Alhaji K. Tarawally, PhD.
Just days ago, I sat in my Silicon Valley home in California, feeling empty and disjointed as I cried tears for my country. I poured out my soul in my Independence Day message, “65 Years of Lies and Broken Promises,” detailing the deplorable state of a nation suffocated by decades of shameless corruption, tribal politics, and wicked, selfish leadership.
I wrote about our death-trap healthcare system and the endless darkness of our power outages, alongside a staggering 75% youth unemployment rate. At the same time, our leaders sleep comfortably in air-conditioned mansions, traveling the globe with taxpayers’ money.
Today, my heart breaks all over again. As a belated, cruel 65th birthday gift, Sierra Leoneans woke up this morning to the devastating and humiliating news that Air Sierra Leone—our only national airline—has been completely shut down just a year after it began operations.
The official media release casually informs us that their aircraft provider, Ascend Airways, has entered bankruptcy and liquidation, resulting in the immediate cessation of all flights. But let us call this exactly what it is: the direct result of gross mismanagement, catastrophic operational planning, and the usual short-sightedness of our leaders.
How does a national airline collapse almost as soon as it takes off?
This catastrophic failure adds immediate, crushing validation to the cries in my recently published article. It is yet another glaring example of how we are constantly betrayed by a system that prioritizes optics over sustainable, meticulously planned execution.
Sierra Leone ranks among the top 10 diamond-producing countries worldwide and was 3rd globally in 2024, with the highest average price per carat, according to the United States Embassy’s latest 2026 mining and mineral reports.
It is unequivocal that Sierra Leone is one of Africa’s top five wealthiest nations, with abundant mineral and natural resources including tantalum, coltan, diamonds, gold, rutile, bauxite, iron ore, lithium, and offshore petroleum reserves.
I cannot even remember the number of times I have proffered concrete solutions and written ideas to our government officials, both directly and indirectly. But they refuse to listen. They deliberately choose to remain stuck in their myopic loop of maladministration, corruption, and embezzlement, prioritizing self-enrichment at the absolute detriment of the country.
Sierra Leone is bleeding, and until we completely dismantle this rotten culture of tribal, regional, and political leadership, we will continue to suffer these humiliating, entirely preventable tragedies on the world stage.
Sickening!😡
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www.dralhajiktarawally.com