2023-07-06 01:02:08
Ahmed Sékou Touré, the first president of the Republic of Guinea, died in Cleveland, USA, on March 26, 1984, after being evacuated for medical treatment. His successor, Lansana Conté, was also evacuated several times for medical treatment, notably to Havana, Cuba, and Morocco. Dadis Camara, meanwhile, was evacuated to Morocco after an assassination attempt in December 2009. Sékouba Konaté and Alpha Condé are receiving treatment in France and Turkey respectively. Many Guineans are also evacuated every day to countries such as Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia and Côte d’Ivoire, which were at the same level of development as Guinea at independence.
More recently, during the trial of Kassory Fofana, former Prime Minister of Guinea, his attending physician declared at the bar that his state of health requires medical supervision and recommended his medical evacuation to a specialized place. This situation further highlights the reality of these medical evacuations involving Guinean leaders.
It is important to recognize that each individual has the right to choose the services they want for themselves and their family, including health and education. Rather than specifically compelling our leaders to use our country’s health and education services, it would be more constructive to seek to improve our own services by encouraging international cooperation and the exchange of good practices.
However, these frequent medical evacuations are like seeds that fly to foreign lands, thus depriving Guinea of the possibility of cultivating its own health infrastructure. Financial resources that could be invested in the construction and modernization of local hospitals are diverted to spending abroad. This creates a vicious cycle where lack of investment hampers the development of the health sector, leading to continued reliance on overseas care.
These medical evacuations are not an isolated problem, but reveal a broader trend in other important sectors. For example, our leaders choose to send their children to study abroad, thereby ignoring local schools that lack adequate resources and infrastructure. This shows a lack of confidence in the national education system and hampers its development. In addition, the national football team frequently does not have any player from our local championship, which demonstrates a lack of valorization of national talents and harms the development of sport in the country. Finally, the agricultural sector, supposed to promote food self-sufficiency, is hampered by massive imports of products such as rice, instead of supporting local production.
It is crucial that our leaders lead by example by educating their children locally. By investing in national schools and supporting local education, our leaders could elevate our education system as a beacon guiding younger generations to a bright future, rather than leaving them adrift in the stormy waters of ignorance. . By empowering our schools, we could cultivate minds like flourishing gardens, where each student is a seed that finds its place, flourishes, and spreads its unique beauty in our society. When we put our trust in our own education system, we build solid foundations on which the sustainable development of our country rests.
By favoring players playing abroad, our leaders are harming the development of national football. By promoting and investing in the local championship, our leaders could cultivate a flourishing sports garden, where national talents bloom like majestic “syli”, proudly wearing the colors of our national team. Rather than looking elsewhere for players to bolster our ranks, let’s look within our own fertile ground, where young athletes can thrive and embody national pride. By giving Guinean athletes the opportunities and resources they need, we are building a strong and united team, ready to defend our colors with power and grace on the national and international stages.
Guinea’s agricultural sector, which has the potential to promote food self-sufficiency, is hampered by massive imports of products such as rice, instead of supporting local production. By encouraging the consumption of local agricultural products and by irrigating our fields of knowledge and investment, our leaders could hatch a fertile oasis of self-sufficiency, where Guinea flourishes like a verdant garden, nourishing its people and radiating flourishing vitality. Every seed sown represents abundant potential, ready to be harvested and shared with our communities. By supporting our farmers and investing in modern agricultural infrastructure, we are building a thriving ecosystem, where our natural resources are enhanced and where we take our place as stewards of the land, cultivating sustainable abundance for present and future generations. future.
The medical evacuations of Guinean leaders are an alarming symptom of the lack of quality infrastructure and services in our country. But imagine an alternative scenario where we have quality, self-sufficient and well-developed health, education and sport systems. In such an environment, medical evacuations would hardly be necessary. French, Moroccan, Tunisian, Senegalese, or Ivorian doctors and other specialists could dedicate their expertise to their own people, knowing that Guinea is capable of providing world-class medical care to its own citizens. Achieving such an objective requires massive investments in our national infrastructures and a political will to promote local excellence. By strengthening our internal capacities, we would no longer be dependent on medical evacuations and we would be able to show the world our success and our self-sufficiency.
The medical evacuations of Guinean leaders are a brake on national development, both in the health sector and in other key areas such as education, sports and agriculture. By prioritizing care abroad and neglecting local infrastructure and resources, our leaders are sending a message of mistrust towards our own institutions and hindering the progress of our country. It is essential to remedy this situation by investing in our national infrastructure, valuing local talent and promoting self-sufficiency in various sectors. It is time to build a strong future for Guinea, where national development is an undisputed priority.
When the waraba fights against its own demons, it regains its strength and inspires the pride of the savannah. So, as Guinean citizens, shouldn’t we demand that our leaders face up to their responsibilities and take care of our nation, in the same way that the lion protects his kingdom?
Ousmane Boh Kaba
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