Sierra Leone Telegraph: 28 September 2022:
Sierra Leone’s maverick First Lady – Mrs Fatima Bio has once again brought the presidency of Sierra Leone into disrepute after telling hundreds of guests at a ruling SLPP party fund raising event in the United States, that those who took part in the August 10th riots in various parts of Sierra Leone to oust her husband from power, should remember that President Bio has a PhD in staging coups.
The video recording of her speech which has gone viral on social media is believed to have caused serious rift in the ruling SLPP party, amid calls for the President to “shut the first lady up to avoid further embarrassments,” a senior member of the party told the editor of the Sierra Leone Telegraph yesterday.
Fatima Bio is not new to controversy. Two years ago, commenting on the country’s rape crisis, she said in a video recording that also went viral that men who commit rape should have their private parts cut off and barbequed, to the horror and consternation of millions across the country and outside.
In her latest blockbuster, the first lady said: “My husband has PhD in staging coups, so nobody can overthrow him”.
“Maada Bio has a PhD in coup d’état, can you remove him. The man has a PhD in staging coups, how can you remove someone who teaches people how to stage a coup,” Sierra Leone’s first lady said in a video which you can watch below.
President Julius Maada Bio is accused of executing 29 people in cold blood after a military coup in April 1992, as he and other officers of the country’s military removed the government of the All People’s Congress Party (APC), from power.
President Bio said recently that the opposition APC are behind what he referred to as an attempted coup in August 10th 2022, an allegation the APC denies.
You can watch the video here:
The people who took part in the August 10th protests were not out to overthrown the president. They had no ammunitions nor any form of weapon. It is wrong to associate them with words like ousting the president, riots, or terrorist. These were young adults and underage children who are fed up with their living circumstances in the country and that includes, basic needs, education, unemployment, professional development programs etc. They are idle with no means of progress in their lives and the feeling of hopelessness.
Fellow Sierra Leoneans, why don’t we give First Lady, Mrs. Fatima Bio a break as she continues to defend and speak for her husband, our president Maada Bio? Much as what she said at this meeting with party enthusiasts here in the US may not be right or appropriate, given the volatile political situation in Sierra Leone, but we should realize that we now live in a generational change world where social media has taken control. People everywhere, especially in positions of power, are using this media to the utmost advantage.
We should also realize that, unlike previous administrations in the country, where both the leaders and their spouses were older and the First Ladies like late Rebecca Stevens ( pa Shaki’s wife) and late Mrs. Hannah Momoh ( ex-president Momoh’s wife) didn’t play much roles in their husbands’ administrations, in today’s world, leaders are younger and their young wives participate in their country’s governance.
Like I reiterated before, folks, let’s give president Bio a chance and hence, by extension, First Lady Fatima Bio, to help bring peace and prosperity in our beleaguered country. Sierra Leone goes to the polls next year in a presidential election to elect a new leader. I implore my countrymen and women to go vote their conscience out. If elections are held in a free and fair atmosphere, who knows, president Bio may either win re-election or a new leader will emerge. Let’s work together and stop stone throwing at the SLPP government. How soon we forget the twenty-plus years of pa Shaki and the APC government’s terrible rule in our country, Sierra Leone? Let’s continue to give president Maada Bio a chance.
Fatima Bio has this incurable mental problem which makes her put her foot into her mouth whenever she opens it. The ailment started when she started entertaining strange noises in her head, emphatically telling her how important she had become when her mouse of a husband (Bio) was elected president in 2018. The culmination of her ridiculous self- importance reached fever level when she started insisting that she should be addressed as “her excellency “, the first time this has ever happened in Sierra Leone. She is out of control while her mouse looks frightened because his unique hallucination problem makes him see only a huge cat that is about to make him breath his last.
A PhD in staging coups? From what university? The fake university which Sovula attended? Bio’s role in the 1992 coup is still a mystery; the truth is, he hugged the background as cowardice consumed him. It was a calculated move to avoid the noose of the hangman at Pademba Road Prison in the event that the coup did not succeed.Upon the success of the coup he moved faster than sound to upstage those who spearheaded the coup, like the late Tom Nyuma ,(may his soul Rest In Peace) and placed himself at the forefront of everything . What an opportunist ? Can somebody tell Fatima Bio to zip up for a little while?
Grace Mugabe or as people like to call her “Gucci” didn’t just fall from grace , because the people of Zimbabwe wanted change and the remove her former husband president Robert Mugabe from power , the cause of his downfall was seen by many experts by the combative nature of his wife , who just like Mrs Fatima Bio likes to hold rallies to rail against those ordinary people that they considers are against their husbands rule . Mrs Fatima Bio is one of few African first ladies that belongs to the dictators wives club. There are many strand of them . But she have managed to make a name for herself for all the wrong reasons. And if history have thought us anything about feisty African first ladies , am afraid it’s all going to end in tears.Instead of using her position to do charitable works in the real sense, her sense of duty to the people of Sierra Leone have left much to be desired for .Her combative nature have created more divisions in our country than any other First Lady before her . What She have managed to do is to monopolised the social media platform for all the wrong reasons.
I wish Meta, the parent company, of some of the social media platforms you find her spew her diatrab, like Facebook , Instigram, Whatapp ,she is using to incite violence and of course Twitter, will start to employ Krio moderators to their social media platforms to block some of the languages of incitement we see and hear being spewed by the First Lady .If Twitter can suspends the account of President Trump and Mohamed Buhari for incitement , I don’t know why they allow the wife of the president of Sierra Leone to continue to post messages that are not conducive to the national cohesion of our country. Or is it all lost is translation ? Is there any Krio speakers or moderators for obescence language and incitement employ by this gaint social media companies ,?
Fatima Bio is a loose cannon that is only interested in preserving the power of her husband. We don’t need a president that knows how to organize coups .What our country needs is a leader that can come up with ideas on how to grow our economy , by creating the necessary security conditions to attract foreign direct investment .Bring people together to work for the common good .Respect for the rule of law , free and fair elections , tackle corruption and investment in people , like access to education , health care .And it should all be seen to be done with transparency and accountability .