August 2, 2016 By Ibrahim John Bangura
In Sierra Leone, it is very common for leaders to accuse their subordinates of being lazy. ‘’You are too lazy’’…. they would say! This is normal for our leaders, but it insulting as far as their subordinates are concerned. You can hear the word lazy in homes, schools, colleges and universities, hospitals, in the police force, the military, and even with couples, families and friends. But what is laziness? According to Webster New World Dictionary, 2nd edition, laziness is when a person is not eager or unwilling to work or exert oneself. And what is initiative? According to the same lexicon, it is the action of taking the first step or move.
From these definitions, without much ado, one could pre-empt the line of judgment of the writer.
Personally I don’t want to think that laziness is our problem as Sierra Leoneans, but lack of initiative. The reason being, people are only unwilling to work or exert themselves when they don’t have one initiative (in other words, when they can’t take the first move in the jurisdiction of this life). And I believe that when a man has an initiative he could definitely develop the determination – which ultimately mobilises the necessary energies to work hard and to achieve the objectives underlining that initiative.
Statistics show that Sierra Leone has an overwhelming youth population, slightly above 70%, indicating a highly youthful demographic case, similar to any developing economy in the world. Our youth are healthy, energetic and muscular, which make them calculatedly fit to exert themselves in any given task or work that can earn them the job and income needed. This would strengthen our democracy and peace, as well as lead to economic growth and development (through the jobs they would be creating for others, and the tax they would be paying, which government could use to improve our vulnerable health system, the economy, etc.).
In the recent history, I could recall erstwhile late President Kabbah did adopt the phrase ‘’bad heart’’, ‘’Pull Him Down – otherwise dubbed PHD syndrome’’. And we even make fun of it. I am sure he was saying it (maybe) out of a very strong conviction.
I strongly believe that when people have got initiatives that will prompt hard work, such dispel laziness and poverty, which is a bedrock for vices like ‘’bad heart’’, ‘‘jealousy and envy’’. These vices eat further, affect the four walls of our development programmes, locally and nationally.
And as a very young man with a rich profile in social research – I have come to the conclusion that our problem is not bad heart or ‘’PHD’’ or laziness, but lack of initiatives to propel us to success. I think all these descriptions are a direct result of once I cannot do it he shouldn’t do it! This is where (perhaps) the bad heart jealousy and envy, cradles or better still activates the ‘’PHD’’ syndrome.
Many individuals with thriving creative ideas have suffered affliction and/or extermination in the hands of their counterparts who lack initiatives. Hence they suffer not because they are lazy but because they possess creative initiatives. Like the famous comedian and song writer, Sara D’great once said, killing the talent for the untalented! This sounds paradoxical. Imagine the untalented killing the talented. If I may ask, who will create the job, who will write the books, who will entertain you, who will design your dress, who will teach your child, who will do the job?
A case in point, which substantiates my arguments, is the case of lack of initiative that has to do with a student from Lungi who had to commit suicide for failing the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) exams twice. Failing an examination twice, I think, shouldn’t be an end to one’s life, but it should prove a challenge to examine the issues around the failure. There are a number of folks out there that have failed even the West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) exams but succeeded at untying a list of alternatives; out of the box thinking; and the apprenticeship type of education, today they are successful entrepreneurs. (This has earned them lucrative jobs and improved the life chances of their families. There are celebrated footballers, musicians, artists, carpenters, mechanics, tailors, shoemakers, masons, and others. They have faced brutal challenges and have eventually become successful entrepreneurs. That’s the favourite bit of a person with initiative!
In conclusion, therefore, let me pay tribute to all those venture takers for venturing; putting their energies into fruity initiatives. And let me stand to salute as a way of encouraging all men and women who still find it difficult to apply their prodigious initiative for fear of critics and ‘’Pull Him Down syndrome’’ to start thinking towards the new directions. And to all those who have not got one initiative, they should begin to appreciate an existing initiator. Learn from the lesson, the logic that through trial and error you will surely be there! And when doing it, let your initiative be different in many ways, so as to avoid unnecessary rivalry.
I thank you very much!!!
(Send Comments to: 76-937-925/ibrahimjbangura@gmail.com)
Note: the author is currently Head of Development and Economics Department at the Institute of Advanced Management and Technology (IAMTECH)