By Alpha Amadu Jalloh
In the name of politics, power, and personal gain, the very soul of Sierra Leone has been stripped, battered, and left bleeding in silence. What was once a nation of promise has been turned into a theatre of betrayal, where those entrusted with responsibility have instead perfected the art of destruction. Generation after generation, politicians, civil servants, and self proclaimed leaders have stood at the altar of greed, sacrificing the future of millions for personal comfort and fleeting power.
From independence to this very moment, the story has remained painfully consistent. The faces may change, the slogans may evolve, the promises may sound sweeter, but the outcome remains the same. Sierra Leone continues to sink under the weight of deliberate mismanagement, calculated corruption, and moral bankruptcy. Roads collapse while contracts are signed. Hospitals struggle while budgets are announced. Schools decay while speeches are delivered. The gap between words and reality has become the identity of governance itself.
It is within this painful reality that I invoke what I call Governor Clackson’s prayer, not as poetry, but as a solemn call for justice, divine and inevitable.
“Governor Clackson’s Prayer”
May those who pillage and plunder from the sweat of their brothers and sisters be cursed with the fruits of their own greed. May their wealth turn to ashes, their joy turn to mourning, and their peace be replaced with endless turmoil. Let their descendants inherit not riches, but the blood stained misery they have sown. And for every lie told, every opportunity squandered, and every trust betrayed, may their punishment be as endless as their deception.
This is not a prayer of hate. It is a prayer of consequence. It is a mirror held up to those who believe they can take endlessly from the people without ever facing the weight of what they have done.
Let us begin with the civil service, the machinery that should sustain the nation but has instead become one of its greatest burdens. Yes, wages are low. Yes, conditions are difficult. But hardship does not justify betrayal. Poverty does not excuse sabotage. Public offices have become private marketplaces where services are sold, delayed, or denied unless palms are greased.
How many files have been buried? How many lives have been delayed? How many dreams have been crushed by deliberate inefficiency? This is not survival. This is organised decay.
But the rot does not stop there.
To the Sierra Leone Police and the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces, institutions meant to protect and defend, the people ask: who do you serve? When justice becomes selective, when force becomes political, when protection is offered based on loyalty rather than law, then you too stand within the reach of Governor Clackson’s prayer. The uniform is not a shield for injustice. It is a responsibility. When it is abused, the consequences follow.
To the teachers of this nation, those entrusted with shaping the minds of the next generation, what example is being set? When education becomes compromised, when integrity is traded for convenience, when the classroom loses its moral authority, the nation begins to collapse from its very foundation. A broken education system produces a broken society.
To the Anti Corruption Commission, the very institution created to confront corruption, the expectation is not performance for appearance, but action for justice. If corruption thrives under your watch, if accountability becomes selective, then the very purpose of your existence is defeated. You cannot fight corruption with hesitation. You cannot challenge wrongdoing with silence.
To Parliament, the house of representation, the voice of the people, what have you become? When oversight is weakened, when debate is replaced with loyalty, when laws serve individuals rather than the nation, then Parliament becomes part of the problem it was meant to solve. Representation without responsibility is betrayal.
To the judiciary, the final hope for justice, the last line of fairness, the expectation is clear. Justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done. When the courts are questioned, when decisions appear influenced, when confidence is shaken, the entire nation trembles. Justice delayed is painful. Justice compromised is dangerous.
To civil society organisations and individuals who claim to stand for truth and accountability, where is your voice when it matters most? Advocacy cannot be selective. Silence cannot be strategic when the nation is bleeding. If you condone wrongdoing through quiet acceptance, you too become participants in the decay you claim to resist.
To the Paramount Chiefs, custodians of tradition and authority at the community level, your role is not to reinforce political control but to protect the people. When traditional leadership is used as an extension of political power, when chiefs align themselves with injustice instead of truth, the very foundation of community trust is destroyed.
To the religious leaders, those who stand before the people in mosques and churches, entrusted with guiding hearts and souls, the responsibility is sacred. Faith is not a tool for comfort alone. It is a call to truth. When sermons avoid reality, when injustice is ignored in exchange for proximity to power, then the pulpit loses its purpose. A nation cannot pray for change while its religious leaders remain silent in the face of wrongdoing.
And then there are the presidents. Those who stood at the highest office, entrusted with the hopes of an entire nation. From Sir Milton Margai to the current administration, each leadership chapter carries its weight of responsibility.
To President Julius Maada Bio, leadership is not measured by words but by the condition of the people. If hardship grows, if trust declines, if corruption continues, then accountability must be accepted. Titles do not exempt responsibility. Power does not silence truth.
And it is not only those in direct power who must answer. It is also the enablers. Those who see wrongdoing and choose silence. Those who defend the indefensible. Those who twist truth into loyalty. Silence in the face of injustice is not neutrality. It is participation.
To the political parties, both SLPP and APC, this message is clear. Governance is not a competition of who failed less. It is a responsibility to serve better. Yet both have allowed systems of corruption to grow and accountability to weaken.
The people are watching. The people are remembering.
There is also the matter of competence. Too many positions of authority are occupied not by those who are capable, but by those who are connected. The cost is visible everywhere. Broken systems, failing institutions, lost opportunities.
When leadership becomes a reward instead of a responsibility, the nation suffers.
So what then is the purpose of invoking Governor Clackson’s prayer?
It is to remind every individual in every position of influence that accountability is not optional. It may be delayed, resisted, or denied, but it is never absent.
The suffering of the Sierra Leonean people is real. It is seen in daily struggles, in the frustration of youth, in the endurance of families trying to survive.
This suffering is not accidental. It is the result of choices.
So let this be clear.
If you have taken from the people, you will answer for it.
If you have abused your office, you will answer for it.
If you have remained silent in the face of wrongdoing, you will answer for it.
Not always in the systems you control, but in ways that cannot be avoided.
Governor Clackson’s prayer is not about vengeance. It is about justice. It is about restoring what has been broken.
And to the people of Sierra Leone, this is also a call. Refuse to normalise what is wrong. Demand better. Expect more.
A nation does not collapse overnight. It is weakened slowly. But it can also rise.
Let those who have done wrong reflect. Let those in power choose differently while they still can.
May Governor Clackson’s prayer stand as a reminder that no act of injustice escapes consequence. May it echo in every institution, every office, every corner of power.
And may Sierra Leone rise, not through promises, but through truth, justice, and courage.
Amen.
