A NATION IS NEVER JUDGED ONLY BY ITS LEADERS. IT IS JUDGED, DAILY, BY THE CONDUCT OF ITS PEOPLE.
A Civic Reflection on Responsibility, Reputation, and the Cost of Our Choices
History does not always announce itself with speeches or ceremonies. Sometimes it arrives quietly through a stamped proclamation, a closed airport gate, or a visa application returned unanswered. The recent decision by the United States to suspend the entry of Sierra Leonean nationals is one such moment. It is painful, consequential, and instructive.
This development must be understood clearly, honestly, and without political distortion. It is not a verdict on Sierra Leone as a failed state. It is not an indictment of governance, nor a declaration that our country has abandoned its international obligations. Rather, it is a stark reminder that the actions of citizens, repeated, documented, and cumulative, can shape the fate of an entire nation.
Citizenship Is Not Only a Right, It Is a Responsibility
Every passport issued by Sierra Leone is not just a travel document; it is a statement of trust. When a Sierra Leonean travels abroad, they do so not only as an individual, but as a representative of the state. Their conduct either strengthens or weakens the credibility of the country they carry on that passport.
Visa regimes are built on trust, trust that visitors will respect the terms under which entry is granted. Student visas are issued with the expectation that beneficiaries will study and return to contribute to national development. Tourist and business visas are granted on the assurance of temporary stay. When these conditions are deliberately violated, it is not a private matter. It becomes a national liability.
How Individual Choices Become National Consequences
The uncomfortable truth is this:
Some of our compatriots, after benefiting from rare opportunities to study or visit abroad, chose to overstay, to evade lawful processes, and in some cases, to assume different identities while official records still show them within foreign borders.
These actions are not victimless. They distort migration data. They undermine information-sharing systems. They weaken diplomatic assurances. And eventually, they trigger the very response we now face, collective restriction.
When this happens repeatedly, host countries do not punish individuals alone; they recalibrate risk at the national level. The result is what we see today: doors closing not just on rule-breakers, but on law-abiding Sierra Leoneans, students, professionals, families, and entrepreneurs who followed the rules and dreamed responsibly.
Civic Duty Beyond Our Borders
Civic responsibility does not end at Lungi Airport. It travels with us, to lecture halls, workplaces, and hotel lobbies abroad. Patriotism is not only expressed through slogans or elections; it is reflected in compliance, integrity, and respect for agreements.
A nation striving for global opportunity cannot afford a culture where:
Student visas become exit strategies
Tourist visas become migration loopholes
National identity becomes something to discard for convenience
These practices do not outsmart the system. They damage it, and the damage is borne by the innocent many, not the reckless few.
Opportunity Is a Privilege, Not an Entitlement
International mobility is not guaranteed. It is negotiated, earned, and sustained through good faith. Countries open their borders based on patterns of behavior. When those patterns show persistent non-compliance, restrictions follow, not out of malice, but out of policy logic.
We must therefore speak honestly to ourselves:
Our behavior is narrowing the pathways we once walked freely.
The Path Forward: A Civic Reset
This moment calls for introspection, not deflection. It demands a national recommitment to civic discipline, especially among those granted international exposure.
Respect visa conditions.
Return when required.
Use education and exposure as tools for national development, not permanent escape.
Understand that personal shortcuts can become collective setbacks.
Governments negotiate policies, but citizens shape reputations.
Redemption Takes Work
Borders may close swiftly, but trust can be rebuilt, through sustained compliance, responsible citizenship, and a renewed understanding that the freedom to travel carries obligations as weighty as the opportunities it offers.
A nation is never judged only by its leaders. It is judged, daily, by the conduct of its people.
And “when a nation is flagged, indeed, its people, pay the price”.
BY
BOCKARIE ABDEL AZIZ BAWOH
