As midnight falls over the glittering, wealthy global tech hub of Silicon Valley, I sit quietly in the dark. I am completely numb, yet my heart physically aches. I cannot hold back the tears slipping down my face as I think about the deplorable, heartbreaking state of my beautiful homeland today, on its 65th independence anniversary.
Our 65th birthday is a day that should be filled with overwhelming pride, but instead, it is suffocated by a deep, agonizing despair.
Sierra Leone is bleeding. We are sitting on top of the world’s wealth, yet we are starving in the dirt. We remain one of the world’s top diamond-producing countries, renowned for the unmatched quality of our stones. It is no secret that we are blessed with some of the richest soil in Africa—overflowing with tantalum, coltan, gold, rutile, bauxite, iron ore, lithium, and offshore petroleum.
Despite surviving a brutal decade-long civil conflict that finally ended in January 2002—not 2022 as some mistakenly claim—alongside the horrors of Ebola, the COVID-19 pandemic, and global economic shocks, our mining sector still carries the weight of our broken economy. It accounts for the vast majority of our export earnings. Yet, what do the people have to show for it? Absolutely nothing.
We are one of the richest countries on earth, yet we live like beggars. For 65 years, we have been suffocated by widespread, shameless corruption, deplorable governance, and utterly selfish leadership. Our healthcare system is a death trap, and our homes are plunged into endless darkness by frequent power outages while our leaders sleep in air-conditioned mansions.
This betrayal weighs so heavily on the souls of our people. We are denied the bare minimum for human dignity: clean drinking water, steady jobs, and safe roads. The empty, recycled promises from our politicians have turned our sadness into a boiling, righteous anger. Youth unemployment and underemployment hover at a staggering 60% to 70%. Millions of brilliant, capable young men and women are wasting away on the streets, proving just how completely out of touch our rulers are with the desperate dreams of the next generation.
For over six decades, the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) and the All Peoples Congress (APC) have held our country hostage. They have treated us like strangers in our own land. A recent World Bank and UN data outlook grimly reminds us that nearly 60% of Sierra Leoneans are still trapped below the poverty line. Inflation recently skyrocketed past 40%, completely destroying the purchasing power of ordinary citizens. Everyday essentials like a simple bag of rice or a gallon of fuel have become unaffordable luxuries for millions of families.
It is a devastating cycle of betrayal. A hard, honest look at the APC and SLPP history of governance shows an endless loop of stagnation:
Ahmad Tejan Kabbah (SLPP)
- Governed from March 1996 to May 1997, and again from March 1998 to September 2007.
- Oversaw the official end of our brutal civil war in 2002, bringing a brief moment of hope to a traumatized nation.
- Left behind a fractured, heavily dependent economy that ultimately failed to lay the groundwork for true peacetime prosperity.
Ernest Bai Koroma (APC)
- Held power from September 2007 to April 2018, campaigning on a hollow “Agenda for Prosperity.”
- Presided over the devastating Ebola outbreak and the tragic mudslides that claimed countless innocent lives.
- Exited office leaving a legacy of crushing national debt, massive corruption scandals, and unresolved infrastructure deficits.
Julius Maada Bio (SLPP)
- Took office in 2018 and is now roughly three years into his second term following the deeply contested 2023 elections.
- Promised sweeping educational reforms, yet oversaw an economy where inflation and the cost of living have reached unbearable, historic highs.
- Presides over a deeply frustrated, desperate youth population grappling with a severe lack of opportunity and a rising drug epidemic.
Together, these two parties have dominated our entire democratic era. Yet, their political victories have never translated into victories for the people. We are still fighting for our lives. We are dealing with rampant food insecurity, a terrifying rise in the Kush drug epidemic destroying our youth, and missing millions from public funds.
We have voted for them out of blind habit, trapped in a cycle of lies. We are still waiting for the mythical Lungi Bridge. We are still waiting for the Bumbuna Hydro project to actually light up our homes instead of leaving the majority of the country in blackouts. We are still mourning mothers and sisters, as our *maternal mortality rate— though slightly improved from the darkest days—remains tragically among the highest in the world at over 400 deaths per 100,000 births.
We keep mistaking salt for sugar, and it is leaving a bitter, sickening taste in our mouths.
But even in this crushing despair, there is a flicker of hope. The moment for real change is finally here. Now, it is up to Gen Z and Millennials to step up and fight back. As we look toward the 2028 presidential election, we must smash this vicious cycle of failure. We must abandon the blind tribal and regional loyalties that have kept us chained to our abusers.
I know this is not an easy path. It is terrifying, and it comes with massive challenges. But the survival of our homeland depends on it. Let this 65th independence anniversary not just be a day of mourning, but a loud, undeniable wake-up call to come together and fight for the genuine progress we deserve.
In the midst of all this pain, my heart goes out to every Sierra Leonean who is hurting, starving, and struggling today. I hold onto the unshakeable hope that we can rise from these ashes, overcome this despair, and finally take our beautiful country back.
#FixSierraLeone #NowOrNever
