By Asmieu Bah
The wrong view held by many that all Fullahs are Guineans may surprise many to know that I visited Guinea only for the second time a couple of weeks ago. My first trip being in 1999 after the January 6 onslaught of Freetown by combined forces of RUF and AFRC.
I was, obviously, much younger then and was in secondary school. So my experience was not mature. As a boy I was under strict supervision by the person I was living with, and communicating with the indigenes was a bit challenging, more so as a refugee. My movement was restricted, no chance to wander or stroll around as I had wished. Another visit, twelve years on, was an eye opener.
We left Freetown at around 8:00 am and drove to the border town of ‘’Pamlap’’ where we made our first stop to be ‘’checked’’ and ‘’screened’’ but to my amazement nothing like that was done. The driver was only asked for his laissez-passer which he produced, and was later asked to give some money to the police and military officers without checking to know whether we had any illegal goods, nor was there any scanner for any illegal substance or weapons.
Few meters after the Sierra Leonean side of the checkpoint we met the first Guinean checkpoint where we were also asked to produce our car’s clearance. There again the driver produced the necessary document. Like their Sierra Leonean counterparts all they cared for was money. No interest in finding weapons or contraband goods. They were just like bus conductors collecting money from passengers.
In Guinea, close to a place called Forecariah, we met another checkpoint. Again all they could ask for was money.
Months since President Koroma opened the newly built joint customs post in the border town of Pamlap the structure is yet to be put to use. Grass has started growing on the forecourt and the offices have been taken over by dust and insects. I gazed at the well-built edifice wondering why it was not being used up to this time.
We arrived in Conakry, the Guinean capital, at around 3:00 PM. We were greeted with the broad but filthy streets full of banana and orange peels, empty plastic bags and sachets, and deep but smelly gutters.
Having reached our abode in the eastern part of the city, a place called BAMBETO we had a combined lunch and dinner. That place can be equated by distance to Newton but it will shock you to know that you can compare its development to our Spur Road, Wilkinson Road and Hill Station – the affluent communities in Freetown. Nearly 90% of the houses no matter their size are all fenced and closed with gigantic iron gates.
During the second night our friend, who was born in Kono but grew up in Guinea, took us around to see places and greet some relatives and friends of his.
The second night we drove around the centre of town to an area called En Ville where government offices, military bases, hotels, banks and the presidential lodge are located. During that night we went to a hotel to have dinner where the architectural work alone is enough to make you salivate. It is a splendid, elegant and imposing building and is just a stone's throw to the country’s seaport and is at present undergoing renovation and extension. It is built on top of the sea, the engineers had embanked the sea that runs through the port to construct the hotel. Sort of a reclaimed land. That night we drove almost through all the big streets, restaurants and night clubs just to have a feel of night life in Conakry.
During my stay in Conakry I observed so many things ranging from the country’s infrastructure, standard of living, housing and transport.
One thing that Guinean governments have succeeded in doing is the building of new roads and mending of old ones. They have four-lane highways which stretch from the east of the capital right to the city centre, a distance I will approximately say is like from Waterloo to the far west end of Freetown. At present there is on-going construction work of different types of flyovers in many parts of the city as a means of reducing traffic congestion in the city. The building of overhead bridges has gone a long way in making Conakry look like a modern city. Even though geographically Conakry is a flat terrain flyovers are springing up in many parts of their city. Freetown has a more beautiful landscape than Conakry. With our lovely lion-shaped mountains in the city I think it is high time our architects began designing flyovers to make us match up with other cities.
Their corner streets and by-pass routes, though macadamised are all broad, the only thing they need to do is to fix them up.
I observed erratic power supply during my stay in Conakry. Electricity was more stable a decade ago than it is now. This time I saw most of the streets in the city in a dark and ghostly manner. Reason, I am told, is that light is in short supply in Guinea. The country’s hydro system is faulty and epileptic. In as much as streets lights are starving from electricity, homes are getting worse.
Another aspect that captured my attention in Conakry was their housing system. The city is like a works yard with new houses and new settlements all over the city. But let me hasten to state that I did see some shacks in the midst of gigantic and splendid ten or more storey buildings especially in En Ville, the central business district. I noticed during my stay that the majority of Guineans are building houses either for dwelling or commercial purposes. Building materials are cheap and affordable when compared to our country Sierra Leone. I visited some shops to compare the price of iron rod, cement and zinc. They are much cheaper there.
Let me now focus on the people themselves. Everywhere we went we saw young men and women either selling wares or doing some middle level manpower job like mending of tyres, working in a local restaurant or supermarket.
The Guineans have a strong middle level manpower, something lacking in Sierra Leone. The ‘’bra u borbor dae’’ syndrome is hardly seen in Guinea, where everybody sweats out for their hand to mouth. The people rely less on government. I think had they had a better government like ours in Sierra Leone they would have been more than where they are now. The Guinean flag is hoisted in nearly all the places I visited – from homes to offices to cars all you can see is their tricolour green, yellow and red flag.
Sierra Leoneans are the most hospitable people you can find in the world, but one thing that we have allowed to erode in our society is the simple word of appreciation to say “thank you”. I noticed from the people I came across that the word ‘”Merci” which means “thank you” in French was on their lips. From drivers to restaurant workers and shop owners.
Since the election of December 2010 that brought President Alpha Conde to power, the country is totally divided along ethnic lines especially between the two major tribes, Fullahs and Mandingoes. They are just like two boxers in a ring waiting for the umpire's whistle.
I think ECOWAS has not lived up to the expectation of many. They are allowing a bad situation to degenerate. The Fullahs are accusing the Conde led government of ostracising them from governance. In democratic practices I think Sierra Leone is far ahead of Guinea. The country is sitting on a time bomb if something is not done immediately. Since he came to power President Conde has not organised parliamentary election and that is causing so much tension in the country.
Sierra Leone has more democratic and good governance institutions than Guinea does. It will take some time to catch up with us when it comes to good governance. I am told President Conde is afraid to move around in slow speed with his convoy as President Koroma does in Sierra Leone.
Though the country is unstable the standard of living is pretty low in Guinea. We had lunch in some restaurants where the cost of the food was shockingly low compared to Sierra Leone where going to the restaurant is gradually becoming a luxury.
The Sierra Leone currency the Leone is stronger than the Guinean Franc. The exchange rate is unbelievable – US$ 100 will earn you around 700,000 Francs. The country’s economy is on the lowest brink almost nearing collapse. The Conde government needs to introduce sound economic policies as a way to bring the economy back on track.
At night you see police officers mounting roadblocks as if the country is at war. They stop drivers instead of searching for arms they will just point a dim torch in the back seat and ask for money. Needless to say that their military is well equipped. All their Presidents save for Alpha Conde, spent colossal amount of the country’s budget on the military. The military has been used to receiving high salaries and unfettered access to state resources. One herculean task that Conde is facing is to restructure the military. They are almost uncontrollable by the civilian government. Unconfirmed reports revealed to me that the President has jailed some generals in the army who he thinks are a threat to his government. The military and the civilian government are like arch enemies.
Conakry’s transport system is well organised. The citizens can at least enjoy the comfort of a taxi ride which to us here is gradually becoming impossible. Commercial bike riders have taken the whole of Freetown, causing more harm than providing service. Authorities in Guinea have not allowed motorbike taxis a.k.a. “OKADA” in the city. They only ply in the outskirts. The chaos I see every day at Kissy Road is not visible in Conakry; there is free movement of vehicles though there is intermittent gridlock of vehicular traffic.
There is street-trading in Conakry but not in this uncontrolled manner as it is in Freetown. The east of Freetown is almost becoming a no-go area in day time. But mind me not...with with all the inconveniences I go through in Freetown day-in day-out I felt relieved and excited to have returned home in Freetown in one piece.
Asmieu Bah is a broadcaster journalist working for the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation
