By Sorie Fofana
A World War II veteran once observed that, “Peace is cheaper than war.” The dispute over Yenga town has lingered on for two decades now.
The border town between Guinea and Sierra Leone remains the greatest source of disagreement between the two neighboring countries. Yenga town continues to be occupied by Guinean troops.
Some of us have always supported the view, that, diplomacy is the best option to resolve the impasse over the disputed border town of Yenga.
Others have called on the government to abandon diplomatic efforts and pursue war with the Republic of Guinea. Some of these hawks are oblivious of the fact that, war is an expensive undertaking. Sierra Leone is not even prepared for war. We spend 2% of our national budget on defence. That’s an appalling investment, given the size of the economy!
As things stand now, we can’t even afford to pay rice and drug suppliers to the security sector (Army, Police and Prisons). The suppliers are owed huge sums of money. How can we send our boys to the war front when we cannot even afford to feed them?
The long and short of it all is that, war is not cheap.
Peace is cheaper than war.
Let us continue to pursue the diplomatic option in trying to end this two-decade-old occupation of our land by Guinean troops.
More than anyone else, President Brigadier (Rtd) Julius Maada Bio knows what it means to fight a war. He was a soldier before becoming President. He was deployed in the war front to defend the territorial integrity of this country when the civil war broke out in 1991. He defended this country with his blood, sweat, and tears.
Let diplomacy prevail over war!
Peace is cheaper than war!
