africa and at 70th at the world level. This is the proof our democracy in the field of the freedom of the press is still stammering. The National Association of Media Workers believes the Government is the first responsible for such a situation and asked through a press release President Boni YAYI and his ruling team to reconsider their relationships with the media in view to restore Benin reputation talking about freedom of the press. But things are going worse in 2010, on the eve of the coming Presidential election. The government thinks that the media are favouring the opposition parties by accusing the ruling power in the numerous ongoing social and economic scandals. Through an official communiqué, they warn the news organs who are used to writing partial stories. ‘They might be severely sanctioned’, says the communiqué. Considering the current situation, it is almost certain that the coming Reporters without borders’ annual report will be particularly severe for Benin.

Actualités sur la décentralisation au Bénin: http://www.ancb-benin.org

Journalists familiarize themselves with peace’s maintaining program in Ghana

During the summer academy program, organized by the International institute for Journalism (Iij) in Accra, Ghana, journalists who attended the program paid a visit to Koffi Annan International Keeping Training Centre (Kaiptc). Their aim is to get notions from soldiers about their duties to keep and to maintain peace in Africa. This initiative is becoming a challenge since journalists have to cover conflicts in order to inform their audiences about what is going on in the society.

Many countries nowadays are facing various problems that affect their stability. In order not to give a free way to such situation to last or to avoid them, the KAIPTC is set to train soldiers that are ready to intervene in places where need will be. How a citizen can get a clear understanding about the mission and the objective assigned to soldiers sent to war theatre? That is the motive which leads journalists to meet the course director of the peacekeeping studies department of the KAIPTC, Colonel Dieter Schneider, last September, 30 in the premises of the centre.
In the presentation of the centre, Schneider went into detail about how the centre is structured and emphasis on their mission which is to develop and to deliver international peace maintaining. Before, during and after their missions, the peace maintaining troops need also to rely upon media so to vehicle their mission. From this point, journalists come to help soldiers to bring on air or on their various papers the importance of the peace maintaining program and necessity for everyone to leave in peace, that means to put an end to hostilities.
But in order to fulfill well their jobs, journalists meet sometimes some kinds of resistances from belligerents and even from the side of some peace maintaining corps.
According to Schneider, these problems are due sometimes to the misconception of what is going on in the ground or may be the journalist is not working to push the peace ahead. From that point, it can happen that, from peace support operation, another problem with many consequences can raise. So there is a need for both, peace soldiers and journalists, to get a clear understanding of their mission when they are sent to a conflict area and how they must collaborate so to disarm fighters and to install peace in the concerned society.

In all, the exchanges that Schneider had with the journalists help a lot so to understand first soldiers’ mentality and what they want from the press when they are sent by their media house to report on a conflict.
In their side, journalist manifested great enthusiasms to hear the senior officer who had a lot of experiences in his domain. As a wish, media professionals ask to be involved in courses program so to get further details about peace’s maintaining program in order to work hand in hand with peace soldiers when comes the time to cover conflict.

In the course of the summer academy program, a Ghanaian journalist celebrates her birthday

A Ghanaian journalist, Ellen Arthur Sheila, who attends the program, celebrates her birthday at Ghana Journalism Association in Accra, Ghana last October 4th. In order to celebrates this special event in her life, her others colleagues from West Africa countries made a break so join in the celebration.

It was at the break time under the “Skuup restaurant chop bar” place where journalists attending the program used to gather to share their meals that the new was revealed to the news’ seekers that their Ghanaian colleague, Ellen, has to celebrate a special event in her life. Even though it was a spontaneous announcement, all participants have observed a break to gather themselves all around Ellen who could not contain her emotion at that moment. A happy birthday’s song was soon quickly struck by the group and was translated by the participants to the forum to their various languages and mother tongues.
Together in one voice, Ellen colleagues wish her a happy celebration and a bright tomorrow to do greater things in her profession so to push democracy ahead in Ghana.
The atmosphere which reigned during the day was so convivial that Ellen was able to speak a little bit French language which she hears from her colleague’s coming from Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, Benin and Togo and even from the others from Nigeria, the Gambia, Sierra Leone, who managed to express themselves with success. So once again, enjoy your celebration everyday of your life and keep learning French.

President Jammeh's U-Turn

• 
• President Jammeh and first lady Zainab Zuma, the first lady

Gambian president Yahya Jammeh is trapped in the plush of a polygamous life style, a practice he had seemingly despised.

Polygamy is believed to be an exclusive privilege of African men and The Gambian leader is now one of them. He has over the years earned support of Gambian women for his acclaimed women empowerment initiatives.

In 2009, he raised eyebrows when he castigated Gambian men for taking on more than one wife, a remark that invite  applause at the National Assembly during the state opening of the legislative year.

 He even threatened to seize properties of men who mistreat their first wives after marrying an apparently beautifully plump and younger wife.

But the president himself now bags two, despite expressing outrage at the attitude of Gambian men marrying more wives.

Analysts say it is somewhat common for president Jammeh who came in power in 1994 through a coup before restoring (Lilliput) democracy, to go against his words.

As one analyst said: “He (Jammeh) recently [during meeting with Banjul Mandinka society] said his government is not regional bias, while six months ago, he vowed not to develop certain regions because they failed to vote for him.” 9

Meanwhile The Gambian first lady Zeinab Suma Jammeh is a Guinean, who president Jammeh married after what seemed to be separating with the former first lady Tuti Faal, a Gambian.

And his taking on of Her Excellency young Lady Halima Sallah has been greeted with mixed feelings, as some did not find fault, whilst others seem not to be happy about it, an opinion poll reveals.

“So Jammeh has married his third wife big deal. He divorced his first wife. He married a second wife and married a third wife. What’s all the fuss about?” said anonymous contributor on one of Gambian online newspapers. “Each wife knows about the other and all consented to marry him. What’s up! Are the objectors just jealous or what?”

However, another anonymous writer writes: Respect your wives my Muslim brothers and stop using religion as an excuse to abuse women.”

BENIN: journalism is on the down-grade

By Bruno HOUESSOU


Some of Benin newspapers

Journalists working at Benin public national television enjoyed previously their job like everybody. Everyone can act without fear any governement. According to the deontology and ethic code in the media, they can investigate on all subjects which interest them. Since the national conference in 1990 Beninese have known different présidents at the head of the country. Nicephore Soglo from 1990 to 1996, Mathieu Kerekou from 1996 to 2001 and again from 2001 to 2006. Since then beeing journalist were a passion. Nobody says that the passion has disappeared today, but....
In 2006, on April, Beninese made a choice for a change during the presidential election. People wanted a newstateman. He was elected with more than 70% of vote. This newstateman previously president of West african development bank came with his slogan of change. Soon, everybody were disappointed. Everythings were going down. Corruption increase. There are some issues of attempt of freedom restriction. Human rights are bullied. Journalists are imprisoned of their writing. Beside all that, the case of the national television must be deplored. once again journalists of this media house are not only forsaken but they are also persecuted in their job. All reportages in this media house must be favourable to the government. Trade union, opposition members and some civil society are not allowed to intervne at the national television.
Nicaise Miguel is a journalist at the national TV. On october 6, 2010 he published a complaint against the director of the national TV because his report on the trade union protest is not published. The attraction of the act made the High autority of broadcasting and communication to meet protagonists of the TV. On monday, 11, october, the general manager dismissed the editor in chief and the program officer of the television. Another matter.
Boni Yayi is he a dictator or feudal? Journalists have no liberty to act while they worked for his arrival at the head of the country. "We made a mistake by supportung this man in 2006", tells a journalist.
The best is coming!

Let us build a brighter future for Sierra Leone –Betty Jessica Milton

Sierra Leonean journalist wants her country to work again.

By OLOLADE ADEWUYI

Betty Jessica Milton was a teenager when civil war swept her country in 1991. Her once beautiful Sierra Leone was brought to its knees and looted by rebel soldiers who were fighting over the sharing of political positions and power in the centre.

When the first gun shot was fired in a small village in the east of the country in March of that year, little did Milton and many other residents of Freetown know that it was going to affect their way of life for many years.

“I was told by my father that there was war [in the East],” Milton, now a journalist at Awoko News says.

The civilian government of Tejan Kabbah was overthrown in 1997 by a military coup whose sponsors then tried to find peace by creating a government of national unity. Little knowing that this would be the country’s albatross, the Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC) invited the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebel group to the capital to participate in the government.

The capital soon began to brim with rebel soldiers who committed atrocities without fear. Many women and girls were raped. Young boys were conscripted into the rebel forces and dissenters were shot dead or amputated.

The UN estimates that more than 20,000 civilians suffered amputation, the stock in trade of the rebel forces. Many lost arms, legs, ears, and lips to the marauding machetes of the rebels before they were eventually chased out by ECOMOG forces led by the Nigerian Army.

Milton’s classmate Fudia was killed in front of her home during a shoot out by rebel soldiers. It is an incident she remembers with bile in her throat.

“It was a terrible time”, she says. “They were involved in all sorts of evil things. They raped women and girls. Our men were powerless in the face of the rebel onslaught. They destroyed our country.”

A story cannot be full of gloom without a silver lining at the end. Milton, like many Sierra Leoneans, says the past is in the past. The future is what she wants to build.

“[It] is our country and we cannot run away forever. We need to have a government of national inclusion that will do away with the tribal fears of the past.

“Otherwise we will not have learnt our lessons” Milton says.

SLAVERY IN PAINS, NOT CHAINS

By Ifedayo Adebayo

Soaked in her thought, Fatou Sowe’s look at the Ghana’s Cape Coast Castle reflects chains of thought. Pains of slavery for her goes beyond chains on the legs and the gates of no returns were like marriages of some of her people.

Whether they like it or not, the voice of tradition is the wish of the elders. Fula girls are perfectly preferred to marry their cousins and that is the joy of the parent who will in turn happily sacrificed many cows out of their herds.

Luckier than other Fula girls, her father brought her up with seeming opportunity to make choices on issues related to herself, but she can’t still stop asking him, “can’t they stop this practices? Can’t they be allowed to marry on their own?”

From one door to another during a visit of the International Institute of Journalism Media Ethics course participant held in Accra Ghana at the over 400 years old slave Castle, my Fula friend was happily joining group photographs and sometimes taking notes, but a step into the women dungeons changed her mood. “This is the story of my people, she told me. Not in chains, but in conscience.”

She told how a woman over the night stabbed a man she was ordered to marry to death. Painful story, but she choose not to live with a man she never loves. Against many wishes, the practices have flourished and many marriages are in crumbles, yet the parents believe that such tradition must be upheld.

Over 400 years ago, over 1.2 million West Africans were traded in slavery, sometimes thousands of kilometers far away from the burial places of their umbilical-cord. They lost their culture, traditions and citizenship birthrights. Today, they all want to return. They want a life where they belong and once again be very proud who they originally believe they were.

Sometimes visiting the slave castles with gifts of flowers in commemoration of the end to slavery; a feat they wish never happened, though too late to reverse the trend. The background was truly very dirty, mostly sold into slavery by their people, yet they still believe in those people. They want to come back and be celebrated again; many flowers brought for the commemoration still lie down there in the dungeons, all soaked in tears of remembrance.

Though the chains were no more there, but the slave masters still exists, Fatou as a Gambian however believes as preached. The slave masters generation must be made to believe that what they did was wrong, but will not stop asking me, “Why can’t we start amongst ourselves. I mean my sisters must not be forced into marriages again. That is still slavery in existence.

Beginning as early as the 17th and 18th centuries, but mainly in the 19th century, Fulas and others took control of various states in West Africa, taking lands and slaves for themselves, she however fumed her hope that her people will someday learn that the worst slavery exists amongst them; even in the name of tradition.

Akwaaba!!!

Walking in the Kakum National Park, Kakum
First class at the Ghana International Press Centre, Accra
The long trek at Kakum
Learning about Africa's slave past at the Cape Coast Castle
The past shapes the future. The future begins now.