By Alpha Amadu Jalloh
Mr. President, before we continue with our usual discussions, I must first express my disappointment. Your recent actions, or rather, your inaction, have made it abundantly clear that the welfare of Sierra Leoneans is not your priority. When the nation was grieving and the people needed your presence, you chose to continue a lecture tour in the UK, an event that, quite frankly, will not leave any lasting mark on the lives of Sierra Leoneans. Any leader with a genuine sense of responsibility would have aborted that lecture and returned home to stand with their people. Instead, you pursued a personal quest for international recognition, ignoring the tragedy unfolding in your homeland.
You seem to be unaware of a harsh truth: once you leave office, the same international figures you seek to impress will likely disregard you, as has happened to previous leaders like the late Presidents Dr. Alhaji Ahmed Tejan Kabbah and Joseph Saidu Momoh. What makes you think your fate will be any different? But let’s not waste time on this misjudgement of priorities. Instead, I want to focus on an issue that has been plaguing this country since the days of Siaka Probyn Stevens, a crisis that continues to claim lives and erode trust in your leadership and the dismal state of our health care system.
Mr. President, Sierra Leoneans have been reduced to living like zombies, trapped in a system that prioritizes money over human life. It is no longer shocking for doctors and nurses in public institutions like Connaught Hospital, 34 Military Hospital, or Ola During Children’s Hospital to demand payment before treating patients. People in critical condition are left to suffer, sometimes fatally, because they cannot meet the financial demands of those employed to save lives. Premature deaths are now the norm, stemming from conditions that could easily be treated if only health professionals prioritized care over profit.
And yet, we frequently hear of grand projects and significant funds being allocated to improve the country’s infrastructure. Where are these funds going, Mr. President? I challenge you to take an unannounced walk through any of these hospitals. What you will find is a nightmare: people lying on the floors in unsanitary conditions, equipment that no longer functions, and overworked staff who have long lost their sense of duty.
I know you love to talk about your “Big Five” policy agenda, a buzzword thrown around by your sycophants, but what good is it when the very foundation of governance, health care, is collapsing before our eyes? The neglect of this essential service is unforgivable. It is emblematic of a broader dysfunction under your leadership, where every sector is either broken or on the verge of total collapse.
Earlier this year, a tragedy at Ola During Children’s Hospital revealed the extent of the rot in our healthcare system. A newborn lost their life because the hospital’s power failed, and instead of addressing this critical issue, health professionals were caught operating side businesses, selling ice cubes in freezers meant for medical use. These people were not acting in isolation; they are part of a broader culture of neglect and profiteering that your government has allowed to flourish.
One could argue that health workers are underpaid and overworked, and that may be true. But the reality is that this situation exists because you, Mr. President, and those before you have failed to create an environment where public servants are incentivized to serve rather than exploit. The malaise in the health sector is merely a reflection of your government’s priorities: enriching yourselves while Sierra Leoneans continue to suffer.
