By: Thaimu Bai Sesay
With pragmatic analysis reflecting real life situation, the Chief Minister of the Republic of Sierra Leone Dr. David Moinina Sengeh has disclosed the reasons behind the so much energy and sense of urgency in the Bio-Led Administration dominated by young people.
The Chief Minister made this revelation through his audio series with the audio label 23 released on Friday 9th August 2024. The audio was in direct response to some of the citizens’ concerns, over the visible sense of urgency and so much energy at display, particularly from the young people in governance.
The Chief Minister Dr. David Moinina Sengeh commenced his audio by first acknowledging some citizens’ concerns about his being everywhere and not wanting to take any little rest in his work. He clarified that the urgency in their work should not be misconstrued of being better than other people or having more energy than everyone. He however said there should be a different sense of urgency of how one should work and serve the country.
Chief Minister Dr. Sengeh continued his statement by recalling some aspects of his keynote address at the ‘consultation engagement on civic education’ hosted by the Minister of Information and Civic Education, Chernor Bah.
Giving a brief background of the consultation engagement, Dr. Sengeh said it is part of the Ministry’s civic education strategy referred to as ‘Cotton Tree Civic Education Strategy and Policy’ to be soon launched.
He made some justifications about the name of the strategy ‘Cotton Tree’ based on its diverse meanings and symbolisms in Sierra Leone and went on to the central part of the discussion.
As the keynote speaker at the event, the Chief Minister called to mind that while he was delivering his statement, he did some experimental research from the composition of the attendance at the event. He intentionally asked how many people in the conference room that already have grandchildren. From the diverse composition of people at the event, he said only 9 rose up their hands, signifying they already have grandchildren.
After establishing this, the Chief Minister then explained a short but realistic scenario that had to do with home affairs in relation to children, grandchildren and parents. He said when a child is living with his or her grandparents and eventually got sick or started causing problems, they would suggest to take that child to his or parents. Ultimately, he said while the grandparents enjoy the company of living with their grandchild, the parents are left with the challenges of solving their child’s problems. So, he disclosed that the parent who happens to be the young adult is left with the overall responsibility of taking care of themselves, children and parents.
The Chief Minister therefore revealed the motive behind their sense of urgency and so much energy in their work, which is based on the fact that they are a generation of young people who want to sustainably address the long existing problems today for their children and for a better tomorrow.
“So the urgency we feel in this generation of young people that force young people to work hard and eventually be seen in every space just for the system to work, is because we know that, it is today we need to solve the problem for ourselves, our children and for our tomorrow,” Chief Minister David Sengeh revealed.
The Chief Minister furthered that if the healthcare system is not working or the school system is not working for their children, the responsibility directly lies upon them as young people to fix it, as they have nowhere to make reports. As young people taking the governance of the country, and in a situation where the median age is 19, the Chief Minister assured that their children would benefit directly and instantaneously from what they do.
“That is what I think is driving our urgency. So if you see us working tirelessly, trying to be in every space, please throw your support on us. Don’t try to criticize again that we work too much or we are too urgent. We need to be urgent because our lives depend on it. The majority of the country is under 35 as the median age is 19. So if we don’t work using the vibrant energy we have as young people how the country would progress,” Dr. Sengeh asked.
Consequently, the Chief Minister ended his audio by commending everyone, as he called on the aged to support with their experiences and the young to also contribute with their vigor and energy. He assured that combining the old’s wisdom and the young’s energy would definitely help deliver for ‘Mama Salone’.
