Saturday, February 1, 2014

USA Africa Dialogue Series - Dear William

Dear WB,

Wan Seke yo!

 First and foremost - Dayan Ha emet - this is the first that I'm hearing about the passing away of Col (Rtd) Tom Nyuma R.I.P. I don't know whether or not he deserves a national funeral but if he is accorded one, this is one more piece of evidence that testifies to the goodwill and magnanimity of Our Ernest - Ernest Bai Koroma.  The last I heard was about Tom Nyuma recuperating in his hospital bed and praising the Almighty with these words, "God bless Ernest Koroma!" .  If you remember rightly, Our Ernest had saved Tom Nyuma's life when some of the good for nothing were caught red-handed picking the lock to the hotel room where our Ernest was staying overnight during his electioneering campaign in the South - Our Ernest's bodyguards had caught ex- colonel Nyuma picking the lot and were in the process of giving him the beating of his life, when Our Ernest appeared on the scene and ordered that the beating stop...

Isn't it amazing the twists and turns of this dialogue still going on under the rubric "Great news: Brother Obama to invite 47 African heads of state to a summit on August 5th-6th, 2014"

Well, (absurd question coming), would it be ok if Brother Obama invited Brother Cornelius  to dinner, at the White House or would you object to that too?

N.B. Temperamentally, I'm Temne – don't take any bull.

Whether you object or not, you have just given me one more reason to return to the East Coast one of these days, so that I can tap more relevance from the horse's mouth – in this instance you are the horse in question and as you are of course aware, this is the first day of the Chinese New Year , let me also wish you a happy new year, the year of the horse  - which in the Chinese zodiac  symbolises good luck and according to a book of symbols , "the followers of  Buddha revere horses, especially white horses that are symbolical of purity and faithfulness " and  she adds that  "the horse is one of the Seven treasures of Buddha, symbolic of indestructibility". I do hope dear William (as in William the Conqueror/ dear William Shakespeare and dear Prince William) – no colour discrimination please - that you don't mind taking on the status and stature of white instead of an honourable black steed.

Thinking of the roots of anti-British colonialism. Where would you start+ With Farma Tami? Idara Kontorfili was Susu (like my dear Abdulai Conteh) and not Temne. Intili? As for President Ernest Bai Koroma, since he is of Limba and Temne parentage I wonder why you say that he too hates the Temnes of Tonkolili lineage when he himself is of that ancestry

Of course we usually do not have any say-so in the matter of where we are born, our parentage or tribe – wherever we may incarnate in Africa, India, and China, in Jerusalem, in Mecca or in Lima which is in Peru – so no one should be held blameworthy for merely being born, here or there.

Does religion play any role in the Temnes' self-definition, I wonder. Up till now, I know nothing about indigenous Temne religion. I know a little more about the LiImba, mostly through Ruth Finegan's collection "Limba Short Stories and story-telling"

And we were all amazed about the bad blood and dissension swirling around the appointment of a Mende Bishop as head of the Makeni Diocese in the heart of Temne land, were we not?   Children of one flock, the flock of Jesus the good Shepherd but the Temnes would have none of it!

Although I spent a complete rainy season in Port Lokko (when my step-father Mr. John Patrick Johnson ( affectionately  known by the Temnes as "Johnson-Kamara ") was stationed there – I did not meet many people  and what I mostly remember is my sense of wonderment  walking in the forests,  and often being pelted by the monkey hopping from branch to branch – hers of moneys  - I've never seen so many moneys in my life – and I hope that they mostly survived the rebel war and are still there. I'm more familiar with Makeni and Magburaka of course. Sadly, I have still never been South of Bo , but have passed through Bo , Kenema and Kailahun a couple of times.  Are you yourself familiar with the South? I once suggested in Kabs- Kanu's forum that we emulate the Nigeria National Youth Corps concept ä- to enhance the social mobility and intercourse between and among Sierra Leone's various ethnic groups in order to diminish suspicion and misunderstandings, since culturally, the various groups have so much in common.

 Kindly permit and be patient as Cornelius Ignoramus makes the following observation: At this stage through reading Arthur Abraham's thesis on Mende government we are at least aware about that distinctive aspect of Mende culture  and even about the role of the female Mende chief as in the illustrious example of the late Madam Ella Koblo Gulama - but we are not aware of any similar distinctive role the feminine power in Temne governance at even the village level. This absence of the Temne woman at the highest levels traditional Temne government gives me the idea that somehow that is why despite her proven sterling quality as minister of trade and industry in  Pa Kabbah's very inclusive  SLPP government, Madam Kadi Sesay as running mate to Julius Maada Bio was not able to galvanise and deliver a good portion of the Temne vote to Bra Bio in the last Sierra Leone presidential elections.

If you choose not to say more about the Temnes reverence for the Chieftaincy and love of transparent government, we can reserve the matter till we meet in the US. What I'd like to hear from you is how does the Temnes' love for transparent government translate to the same love of transparent government at a national level - including all the other regions and tribes in a more composite Sierra Leone.

 You have described yourself as a proud Temne and with Pan-Africanist credentials too, so for both of us the question is how do we solve the problem of negative tribalism? The cynics  snigger and the realists cry that if we can't achieve unity  within our own backyard ( our own little national domain)  then how are we  going to achieve a continental government that Stretches  from the Arab- Berber territories of Tripoli and Benghazi in the North, through  Bangui all the way to the Cape?

 These are some of the questions we will have to grapple with for some time to come.

 The Sabbath is now over and I'll soon be on my way to my nearest Temne brother, Yulisa...

 Sincerely,

A proud Yoruba man

We Sweden

 

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