The Secretary General of the Inter Religious Council of Sierra Leone (IRCSL), Rev. Dr. Usman Jesse Fornah has said that Sierra Leone cannot develop by institutionalising conflict, retaliation, revenge, corruption and being destructive towards government.
He made comment on Thursday when delivery IRCSS’s position paper at the official opening of Bintumani III conference (May 23 – 25, 2019) on the Topic: Building Peace and Social Cohesion for Inclusive Governance and State Building in Post-Election Sierra Leone.
“We must endeavor to fight exclusion and marginalization and create a cohesive society. Through this, we will experience socio-economic growth and political stability. As the legendary Desmond Tutu nicely puts it: ‘If you want peace, you don’t talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies’. We must forget revenge because darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that,” he said.
Rev. Fornah said that as a country that prides itself for its longstanding interfaith relations, they are encouraging leaders to replicate such reputation in governance, service delivery and democratic processes. “Leaders (both past and present), must own up to mistakes they have made, apologize and seek for forgiveness from the citizenry with a commitment of never repeating such mistakes,” he said.
He said that as the gather here for the next 3 days to promote peace in our beloved country, “let us be very sincere to the commitments we make and take concrete actions to heal the wounds of bitterness and hate, anger, exclusion, deprivation and malice.”
He called on Sierra Leoneans to embrace our national values and principles of governance, patriotism, national unity, sharing and devolution of power, the rule of law, democracy in its true sense and participation of the people, human dignity, equity, social justice, inclusiveness, human rights, non-discrimination and protection of the marginalized; integrity, transparency and accountability; good governance, and sustainable development.
He emphasized that we cannot develop by by keeping silent, or by talks without action. “Let us all as good citizens endeavor to ensure that the spirit of tolerance and respect for each other and the law be instilled in us and the children of this country, wherever they may be. We should all share a common hope for the future – which our children and grandchildren will grow up in a safe, peaceful and secured environment,” he disclosed.
Rev. Fornah hopes that at the end of the three days deliberations, they would have built concrete strategies for the development of an Independent national Peace and Social Cohesion Commission.
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