By Elizabeth J. Kamara & Alfred Koroma
“If we continue to put the thirst for power over people and progress, no one wins,” the words of Vickie Remoe, a Social Commentator and Governance Advocate as she reacts on Twitter over yesterday’s protest that brought the country into a halt and disrupted the normal activities of people.
Busy streets in Freetown, the Capital of Sierra Leone and other major part of the country were relatively empty on Monday, the 11th September. Shops were closed and market places left empty as people stayed home, gripped with fear over threat of violence, circulated on social media by the orchestrators of the protest.
Street protests, hate speech, tribalism and the use of invectives and threat of violence have emblazoned the country’s body polity in the last five years.
Frustrated by the situation, Vickie Remoe took to her Twitter or X page, telling off politicians who in their quest for power, are hell-bent on risking vulnerable youth by sending them into the streets to cause unrest, rather than equipping them to progress.
“For how long should young people be called to go to the streets? When will you call them to go to the factories you have built to work?” she questioned.
“What young Sierra Leoneans need is to raise their voices, mobilize for social justice and press for progress with the understanding that change does not and will not come overnight, she said, noting that the so-called being pursued, will not come, even if there is a change of government.
The change we need is one of personal responsibility, accountability and zero tolerance for indiscipline and corruption, she added.
Remoe also took a swipe on those seeking to unseat President Bio through violent means. She said they want to replace the President not in the interest of the country, but to come and keep doing what they are criticizing.