Sierra Leone Telegraph: 21 June 2021:
Yesterday, President Dr Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone donated acres of State lands in Freetown, with estimated value running into millions of dollars to all 41 players and officials of the national Leone Stars football team, after their success in Guinea, beating Benin one nil to qualify for the African Nations (AFCON) Cup. The president also handed over a cheque for Le 4.1 billion to the chairman of the National Sports Council.
The handing over of the 41 land title deeds and cheque took place at a dinner held in honour of the players and hosted by the First Lady Fatima Maada Bio at the Bintumani Hotel in Freetown.
The First Lady congratulated the players and officials of the team and thanked them for making the country proud, adding that football should not be political because the country also needed sports to maintain a happy nation.
She congratulated President Bio for the team’s success and thanked him for his support for the team as she urged him to continue to give more support to the team ahead of the next stage of the AFCON matches in Cameroon slated for early 2022.
Speaking on behalf of his teammates, Captain Kei Kamara who scored the qualifying goal, expressed gratitude to the President and First Lady for hosting a presidential dinner in their honour.
He also appreciated the team coach, John Keister, for being patient with them and for ensuring that they had a victory. He encouraged young people, who want to participate in sports to take their education seriously and also urged his colleagues to be role models in society.
President Bio noted that for a while the country has been divided along party and regional lines but stated that because of the victory that Leone Stars brought home, there is huge sign of unity in the country now. The President also said that the whole nation is proud of the team.
The president assured the players and officials of his continued support to make sure that the team is ready for AFCON final, adding that this will definitely be an effective way of further uniting the country.
President Bio thanked all Sierra Leoneans for supporting the team and encouraging the footballers and their managers to do their best to maintain the momentum, by showcasing themselves and the country for bigger opportunities.
“I want to thank all of you who played your part in ensuring that we had victory. Going to Cameroon next year, I want to see you play classic football,” he urged the players.
But as the ink begins to dry on those 41 State land title deeds donated to the players and officials, questions are being asked about the president’s decision to prioritise footballers ahead of hardworking health workers, doctors, nurses that are saving precious lives with very little reward, and millions of Sierra Leoneans that are homeless across the country.
Several nurses, doctors and public employees who purchased government houses from the former APC government have had their properties seized by the Bio-led SLPP government without compensation, simply because his government is against the sale of public property.
Critics of the president are accusing the president of double standards and hypocrisy, and say that he is politicising football by bribing the national football team with State property.
STARGAZER: “Laugh out loud (Lol)!!!”
God bless Leone Stars and our president. But Mr President I am a jobless former military in Sierra Leone. My brother Patrick Sama is not helping me. Please Father Maada Bio President of Sierra Leone this give me a job. We are one Mama in the Army.
Once again, congratulations to the Leone team. We hope to see the cup in Mama Salone.
Indeed you are real to mankind, your word is your word, keep on the good work Sir, change our nation Sierra Leone to a new direction just as you said. Keep it up Sir – I always honour you Sir. From Mohamed F Kargbo, Makeni a man who addmited himself to school without parents and I am still on the struggle to educate myself. I love you simply because you love education just as I love it too. Thank you Sir, we move.
Congratulations to the national team upon qualifying for the African cup of Nations. It is just that, however, a qualification and we beat Benin, not Algeria, Senegal or one of the giants of African football. I am not dampening anyone’s spirit, however, the trophy is yet to be won.
Tales of two presidents and two national football teams, qualifying for the same African nations cups tournament finals, in the same West African subregion.Yes as our national football team, and our goodwill ambassadors in the football settings, they have done our country proud and rightly as many commentators have including our divider in chief president Bio himself was unashamedly able to point out, unlike his own efforts to divide our nation based on tribal and regional differences, our national team has become a unifying symbol at a time when our country and its people are in a desperate need of coming together as one people, one country, celebrating with joy with ever makes our country makes us feel great about ourselves. The president who is never shy of jumping in the bandwagon of political opportunism, has once shown his nark of harvesting the good fortune and hard slug of others for his own selfish political goals.
Who says Bio is a political novice? Answer, compared to his political opponents, he is well ahead in curve. He wasn’t only content in digging dip in his pockets and offer our football national heroes cash, but he throw in land deeds, to complete his disgraceful behaviour to politicise our football game. As for the Gambian President Adama Barrow, he had a rude awakening when the Gambian football winning team that took the country to the finals of the same tournament, refused his invitation to state house. And that was despite offering them two hundred thousand dollars to be shared amongst the players and team coaches. In a statement released by the national football team, whilst they appreciate and felt honoured for the invitation Mr President Barrow, they politely refused to go because they felt they are doing what they did for the Gambia and the people of Gambia not for any political adventure.
There you have it. I suppose just like Sierra-Leoneans, Gambians are disappointed with the way Adama Barrow came in power, making all sorts of promises but is yet to deliver on his words. At the end of the day, Gambians were ready to eject from power the former dictator Yayah Jemmah. Even if a flower pot had come along and promise to wrestle them from Jammeh’s dictatorship they would have elected the flower pot to be the Gambian president. Welcome to the world where football and politics collided.
congratulations LEONE STARS for the qualification of the nations cups. When was the last time Leone stars qualified for this competition? I think i remember; 1994? After losing to Ivory Coast 4-0.
There was once an ignoramus that didn’t know the difference between right and wrong, good and bad, left and right; so he kept on guessing what to do whenever he was confronted with a problem he was facing that no one could help him solve. The ignoramus and his wife owned a vast area of farmlands where they employed farm hands that grew local crops and coffee for exporting overseas; One day a traveller that was on a long journey stopped by his farm to quench his thirsts and rest for a little while; As he was enjoying a Jug of fresh lemonade the traveller noticed a deformed three legged pig limping across the farmyard; “What happened to the Pig?” the traveller asked the Ignoramus and his wife; “Oh, that Pig saved me from a fire once” the farmer replied; “Oh,I see,” said the curious traveller “so that’s how it lost one of its legs, huh?” The ignoramus responded. “Nope, a kindhearted animal like that deserves some amount of empathy but because we are pork lovers we decided to cut off one leg, and an ear for my birthday feast instead of slaughtering it whole; Its still very much alive as you can see”.
Folks,that’s exactly how our corrupt old soldier in State House thinks; He is a very cruel man that doesn’t care about the wellbeing of others but his own self-centered interests. Football is just a pastime sporting event; It is a thing of very little consequence to most considerate and prudent minds; So to make it a top priority worthy of recognition and the bestowal of gifts at the expense of the most pressing needs of the most vulnerable among our people is not only alarming but cold hearted, mean-spirited and ridiculous. The message this President is sending to our people is clear: Unless you do something for our nation that would make me look good in the eyes of the world, you will not be appreciated, recognised and held in high esteem; Goodness gracious! Now you tell me how the disabled that cannot run and leap like agile young impalas will ever get a day under the sun to be rewarded for something of great value they have achieved in my cold, indifferent Sierra Leone.
Our gentleman, the man from the heart, educator and intelligent head of state we ever had in this country Sierra Leone. H.E.RTD.BREG.DR.J.M.Bio; may you live for long. I personally salute you!… with the glorious greetings (SALAMA ALEKU). This is what we call a man of patriotism. I ask you in the name of God, do not look behind you just continue going forward. Mr. President I believe that you have some knowledge about the Holy Bible. For how many times did Jesus tried to convince his people? They even asked him if he is really the confirmed messenger from God. Jesus wakes up a dead, cures blind people, and pray for a layman to walk, but yet he was totally denied by his people. What a miracle to wake up a dead? who can do that today?
Mr. President, even if you have that power today, trust me, your enemies will still mock you. Not only today your Excellency started fighting and defending this country, but rather, you’ve done so by putting your whole life in the line of duty. When some of us were running away from BULLETS, escaping with our family, sending them abroad to a safe place, Mr. President most of you and your colleagues were living on GARRI in the war front. In a moment of silence, may the gentle souls of your comrades that were not lucky enough to witness today rest in peace Amen.
Folks, no matter what, we have to be grateful. This man loves his country, and let’s be assured that President Bio is a fan of sports. What these gallant players have done for the country after two decades and half, is amazing with the support of H.E. May God bless you President Bio. APC, are you ready to push Mama Salone forward? Come join hands together and help this country. United we stand and divided we fall. Mr. President by the power of God, we the people will make sure that you re-elected come 2023 Inshallahu. May God bless and protect our country.
And there you have it – An open bribe coming from the hands of a corrupt inept President thirsting to win reelection.(lol) He thinks by brown-nosing and bribing footballers he is going to be hailed as PATRIOT instead of the TRAITOR that he really is; A traitor that has sold our nations sovereignty for peanuts to the self-seeking Chinese. Answer – so there are State Lands in abundance waiting to be shared and the disabled and blind beggars that cannot fend for themselves are languishing and dying in the sun on the scorching, streets of Freetown huh? A delusional old soldier that cannot run a half a mile and his Gold digger have jumped on the bandwagon of the Leone Stars sharing acres of lands and all. Go figure (lol)
And what has this President done for those who suffered untold losses at Susan’s Bay? What? Absolutely nothing! Is this the Country that this old soldier is trying to build? A flimsy nation built on the poorly constructed structures of ineptitude and incompetence that rewards only those who are being celebrated in the eyes of the world? Folks, come 2023 let our armies of those who have been marginalized, disenfranchised and totally left behind by the notorious SLPP and let our weapons of response become the ballot papers and the votes we cast to remove these Good for nothings out of office.