Introduction: Big Man Politics and Post-conflict Sierra Leone

Postwar environments can offer new opportunities for peace, healing, and rebuild­ing. While there is no question that the profound violence and injustices that transpire during times of armed conflict can be inherently deleterious to societies’ social fabric, they also have the potential to offer individuals, communities, and society a chance to reflect on the past and construct a more equitable, inclusive, and violence-free society (Coulter 2009; Ibrahim and Shepler 2011; Murphy 2010).

Despite having to navigate a context characterized by marginalization, violence, poverty, and societal stigma, many former child soldiers have been successful in building supportive communities and in creating new economic livelihoods. Okada riding, a private form of transport involving motorbikes, has emerged as a major economic sector within Sierra Leone’s urban centers. The industry has proven crucial for offering former child soldiers the opportunity to engage in an economic activity that is both beneficial to post-conflict development and integral to their reintegration (Burge 2011; Peters 2007). The vast majority of those participating in the industry are former soldiers, making this a “space” wherein former soldiers can join with others with similar experiences of violence and oppression (Peters 2007; Menzel 2011). Moreover, in light of the country’s deteriorated infrastructure due to the war, particularly road networks, motorbikes have become the most sought after and efficient means of transport.

While Okada riding can be thought of as a dynamic new industry that thrived after the war, its members continue to contend with power structures similar to those they negotiated in the prewar context. Overtime, the industry has become increasingly controlled by “Big Men.” Often former soldiers themselves, these Big Men have assumed positions of power within the industry and have tactically entrapped “former child soldiers turned riders” in exploitative patrimonial net­works. By instituting a complex web of fees, policies, and regulations, these Big Men seek to further their own political and economic objectives all while constraining the socioeconomic mobility of “small men” bike riders.

This chapter considers how Big Man patrimonialism plays out and impacts former child soldiers in Sierra Leone's urban motorbike taxi industry. In particular, the chapter reveals the social realities of former child soldiers turned riders (i.e., “small men”) and the opportunities and challenges they face in maneuvering through Big Men networks within this emergent economic sector. Drawing on 14 interviews with former child soldiers working in the motorbike industry in Sierra Leone, the chapter highlights the ways in which Bigmanity in post-conflict urban settings can offer new hopes for some of the most marginalized members of the country. At the same time, however, while these Big Men patronage networks provide new chances for former combatants to lead viable lives in an unstable post­conflict context, they simultaneously limit these youths' mobility, thereby poten­tially increasing their state of dependence, insecurity, and marginality.

The chapter is organized into eight sections. Following the introduction, the second section describes the research methodology. The third section explores the phenomenon of Bigmanity and highlights the unique features of this patrimonial system. The fourth section describes the emergence of the motorbike taxi industry in Sierra Leone and considers former child soldiers' participation in it. The fifth section outlines the key players of the motorbike taxi industry, along with how resources and power are amassed and distributed. The sixth and seventh sections center the voices of the research participants and offer accounts of their experiences as former child soldiers turned bike riders. Concluding remarks are then offered in the final section.

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