[allAfrica.com] Something to Think About... Standard Times (Freetown) OPINION July 2, 2004 Posted to the web July 2, 2004 By Abdul Kuyateh When "elders" cry foul The elderly occupy a very important position of respectability and reverence in African settings, perhaps not so in other parts of the world. It is therefore not surprising that when western systems are operated in an alien African context, strange things happen, sometimes contravening African cultural practices such as when the elders take offence at the young ones. In some African settings, it amounts to on abomination for which the ancestors must be appeased. Unfortunately, or fortunately in this case, the elders' wrath might not be justified by the people and so the Gods will not toe the line of the elders. You might be wondering now where I am taking you. It's all about the deepening bad blood that is rearing its ugly head thereby eroding the much-needed solidarity of Mambolo chiefdom, Kambia district, northern Sierra Leone. Situated along the edges of the Great Scarcies, Mambolo, the headquarters of the chiefdom is renowned for its fertile swamps and rice productivity, with its sons of the soil always industrious, and quite a few of them having served, or are serving, in high public offices. However, serving in high places is one thing and serving your people quite another. There is an adage which says that a baby must not "bite the finger that feeds it." This is the simple lesson that the people of Mambolo taught the four "elders" who are now parading the length and breath of Freetown besmearing the good name of a young dynamic son of the soil has his peoples' support because he cares for them and does not cheat them, unlike the "elders". "It is strange and shameful," said an elder of Mambolo, "for our paramount chief, Sommanoh Kapen to team up with the likes of Ibrahim Sesay and Marray Conteh to fight a small boy like Alimamy." It is this "shame" that the "elders" are bent on fighting, by making the last kicks of a dieing horse. An SLPP activist noted that millions of leones were dished out to the chief and his lieutenants to buy votes for the party, but alas democracy today in Sierra Leone goes beyond the cookie-butter approach, as was vividly demonstrated by the people of Mambolo. It would have been better if the chief and those who wrote against the CCSL Scrib, Alimamy P. Koroma, complaining him of rigging elections in Mambolo, had taken a diognostic examination of their relationship with their people, than writing an uncouth letter of complaint to the shortest vice president in Africa, mighty Solomon Berewa. I say uncouth, because the defendant was never copied, and Mr. Berewa in his apparent zest for power fired a reactionary letter in response, as if the matter has been proven in a court of law and the suspect found guilty. This smacks of something to think about, especially with regard to someone well read and versed in law and legal procedures. Perhaps, his reaction signals a new application of the rule of law, which declares guilt before trail. One thing I am sure though of is that the people of Mambolo have bones to pick with particularly their learned chief and have vowed that they will never follow any cause championed by him until he rehabilitates his dealing with them. Among the issues raised during a random interview with chiefdom people is the accusation of the extortion of Le 10,000 (ten thousand leones) as registration fee for farmers to benefit from a seed rice distribution prgram that was meant to be free of charge. The same rice was bought from the farmers by the chief out of the meagre cost of Le15,000 per bushel, which he resold to government at the exhorbitant cost of Le 45,000 per bushel. They also painfully point to the 120 bags of rice CARITAS provided recently, which was allegedly siphoned and only twenty bags delivred and offered to a selected number of households, families and supporters of Sommanoh at two (2) cups each. The rest was sold at the Bamoi Luma, Magbama chiefdom. Between 1998 and 2000 Sommanoh is said to have coerced people to contribute towards a "Luma" project at Rolal Mamabolo chiefdom, for which Le 30,000 (thirty thousand leones) was collected from each person as fee for a small parcel of land to erect a booth. About 150 people reportedly registered, but the project is yet to take off. In 2002, the chief collected Le2,000 from each household at Matetie and Matempeh (about 200 houses), as contribution towards the construction of a bridge from Matetie to Matempeh. Yours faithfully, Amen! The Court Barri in Mambolo remains dilapidated, though NaCSA provided 300 bundles of corrugated iron sheets for the reconstruction and renovation of the Barri and other administration offices. It is widely rumoured that the items were diverted by the chief to Yonkro in Lungi, where he is currently building a hotel. Again, tougues are waggling over the whereabouts of a satelite dish and other equipment donated to the chiefdom by the Ministry of Youth and Sports for recrational purposes. While the dish is said to have been fraudulently converted by the chief, the others items such as computers were shared by Hon Ibrahim Sesay and Marray Conteh. With such an unsavoury record, there is no way residents of Mambolo could turn a blind eye to their chief. It is good time the likes of Ibrahim and Marray recognised this facts and stop fighting for a lost cause. If I were President Kabbah, I would commend whosoever it was that paved the way for the solid APC victory in Mambolo, and even recommend that person for electioneering tutleage of the defeated four giant 'eleders'. As the ink runs dry, I have to pause, but before I do, let the "elders" know that having a loving son is every monther's prayer. Alimamy is a loving son and must be embraced, rather than cast into a pit. That he is indeed a charming son can be testified to by Marray Conteh himself, who used to spend the whole day waiting to see his 'son' and through whose blessings he can now boast of being a Honorable Member of Parliament. To Alimamy, learn a lesson, chao!   ===============================================================================  Copyright © 2004 Standard Times. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). ===============================================================================