15 Lame things we do on Instagram

I strongly believe in the notion,

‘’Do what makes you happy and allow people to do what makes them happy’’

But sometimes we misuse our rights, failing to realise that to every right there is a responsibility. Some people do misbehave on social media, like they torture you all the way to the block and unfollow button.

It shouldn't be like that.

When a Smart App is left at the mercy of a not so smart generation. Guilty as charged

1. What if I told you that you don’t have to tag me when you comment under my posts on Instagram? Yea Instagram got that covered!


2. If I like 10 of your pictures and you start feeling Instagram happy and do a screen shot of my likes, just know I’ll never be that happy with your pictures again. Why would you want to put me on a blast?! I thought we were friends...boohooo


3. Oh so you can sing? You’re so talented. I wish I can sing. Errrr No! Stop right there. The shower is there for a reason, use it my friend. Even I sound good in the shower, you should try it some time.


4. You’re on private, with 2 posts and 300+ friends and following 1250 people….Why? What is your purpose on Instagram? Do not follow me.


5. You’re bored so you decide to empty your 1995 album on Instagram. Stop it...what a torture!

Really..?!

6. One outfit, same location, same occasion, different pose….allow it fam! It's Instagram not hi5


7. I love my active users on Instagram, in fact I consider myself one but honey, variety is the spice of life. Mix it up, don’t bore me with the 10 selfies a day, that is not what the doctor prescribed. Have you changed that much in 2 seconds?! I think not.


8. Bomb-ass picture with the lamest caption ever! I have held a like back because of this misbehaviour…yes I am guilty! That clever caption that normally looks really irrelevant under a great picture....yea stop that intelligent parade! Let the picture do the talking.


9. You’re eating your rice and stew and for some reason the taste flew to your brain so you decided to take a picture of it and post on Instagram. Rice and stew....??? Don’t ever post your rice and stew and can of coke, even if it was cooked by yours truly! Mediocre and nothing special…Next!


10. I liked one of your pictures so you decided to like my 40 weeks old picture in return. Babe keep that like, I’m sure I have a like-worthy picture other than my 40 week old one. Plus I don’t do like for like….are we in kindergarten?!


11. You know that neat, flawless white border you give to all your pictures, it doesn’t make you look deep and powerful and intelligent and soulful and creative and well you get the drift. Be you, even our lives are not that tidy!


12. Let’s be honest, Instagram is all about the likes, and if you ain’t liking my pictures, mate what are you doing?! Let’s get liking …it’s not that serious! It’s not deducted from your bank account either, release the ting!


13. #I #am #Tired #of #seeing #this #misbehaviour #on #IG. #Fix #it #Jesus   This right here is super annoying. The hashtag morons, go easy. I know you want those likes but this is making you look uber desperate! Take heart, one day you shall conquer your deserved likes in Jesus name!


14. There’s that thing where we can upload 2 or more photos in one go…yea a pic collage! My friend utilise that app and do not let me go through my feed thinking you’re the only person I’m following. That warrants a straight unfollow…behave, ain’t nobody got time for that!

Behave..!

15. On a more serious note when I go on your Instagram, I truly want an insight of your life, who are you, what you stand for and believe in, what are you passionate about and maybe a glimpse of your personality. Let your Instagram scream who you really are. After all Instagram in my opinion is all about creativity, if you want to showcase non-stop pictures, then my dear Facebook is your friend.



If you noticed you’ve been losing followers or even likes it might be because of one of the above reasons or something I haven’t thought of. I Laughed out loud after writing this. Stop acting a fool… Go crazy on Instagram, heck go insane but be considerate.




Till then


Xoxo

The Expectation

The hopes, the expectations, the castles in the air all makes for a rather rude awakening. The fall is pretty serious and landing is never soothing to the bum.

“To wish was to hope, and to hope was to expect”

Most times than often, that awakening is needed. It’s like a slap to reality from reality.

My theory is if you have to be awakened rudely like that then you have no business sleeping. When a situation arises where you can’t sleep you have no business being there in the first place. I have a thing for cosy, sureness and trust and if I can’t experience any of it…it leaves me empty with a lot of questions.

Why fall asleep? Why dose off? Why let your guard down and start expecting and hoping? Heck why do you even shut your eyes? Our expectations always sell us short. It’s all good to be hopeful and expecting people to behave in a certain way. It’s all good to think and expect….but keep your feet grounded, grounded on something solid.

Sometimes I think expectations come from a deep place within ourselves. Expectations comes from our pattern of thinking and trails of thoughts we have so carefully weaved in our heads. It can also be because of what we’re used to. It is a result of what you thought it was or should be. Other times, it is because of what you have experienced and certain experiences leaves you positively expectant.

Positively Expectant...

We expect people to act in a certain way. We expect them to do certain things and behave in a certain fashion and when they don’t that is where the awakening comes in. Yea that rude awakening.

We believe and want them to act in a certain way because we will act in that same manner given the same situation. We believe we will go that far for them so we expect them to do the same. We believe we will bend and break bones for them so we think they’ll be willing to do the same.

“Persons appear to us according to the light we throw upon them from our own minds.

Well it doesn’t work that way unfortunately. People react to situations differently therefore you can’t expect the same level of reaction given the same situation. People think differently and we are all ever so different in various ways. I once read somewhere that when you stop expecting people to behave in a certain way, life becomes easier and you become happier. Expectation in a sense is self-destructive as you slowly build yourself up for disappointment.

'Blessed are they who expect nothing for they shall not be disappointed.”

Expectation is a child born from a comfortable place. I say comfortable because it is a situation or relationship or person or thing you thought you knew, they’ve become your playground, all so familiar and cosy. You knew all the back routes and the ins and out. You feel like you’re home and Boom…..expectation kicks in. Such a familiar territory with an unfamiliar trails. From a comfortable place like that, the awakening is never a good one.

The Awakening...is real

That awakening is your call to duty. It is your call to evaluate and re-evaluate. Look at the situation from all angles and analyse. What made you so expectant? Why did you ever start thinking they will do that for you or be that for you? Why did you even think you mattered that much to them? What sparked that expectation? What gave you hope that the situation would be all you’ve wished for or thought it would be? 

Wake up!

Things don’t pan out your way, so what? Situations don’t turn out as you would have liked, so what? Life goes on. Do not allow yourself to become bitter, frustrated or full of anger because disappointment does that to people. Remember your happiness is paramount. It doesn’t mean the situation was a bad situation or the person is a bad person, it simply means that people are different. People think differently. People react to situations differently.

Waiting and Expecting...

If you can handle the difference, then there is beauty in differences. To each their own. Personally I have learnt to never try to change anyone. As the wise saying goes, if you know how hard it is to change yourself then you will know how little a chance you have of changing others. Inspire change in them but never try to change them.

Accept them wholly or keep it moving. This applies to all situations and everyone. Expectations are always going to be there just remember to not fill your life with resentment and anger when it doesn’t create the vision you envisioned. You can’t expect everyone to be dedicated as you or have the same level of passion as you and this is a mistake made more often than we think.

Lower your expectations of people and you will never be disappointed. This doesn’t make you any less of a human neither does it diminish the person that you are. It doesn’t lower your self-esteem and you can walk with head held high. But what it’ll do is save you from unnecessary anger, pain, resentment and frustration. You really don’t need to be inflicting all that poison into your system. You can’t change people, and some situations are totally out of your control.

“My expectations are sky low, because I’m standing on a mountaintop.” 

Remember you can’t control everything that happens to you and around you but you can control how you react to it.

Till then

Xoxo

100 Happy Days Challenge

Yes I did it. Yeeeaaaa!!

I can proudly say I am among the 29% of people who actually finished the challenge. Yippee!!

This was inspired by my colleague at work. I saw her doing it on Instagram and I thought to myself, I think I should jump on this bandwagon. What gave me the final push was how happy she looked in her photos and going through her photos it did put a smile on my face. So I thought, why not, And Doris’ 100 Happy Day Challenge was born on the 1^st of July 2014.

100 Happy Days!!

Whatever I put my mind to, I see it all the way to the end and I knew I was setting myself up for something here, I wasn’t sure what but I knew it was going to be something. I started this challenge knowing I have made a commitment to being happy, a commitment to train my mind to look for the good in each day, a commitment to give a blind eye to negativity and upsets. I made a commitment to myself to be a happier person and this changed my perspective on so many things in life including the way I dealt with situations that were completely out of my control.

You are in charge of your happiness. You are the sole happiness proprietor of your soul.

I did mine on Instagram and before I can say I posted stuff for likes and other times just because I could, but as I got into the challenge, all the urge for likes disappeared and that was replaced by an urge to show the world what actually put a smile on my face. I didn’t care about people’s judgement. If it made me happy I posted it. That alone is happiness on its own. Not living for the approval of men, not living for likes and not doing things because you’re scared of how you might be perceived. That was a junk I got rid of and made space for all things happy.

If you live for men’s approval, you will die of their criticism

This challenge made me appreciate the little things. I am not going to tell you it was all happy days and honky dory because it wasn’t. I won’t lie to you and tell you that I was automatically happy and good things started happening to me, no. Neither will I tell you that I became richer or that every day was Christmas, because it wasn’t. However, what made the difference was the ability and the willingness this challenge created in me to look for the good in every bad situation, the blessing in every setback and to see the rainbow during the storm. It opened my eyes to the positives of life and closed my eyes to a lot of negativity.

If there was one thing this challenge taught me it’ll be, it could be worse.

Life is too short for moaning, sulking, whining, complaining and bearing grudges. If you can spend that time being happy, be happy if you can spend that time spreading happiness, spread happiness. Just strive to keep that smile on your face. If something is not going your way, change the way you look at it and deal with it differently. Whatever you do, remember a deep rotted happiness comes from within and it is tied to no man.

I urge you all to do it if you haven’t already. It is a challenge worth taking. However bear in mind it is a CHALLENGE. As simple as it may sound, as happy as it may look, some days you have to fight a little harder to see the sunshine. Some days you will not see any sunshine at all but take a deep breath and remember how blessed you are just to be in the land of the living. Other times it may be the smallest thing that put a smile on your face, go for it and don’t let judgemental people stop you from posting it.

Can You?

Be happy and Spread Happiness whenever you can.

Till then

Xoxo

121 Deaths In One Day!

I have been putting this post off for a long time but as I was scrolling down on Facebook,  I saw 121 deaths in one day from my motherland, Sierra Leone. I cried.

God where are you?

Who wants to blog about sad stuff, who wants to blog about people dying or even wants to dwell on an outbreak that is destroying our nation one death at a time?! Definitely not me. I created this blog for all things sunshine, all things happy and all things good but unfortunately life is not like that. We wake up one morning and our happy days have been replaced by a deadly disease killing children, adults, the rich and the poor.

Where do we go from here?

I saw the report on the 121 deaths in one day from the BBC website and tears welled up in my eyes. I felt helpless and frustrated. Anger and disappointment filled me just watching my people suffer and die helplessly because our government is busy collecting funds and doing nothing constructive to contain, maintain and eradicate this deadly epidemic. We've become a nation with no hope. I see no way out and this is a bad place to be.

I have never witness anything so deadly. I have never encountered anything this destructive. When i lost a young friend to Ebola, it became more than just mere news, it became a reality. It hits home hard. Yea.... that put a sting on it for me. I have families back home,families consisting of young boys and girls who are constantly living in fear. Afraid and scared and locked within the four walls of their homes. Simply devastating.

Ebola is tearing my nation apart and if you haven’t heard what Ebola is by now, then I don’t know which planet you live on. Ebola is wiping my nation out one day at a time. Now Ebola may look like an African problem because of our poor and inadequate health facilities and mere ignorance which I can’t deny helped play a great part in its spread. I can’t believe there are people who still believe Ebola is a myth and just an easy way of conning money off the international communities. I’m just speechless.

If 121 death in one day is not a wakeup call then I don’t know what is. No country should have to go through this ordeal. No one deserves this, no one!

Employment affected and subsequently putting a dent in the economy. For a nation that was just finding its feet, that is the last thing we need. Education system interrupted and lives have been turned upside down in the pace of few months. People are overdosed from the excessive use of chlorine. You look around and people you once shook hands with are now suspects, even your family becomes a suspect. What a sad way to live.

Health workers in the forefront putting their lives at risk gets the hard fists of Ebola and just in case we haven’t shown enough gratitude, I SAY THANK YOU.

Health workers in the forefront,
Just In case You Forget, we appreciate you!

What is our government doing to help and protect us? Well from what I have learnt, not much. They are meant to seek our interests but the spirit of greed and selfishness won’t let them. They live in safety. They have flown their families out to safety and those who can’t are left at the mercy of this deadly disease. All I hear in the news is this money have been donated, this organisation have donated this amount of item…even if I tried I can’t call the amount that is being donated every now and again. What are we doing with all this funds? I am lost and perplexed. Surely there must be a way out.

Mr Government stop squandering all the money. Heck just stop! Selfishness and greed is not why you were put in authority. Remember these people voted you in because they trusted you. If you are not moved by the tears and cry of the nation can you be at least concerned and moved by the number of deaths per day and the alarming rate at which this disease is spreading. Stop being greedy. Stop and look around. The nation is dying a slow death. How can one be so heartless in the midst of all this?! Stop and listen to the death bells. Stop turning a blind eye to the real issue at hand. Are you going to wait for one of your relatives to be affected before you put real mechanisms and strategies in place to combat this deadly outbreak? Mr Government just stop, take a minute to look around and see what is happening, Maybe just maybe you will be able to open your eyes  and see the tragedy, pain, mayhem and confusion of the nation.

Mr Government, do you ever feel like you've failed us?!

Mr Government, How do you sleep at night knowing the multitude is crying, living in daily fear of death? Do you feel accomplished? Do you feel like you’ve done your best? Do you think you have lived up to the expectations of the nation? Or for a swift moment, do you ever feel a pang of disappointment and failure? Mr Government what are you doing? Stop playing and wake up to the reality of things.

I understand Ebola is not the easiest of things to eradicate or get under control. I totally understand it’s not the cheapest thing to maintain but if the outbreak was initially taken seriously and all precautions put in place as opposed to the continuous denial on the government and the people’s part then we won’t be in the 121 death per day zone. We won’t have lost so many health officials as we have already. We won’t have such high rate of death at all. We wouldn’t have lost so many friends and family to this deadly epidemic. There are African countries bigger than Sierra Leone but they weren’t blind to the realities, they valued life so they took precautions. Why are we like this?!!

Sierra Leoneans are you ready to vote them in government again? Are you ready to beat your drums, cups and pans to make sweet music and moonwalk to the lies they will tell you once again? Are you ready to throw your lappa in the air and dance to the deception? Are the masquerades ready to go and the small and shallow minds ready to digest and collect that bag of rice and a gallon of palm oil? Shine your eyes my people, shine your eyes.

Why are we so gullible and satisfied with so little? Why do we fall for all these lies time and time and again? Why are we so easily fooled? Is this just mere greed on our part or maybe we’re just too trusting? Is this because of poverty and the incapability to provide for our own? Or is it just mere laziness and idleness? We need to do better. Only reward a great work with your claps and dances. You can’t reward a child for being bad, how do you expect them to act right and do better? To make our government work in our favour we have to speak up, act right and work with them.

Sierra Leoneans we have to drop this lackadaisical attitude. We have to do better, if our government have failed us then we need to get it together. We need to educate, enlighten and sensitize ourselves and acknowledge the fact that Ebola is real and that no one is exempted. I may not reside in Sierra Leone but from what I have seen some think this is one big joke. They think they are immune to Ebola. Let’s not act ignorant and put our lives at risk and the lives of others. Prevent and protect.

Certain precautions have been set in place like avoiding public gathering but in Sierra Leone the law is only for those who wish to obey it. Laws and regulations are made but not implemented. People do not acknowledge them or should I say the law only goes so far as your money is willing to spread?! The rich and the well to do are exempted from the law but what we are forgetting is that the rich and well to do are not exempted from Ebola. Get real Sierra Leoneans. Lawlessness is not the way forward especially in desperate times like these.

Now our only hope is God but…

However there’s hope but God helps those who helps themselves. God will only intervene when we are ready for him to. Ebola is not bigger than God, no never! Our God is ageless, timeless and he delivers us in time of trouble but don’t go organising a rally and expect God to show up and save you. It doesn’t work like that. God saves but he is not a magician.

Hope!

Not even Ebola can taint the beautiful image of Sierra Leone in my head. Not even Ebola can take away my fond memories of the motherland. Sierra Leone is still my paradise. Christmas is round the corner, what would normally be spent in Sierra Leone drinking coconut from the shell or star beer at number 2 or Lumley beach while enjoying the sunshine on my skin and breeze through my hair is now looking a lot gloomier, soggy and cold.

Not even Ebola can taint my memories of SIERRA LEONE!

Lumley Beach - taken on one of my holidays in the motherland.

What happened to Sierra Leone? I think Sierra Leoneans happened to Sierra Leone.

Sierra Leone is down but we are not out. We shall rise again. We shall overcome. Our God delivers. He will not leave us neither forsake us. In times of trouble we must be bold enough to call on his name. I know the hardest thing to display now is faith. In the midst of trials and tribulations our faith is low and tested but we must not give up.

God will show up...and show out

God will show up and show out for Sierra Leone in Jesus name!

Here's a poem from a frustrated Sierra Leonean, living in Sierra Leone.

Hope in a time of ‪#‎Ebola‬ by VFORNA.

Ebola comes to a nation,

ruled by ‪#‎poverty‬, ‪#‎ignorance‬, ‪#‎corruption‬,

and there is more;

‪#‎tribalism‬, ‪#‎unpatriotism‬, ‪#‎greed‬.

These are the reasons why,

Ebola may succeed.

I close my eyes to pray,

yet all I see are people dying,

What is happening? 

The doctors and the nurses

the ones giving 

all the caring 

and ‪#‎sensitising‬,

God rest their selfless souls

but with them gone

Ebola may have won

Down my cheeks tears roll,

as I see a child of four in pain,

the mother dead,the two will soon meet again.

Oh ‪#‎SierraLeone‬, ebola has left its dirty,dirty stain.

Education on a stand still,

‪#‎vaccine‬ has not been found still,

People don't know their next step

as the nation tumbles down hill.

Ebola will end,yes it definitely will.

But first we must unite as a nation

Throw away the tribalism

Love our country,increase our ‪#‎patriotism‬. 

Lying - thieving politicians, 

put the country first, 

use the money 

the ‪#‎world‬ sends in. 

Life is but one chance

Sierra Leoneans, kill the ignorance,

Learn ‪#‎hygiene‬.

Ebola is real.

‪#‎Contagious‬,

a bleeder,

Killer headaches and fever,

Ebola is real.

But together,‪#‎united‬ against Ebola,

there is hope still.

~ Victor Osman Forna

Don't allow Ebola to taint this image of our beloved land inyour head.
We shall overcome!

Till then

Xoxo

From Ordinary to The Extraordinary

Just won’t settle.

That’s it.

I’ve always had an overstretched mind flooded with chaotic thoughts. A taste bud which have often been described as fairy tale like. But when you encounter a soul that teases your taste buds, make your eyes see differently and awaken your senses……you can’t go back.

Why?

You have been stretched, probably not to your limits but have you ever seen a rubber band go back to its usual width and girth after being stretched?! Me neither

Whatever is normal, i do not wish to find out....

How do you go back to normal?! After all this, normal ceases to exist and Normal have never appealed to me anyway. Hold up, whatever is normal?

I guess I shall never find out.

You came like a storm in the summer. I was unprepared. Oh no I wasn’t ready. One thing is for sure, I live for the unplanned moments. The moments that leaves me breathless, transports you to another realm and it gets you thinking, where have you been all this while?!

You came like a lion among a swarm of bees, sweeping everything in your way to the curb. I never saw it coming and I think I missed that memo. You came like a burst of fresh air, giving the atmosphere all that good vibe and all that jazz. I liked it. I liked it a lot.

I tried to question it but I came up with no answers. I tried to make sense of it but failed miserably and again I tried to understand it but then I realised it is not my place. Some moments are best enjoyed and savoured in and letting it all go. As if I needed an answer, I was watching Mistresses when one of the characters said:

‘’...maybe it’s good to let go off plans and just make room for amazing things to happen.’’

I like questioning, maybe that was my answer right there. I like knowing but I learned that I can’t always control what happens to me, I can only choose the way I react towards it all.



Great conversation. Amazing time. Natural connection. Deep provoking thoughts. Mind sex. Stimulating intellect. Mind orgasms. Just great time, you know what I mean, great time that creates moments you will remember for the most part of your days if not the rest.

The moments where you entwine fingers and your heart skips a beat. The moments when you’re awaken by a nice warm cuddle and a gentle kiss on the forehead that speaks a thousand words. The moment when you elbows meet and you feel that shiver down your spine like a raindrop on a cold winter’s day.

All Shades of Yes...

That feeling is what is what I live for. This moment is why I won’t settle. This is the reason why I know no grey areas. Even if it’s just for a short while, everyone must experience this feeling that you can’t quite put into words you can only take a deep sigh and close your eyes to relieve part of that moment ever so often.

While others brag of great sex, with a silent confidence and dignity you delivered mind orgasm, the unforgettable and all the unimaginable. I liked that a lot. Happy as a lark and a child without a care in the world, the little heart danced.

Be with Someone who you Can Be a Fool With...

Rarely do you come across someone that makes you think like there’s no box. How often do you come across someone who just make you smile like a Cheshire cat all day long? Someone who makes you want to do better and be better, someone who you can totally be yourself with without having to put up a face.

That is priceless.

A thoughtful person. Emotional intelligence. They hear what you’re not saying. Attentive. They find the true meaning behind your words. Kind. Your silences are never awkward. Every eye gaze sends an electric storm down your spine.

Now, that doesn’t happen every day.

’You light a fire inside of me that would make even the sun envious.’

Our generation brags about designers they can’t spell and alcohol they can’t even pronounce but when you check the worth of their brains, it’s not brag worthy. Priorities wrong and scattered all over the place. Spend time to add value to yourself. Make yourself indispensable. Stop bragging about simple things. I once read somewhere, Intelligence will never stop being beautiful….and that’s just it.

You want to brag about sex but you’re forgetting that sex is deeper than what meets the eye. It is deeper than a few inches of penetration but your shallow mind won’t allow you to think any different. When a woman bares her soul, she is telling you more than you can see, you have to listen with a third ear. She’s trusting you, and sending a message, whatever that message might be you have to be attentive and willing to understand it. Sex is a soul dance, sex is two souls in agreement but you want to just brag and talk about it all day like it’s nothing. What i mean is, you need some dose of intellect to understand and comprehend that.

Again i say, intelligence will never go out of fashion.

It's Rare, but it still exists....

If sex is all you have to offer, what happens when you’re grey and old? What do you laugh at and what memories would you have created if not in between the sheets?


The biggest mistake you will make is to drift off from someone who you once had the time of your life with. When you find something like that, even if the moment lasted for a brief while, hold on to that story because in years to come you will tell your stories to your daughters and light up a fire in them while giving them hope that life doesn’t always give lemons, if we look hard enough.


As my girl Maya Angelou rightly said, when you know better you do better.


Don’t settle for what is convenient, don’t settle for normal heck I mean don’t settle at all if it doesn’t speak to your little heart. The simple things makes up for the great big things in the end. Live for the moments that you can’t put into words.

Sometimes...

Whatever it is that warms your soul and takes you to that happy place, keep that.




Till then


Xoxo

OPEN LETTER TO H.E. DR ERNEST BAI KOROMA

Hello AGAIN,

Before I go any further let me just start by reassuring you that I bring nothing short of excellence to you. 

So I came across this piece of excellence and I thought to share.  I will be very selfish not to share such a gem with you guys. It got me thinking and it was a wakeup call, even to a commoner like me. Maybe just maybe, it’ll do something for you too.

Let me just quickly add that it hits all the right spot the only thing missing is the arm for it to reach out to the right people concerned. The people who are in charge, the people who can trigger massive change in our Beloved Sierra Leone.

Our Beloved Sierra Leone
~Number 2 Beach

It has been too long, it has been way too long that the people have been crying. The Ebola Virus outbreak just showed how much of a lack we were living in as a country especially the big hole in education and healthcare. 

This is not to bash anyone but to wake up our leaders to the real issues, the real problems that is hindering our development as a whole. How can a country so blessed with such rich mineral resources be one of the poorest?!

This is a question we must ponder on. 

Below is the article from http://thenetworkforchange.wordpress.com/

H.E Dr Ernest Bai Koroma
~President Of Sierra Leone

“I am disappointed at the international community in their delay in responding towards the fight against the deadly Ebola virus in Sierra Leone,” the President said. “We have not been provided with enough equipment, resources, qualified health officers, and we have lost the only expert we had in the country to the disease amidst the declaration of the international health emergency on Ebola” (http://news.yahoo.com/sierra-leone-appeals-18m-plug-ebola-funding-gap-220451048.html)

Reply:  Mr. President, we are disappointed in your government.  We are disappointed in the response or non-thereof, of your government towards the fight against the deadly Ebola virus.

Let’s start from the very beginning Sir. You have been in power for about 7 years. Your election campaign contained several promises which included tackling corruption, upgrading education, providing electricity and clean water etc.

Regarding corruption: Despite being one of the government’s central policy initiatives, fighting Sierra Leone’s endemic problem with corruption appears, in practice, to have become an increasingly marginalized objective.  Although the powers of the country’s Anti-Corruption Commission have been strengthened and some high-level prosecutions have raised its profile, it has failed to ensure convictions and has remained selective with its investigations; causing disappointment among the general public. As a result, corruption remains a serious concern and affects people’s trust in the state bureaucracy, as well as the functioning of the government.  Reducing it by about 5% is not good enough Sir. It is an insult to every Sierra Leonean that in 2014, you still allow members of your government to blatantly engage in corrupt practices.

We are not fools and we clearly see how you and yours suck Sierra Leone dry. The consequences of your government’s corrupt practices are children dying, children malnourished, children going to bed hungry, families starving and living in deplorable conditions and the majority of Sierra Leoneans living in abject poverty.  The UN human development index not only ranks Sierra Leone amongst the poorest countries in the world, life expectancy is below 35 years. Plus the high cost of living makes Sierra Leone hell for most of its citizens. The inflation rate is steadily rising every year and was recorded at 10% (Country Report by Economist Intelligence Unit, London July 2014) at the start of this year.  For a man who was dubbed “the world’s best” when you assumed office, you have not lived up to that title and Sierra Leoneans now hold a different perception of you and your government.

Mr. President, take a moment and look into the eyes of a dying child, a hungry child or a poor mother who cannot provide for her family and allow yourself to do the right thing.  Remember you were elected to serve the people. What could you possible need tens of millions of dollars for? What do you need several cars for?  How many houses do you need?  Do you realize how ridiculous it makes us look to the rest of the world?  The average reasonable man cannot wrap his head around such gross selfishness. Frankly speaking the money is not even yours. Give it back.

Sir, Sierra Leone is not as poor as you make us look, though you and your government officials are far from poor. Personally you are worth more than most western presidents (http://www.thenewpeople.com/national-news/item/2190-ernest-koroma-now-4th-richest-president-in-africa); how come you still go begging to people you are richer than?  It was reported by the World Bank that for 2013, Sierra Leone’s income was nearly $5billion, (http://data.worldbank.org/country/sierra-leone) an all-time high.  What happened to all that money? It certainly did not trickle down to the masses.  I am quite puzzled that considering we mine several minerals (diamond, bauxite, iron ore, rutile etc.), we fish, and we export agricultural goods, the average Sierra Leonean does not benefit from the country’s wealth.  I am no economist, in fact I have zero knowledge of this subject, but I and many other Sierra Leoneans possess common sense. Sense enough to see that you are failing us.

Regarding education: Sir, about 65% of Sierra Leoneans are illiterate(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_literacy_rate). Considering we have a population of six million people. That is three million nine hundred thousand citizens. Why is that? Sierra Leone had the first university in West Africa; Sierra Leone was called the ‘Athens of West Africa’.  Where did it go wrong?  Between 2007 to the present day, can your government boast of any major achievement in education?  Take into consideration the deplorable state of the Fourah Bay College, the plight of teachers and the conditions that children are expected to learn in before you answer the question.

Let’s take a little peek at the Supplementary Appropriation Act 2014.  The Supplementary Act approved by Parliament on the 10th July 2014 provides revisions to the existing 2014 budget.  The supplementary budget in total was Le266billion. It allocates Le7billion to education whilst the military spending budget is nearly Le50billion (http://awoko.org/2014/07/11/sierra-leone-news-coopers-eyes-4/). This means that the military budget is more than 7 times the education budget. The military officer’s uniforms allocation (Le10billion) alone is more than the education budget. Why is that Sir?  I understand how important security is but for a country not at war, this disparity is hard to understand.  Is it a deliberate ploy by every government we have had in Sierra Leone to keep the people in the dark so they can get away with corruption? I also noticed that ‘Teenage Pregnancy’ in the budget is allocated Le2.2billion (http://awoko.org/2014/07/11/sierra-leone-news-coopers-eyes-4/) I don’t quite understand what ‘Teenage Pregnancy’ means in this context and why it needs Le2.2billion. Is the money going to be distributed to young mothers to help them raise the children? Is it to educate young girls on safe sex? If so, don’t you think Le2.2billion is a bit excessive? I am yet to see any billboards or programs on TV and radio addressing this issue.

Back to education; the Ebola outbreak has further strengthened the case for more spending on education. It has spread like wildfire and the main reason is because the masses cannot grasp the importance of the message that Ebola is highly infectious.   How do you expect uneducated people to act responsibly when you have not shown them how to be responsible?  Now we are dying. Good people are dying, young people are dying, and babies are dying mostly because of the negligence of your government.  Forget conspiracy theories on how Ebola got to West Africa.  Let’s concentrate on post Ebola and your government’s response to it.  It took you several months to make a statement on this issue. In a publication dated 22nd July 2014, the Minister of Health is said to have told Umaru Fofanah that your government had the Ebola virus under control.  Her exact words were “We are at a serious point but I will not say it is out of control” (http://politicosl.com/2014/07/interview-sierra-leone-health-minister-on-ebola/).  Umaru Fofanah, being an international journalist communicated to the world what your Minister told him.  Even though hundreds had died by then it was still not considered an ‘emergency’.  I would think one dead Sierra Leonean is one too many.  Fast forward a month later, hundreds more dead and very obvious that the government does not (or ever did) have the Ebola outbreak under control, you choose to shift blame unto the international community, even though a month earlier you were telling the world your government had the outbreak under control.

There were calls to close the border with Guinea and put health officials around every border town as a preventive measure.  That did not happen and now Sierra Leone is at risk of being shut off by the world. Your government is now scrambling.  An Ebola task force was only created four months after the outbreak hit Sierra Leone.  Please outline exactly what measures or strategies were put in place by the Ministry of Health during the first four months of the outbreak or what preventive steps were taken even before the Ebola outbreak spread to Sierra Leone.  Some days I wish someone could wave a magic wand and make Ebola go away but considering Ebola is resistant to magic we’ve got to find other ways to fight it.  I’m aware that the current magnitude of this disease is now beyond the capability of Sierra Leone and we desperately need help, but trying to shift all the blame to the international community? No Sir it doesn’t work that way.  Stop politicizing the situation.  Accept fault and your people will appreciate you for your honesty.  Take the Liberian President for example; she apologized to her nation. You have hardly made more than 3 speeches to Sierra Leoneans.  Why can’t we take care of our own?  Members of your government are worth in total over a billion dollars.  Why couldn’t you give back some of what you’ve made from Sierra Leone?   Again I stress, that money is not yours. Give it back.

Mr. President, like every man I’m sure you want to be respected. Well understand this too, Sierra Leoneans want to be respected. We are tired of being considered amongst the poorest countries or the most corrupt or the country with the highest infant mortality rate. What we all fail to realize however is that we will not be respected if we don’t take care of our own; we will not be respected if we do not stop being selfish; we will not be respected if we do not respect Sierra Leone. Respect is earned Sir.  The international community owes us nothing.  It is not their duty to ‘fix’ Sierra Leone.  It is our duty as Sierra Leoneans to do so ourselves.

You have three more years of your presidential term remaining.  I charge you Sir, start the change.  We voted you in because we saw you as the best candidate to move Sierra Leone forward.  We all know you can do more.  You know you can do more.  Think of your legacy; it’s not too late but it needs to start now.  Be a ‘hard man’ if you must.  Let heads roll if they must.  All we ask is that you love Sierra Leone like a father would love his home and his children.  Our forefathers set the foundation for greatness. Let’s stop settling for mediocrity.

 PS:  The author of this letter has voted once in his life, in 2007, for H E Ernest Bai Koroma.

http://thenetworkforchange.wordpress.com/2014/08/16/open-letter-to-h-e-dr-ernest-bai

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