1 April, 2008

Unisa Dizo-Conteh, UK

Attitudinal Change Relies More on Change at the Top than the Bottom

For Sierra Leone to move from being one of the poorest nations on earth to one that is prosperous, its people will need to change their attitude – this is the message President Ernest Bai Koroma hopes Sierra Leoneans, both at home and in the Diaspora, will certainly receive.  But what will it take for the president’s passionate message to be heard and practiced by all?

Last week, government politicians, including civil society organisations, launched a campaign against Sierra Leoneans who hold a negative attitude on Sierra Leone.  The campaign is called “Attitudinal Change.”  This event was held at the Miata Conference Hall in the west of Freetown. 

At the conference, one thing was clear – all the participants want every Sierra Leonean to have a positive attitude for one another, and more importantly, a positive attitude for the country in a bid to see Sierra Leone become a thriving nation. 

However, this message of change is not a new idea in the country.  It is a message politicians have, over recent years, been preaching – appealing for people to develop a change of attitude and strive for excellence.  What is, however, new now is that for the first time in the history of Sierra Leone, a government has made “Attitudinal change” a political philosophy. 

There is no doubt that President Koroma is really serious about this change of attitude to pickup enthusiastic momentum within the Sierra Leonean society.  What is not clear is how far he would take this campaign and how long shall we wait to see this change starts to bear fruits?

In his first official visit to the UK recently as president, Ernest Koroma talked about the need for all Sierra Leoneans to have a positive attitude.  Even in his inauguration speech to the nation he talked strongly of this.

“We must all be ready now to embrace change, change in our attitude towards one another, change in our attitude to our work and responsibilities.  All of those changes should translate positively into progress and development for our country,” he told thousands of Sierra Leoneans, who had gathered at the national stadium during his inauguration.   

The president also said that with people’s negative attitude, his all-out fight to tackle corruption head-on would prove to be ineffective. 

“Unless we change our attitude, my determination to stamp out corruption from our land will be fruitless and we will not achieve our goal of a developed and prosperous nation that we collectively wish for,” he admonished.   

On the whole, changing people’s attitude will mean significantly changing the manner of their mind.  This means President Koroma and his government are going to have to work very hard in creating the atmosphere that will make the people feel emotionally plausible to be positive thinkers and doers. 

“Attitudinal change” will require the president demonstrates real change, not just in theory, in practice.  In just the same way, his ministers must follow, so too are the people who run public and private institutions.  These are the people who should set the brightest example.  People in powerful positions must strive for excellence and set their own benchmark.

The ordinary man in the street, or the man in the Diaspora who thinks that Sierra Leone will never follow in the trail of success, is going to be more likely to have a positive attitude approach if the people at the top show serious commitment to positive change.

Unisa Dizo-Conteh is the editor and publisher of Cotton Tree magazine.  He is currently an Outreach Officer for the Sierra Leone Diaspora Network (SLDN), an organisation based in the UK, working to promote investment in Sierra Leone.  Email: cottontreemag@yahoo.co.uk

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