By Muhammed Jawara
Letter to Sunnu, the Chief of our land
Dear Sunnu,
Greetings to you from your old friend Muhammed Jawara. I greet you in the name of peace with all the protocols observed. Heaven knows why it is so important for me to write you this letter to remind you of your duties as ordain by the laws of our land. I do understand that power can be sweet as it can be lethal, but I also know that one of the good traits of a true friend is to be a good reminder for your friend when the need arises.
It is little over a decade since we both met and since I was introduce to your then visionary and now arrogant ideologies. Remember, I am in no way trying to be rude. I will not! But common sense dictates that no one claim perfectness. In essence, we are all prone to errors. But when errors seem to be the product of carelessness, arrogance, insensitivity, abuse of power and sanctimoniousness, then there is no gainsaying that rectifications are highly necessary. Negligence in the face of a looming disaster can arguably be as pernicious as the disaster itself. This is what makes it all the more important for me to step up and remind you, a little over ten ten years after we met.
Sunnu, my memory is fresh with the euphoria that greeted your emergence in our local body politics. Everyone in our land became relieved after hearing that a man of high caliber, timber and mettle of your mould had arrived to steer our ship through the rough and torrid waters that lie ahead. In a world riddle with all the unsavory and uncanny things that grip humanity at will, we were well aware of the task ahead. My dear friend, despite the tremendous support you got from people who were living in their salad days in politics, sceptism, I have to admit, remained in many part of our land for so long. Some people were not convinced that you would be a chief with a difference, even though your claims were well understood.
First you claimed that your presence at the helm of power in our patriarchal land was worth million times more than your predecessor. In fact you cited the mismanagement of your predecessor and his cohorts as the prime reason why you took the backdoors of politics to be our chief. Your predecessor was no saint either. I think, like you, he was a rodent as well. The best job of him was done at looting our public funds for his personal interests. He held the whole chieftaincy at ransom while few people at the helm of power enjoyed with their families. His lazy followers used the best cars in our land, even though their salaries were not equivalently lucrative.
Chief Sunnu, you are in record for telling everyone in our land that no one should be the chief for more than two terms. You accused people you described as power hungry for being both selfish and greedy. You said; they represent our failures and worked hard for nothing more than putting extreme burdens on our necks. In reference to their extravagant life styles, you told me and some other people that you were going to uproot the culture of praise-singing because it portrays us as mendicants. As a sentient human being, I vividly recall the day you met me and hundreds of other people where ab ovo, you poured loads of promises. In the real world your emergence in our political landscape was meant to be temporary since your understanding of the area was below the belt. I bet you didnt know the difference between politic and politicking. But as many chiefs in Africa, your hunger for power was seemingly increasing by the day. Two years later you told us you deserved to be given the chance to legalize your stay beyond the expected time. I was just in the seventh grade. I remember telling a friend that no chief was in a better posture to rule our land than you, putting into consideration the undesirable bigmanism syndrome that has given birth to a land where individual value was measured not by merit but by ones connection to the people in control of our meager resources. At the time, elitism has also shown its ugly face in our land. So who can be a good choice than a self-proclaimed messiah like you who immediately filled the airwaves with numerous promises that were theoretically progressive? However, what I didnt know then was that you knew more about how to shot a bird flying than writing a keynote address? Being yeasty aside, I just thought being a groomed and experience politician meant nothing more than being an expert in how to be more corrupt at the expense of the lot. I also thought you coming from the world of the unknown-where everyone put on the same uniform, a sign of equality, might have been a better option. I was wrong.
Another friend of mine called me a fool but I could not care less about being crucified for supporting a friend like you, Sunnu. I did not see any difference between the bigger picture and my predilection for you. But history is by far a good judge than a good fella. Ten years down the road, not only has history proven me wrong- it has open my eyes to a hardscrabble land that was no where to be seen when you come to power. You have struggle with little success to create a Potemkin-village where the hard facts of our land are covered by your cheap political rhetorics. In spite of that, we can see a lot of things through the little holes that riddle your cover.
Our once proud land has now turned to be a home for thousands of people who cannot afford their three square meal. Businesses are open and close as a result of the dwindling economy. Our harvests are not commensurated, considering the long laborious hours we spend in our farms. As security remains a scary issue, we have no equanimity, or calmness of mind. Criminals are on the rampage, arm robbery has become a commonplace, and in some cases security lapses result to untold tragedies. Our neighbors who accuse us of not being a true neighbor are alienating us. Your double standard in the affairs of our neighbors has left indelible question marks hanging over our integrity as a good neighbor.
As a land comparatively small in the international community, our peaceful existence has been the only jewel that any citizen can boast of. Religious animosity, tribalism, and even criminal activities of high magnitude have been absent. People have always regarded themselves as citizens of one land than members of any tribal or religious sect. Tragically though, you have succeeded in making identity as the most important issue in our social debates. Muslims and Christians have been offended by your religious outbursts- and in some cases bringing confrontation between the once most peaceful people around the globe. In the same token, forgetting that power belongs to no one, you have strenuously forsaken the truth, cast a blind eye at divergent views and used tribe as a campaign tool. You accuse some tribes of being arrogant, of claiming that they own our land or even calling them unpatriotic- just because, as you claimed they hate you. Poor you sunnu! I am well aware of your record at school. I understand that you were an average student, not the historically distinct student you claimed to be who knows where every tribe in our chieftaincy come from, where they belong and what they should be doing. Your comments have been well below expectation except on few occasions. You have misused the opportunities to persuade an angry, struggling, and hard-stricken population by slapping your opponents, sometimes the dirty way. You have chided time and again, about how you will deal with individuals who defy you and how, as you said, you will exclude your opposition grounds from your development plans as if you own our lands budget. Sunnu dont you know that one plus one is equal to two? Do you forget that power is fickle and no one owns the right to belittle others? Do you forget that just eleven years ago, you were just an unknown creature in that unknown barrack somewhere in that unknown territory in our great land? Doesnt your mind ever click on the days of your life out of power when you will be the little man you have always been before you come to power? Chief, I am just surprise, my dear friend, that you of all people fail to understand that terradiddles of this magnitude cannot go unchallenged in this ever-inquisitive modern world.
In any case, I have to conclude this piece by telling you things you may not want to hear. But do I care much whether you want to hear these things or not? I bet not! As a friend I feel obligated to remind you of your responsibilities. There are many things you need to remember as a person, as a leader and a role model for thousands of people in our land. Do remember that in our world today, actions that where hitherto unpunishable are at best comical now and can lead to indictments. Do remember that you have no control over what happens to the fate of our land but your actions are very important for the survival of our people. Thus, you need to exercise patient, give credit when it is due and allow divergent views. Since no person has monopoly over ideas, it is suicidal for any person, more so you of all people, to attempt to hold people at ransom for personal gains. Remember criticism is as old as leadership and that you cannot erase that fact. Do understand that you can have your 2050 minus 30 years concept in tract without being too arrogant. Do not assume that you have control over the outcome of that vision because you know nothing about what the future holds, even though you claim to do so. Again there is no problem with aiming high but to be too abstruse in a world where people are more concern about tangible things, could be counter productive. Work to bring our people together, because together we can make a better nation. Allow opposing views to flourish for they are the litmus test for a good leader. Dont overdo things, by that I mean discontinue being too much of a spendthrift when the average person in our land struggle to make the ends meet. Remember the promises you gave us and think of the days when you time is time is numbered. Remember to abstain from making derogatory comments for they are traits of great weakness. Dont be a tribalist because it wiped generation in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa. More important of all, remember that power is too abstract to rely on and can be the most fickle thing a person can have.
In conclusion, I hope my message has been conveyed properly. As I promised in the beginning of this letter, my intentions are not to degrade you. . They are not meant to be critical without reasons. Rather they are meant to remind you of your own promises when I first met you. I hold no grudge towards you. If at any point I have digressed from the theme, or if I hurt you in anyway, do accept my apology as a friend. I hope you will!
Extend my regard to your wife from the north, your guards, your daughter Mariama and the entire populace of people in our land. May God protect you and guide your actions when you seem to be going astray.
Your friend
Muhammed Jawara