Sierra Leone Telegraph: 13 September 2019:
President Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone will tomorrow, Saturday 14th September 2019, attend the Extraordinary Summit of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which will take place in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
According to State House in Freetown, the Summit has been convened to discuss the security situation in the region, and adopt a Declaration which will define a common platform on peace, security, radicalization and violent extremism in the sub region.
According to policy analysts in Sierra Leone, it is therefore important for president Bio to go into tomorrow’s summit with confidence and belief that his country, is not sliding down the path of instability, hence the significance of yesterday’s meeting at State House with former president Koroma and his APC party leadership, with whom the SLPP government has been at loggerheads for over a year.
Both the APC and the SLPP government of Sierra Leone will today publish a Joint Communique, setting out political arrangements for continuous dialogue, national cohesion and peace building. (Photo: President Bio and former president Koroma at State House yesterday).
This should give plenty of comfort to the ECOWAS leaders that Sierra Leone is pulling out from the brink of anarchy and chaos.
The ECOWASW Summit will feature presentations from the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, which will be followed by discussions on the security situation in the region, as well as bilateral and regional initiatives to combat terrorism and violent extremism.
The African continent is facing numerous challenges, such as illegal cross-border activities, terrorism, money laundering, violent extremism and trafficking in arms, persons and drugs which are common security threats in Central and West Africa.
In order to address these challenges, the 55th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government agreed to hold tomorrow’s Extraordinary Session of ECOWAS in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
President Julius Maada Bio will depart Sierra Leone today, Friday 13th September, 2019 and return on Sunday, 15th September, 2019.
My take from the recent POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS and the pictures provided is this; President Koroma was willing to teach President Bio his CAPABILITIES, SKILLS, POTENTIALS and EXPERIENCE as a LEADER, FORMER PRESIDENT and ELDERLY STATESMAN, whilst PRESIDENT BIO was willing to learn how to become a responsible LEADER right now and how to become a FORMER PRESIDENT and ELDERLY STATESMAN after leaving office, from former President Koroma. Interesting EH? I know some will disagree with me but, I am convinced that President Bio and Former President Koroma will agree with me. GOD BLESS President Bio and GOD BLESS former President Koroma.