Dr. Yahya Kaloko: Sierra Leone Telegraph: 27 July 2018:
The behaviour of some in the leadership of our country, both past and present has sometimes called into question the depth of their patriotism to the motherland.
From time immemorial, we learned of the looting of our country’s wealth not only by foreigners – our diamonds and gold, but even by those who have led, sworn to protect and be more concerned about the wellbeing of Mama Salone.
Since the time of late Sheku Toure, Guinea has served as a Mecca for Sierra Leone political leaders fleeing from military coups. Have we ever seen a Guinean politician taking refuge in Sierra Leone?
In the not too distant past, Ghana emerged as another haven for politicians with looted Sierra Leonean wealth.
Rather than invest these resources to develop the country of their birth, they end up deploying them to better the lives of other nations.
It’s also not surprising that Ghana for example, has become attractive to those seeking medical attention that is lacking in Sierra Leone. Part of Sierra Leone’s wealth has contributed in building infrastructures in those countries that are severely lacking in Sierra Leone.
Of particular concern for my country and party – the APC, at this moment is the whereabouts of Ex-President Koroma. Although some may not want me to ask, but take a moment and hear me out.
How can you go to war without the commander that is to lead you in battle?
In the last ten years of our APC rule, power was concentrated in the hands of one man – Ernest Bai Koroma. No important decisions could be made without his final input. It’s that legacy and tragedy that is currently demoralizing our party.
The main problem currently facing the party relates to who should be leading us to effectively challenge and counter the onslaughts our party and membership are facing.
There are hues and cries in all quarters of our party, mainly regarding the absence of strong leadership that can respond to the indignities many of our party members are suffering. But where is the much needed leadership, the requisite strategy and ability to inspire the APC family to fight back?
In short, where is Ernest Bai Koroma, who fought to become our party’s leader for life? As our de facto leader, what is his response to the ongoing attacks? He has been painfully silent.
The last time I heard a statement from Ernest Bai Koroma, he talked about being on a “well deserved vacation”.
But Comrades, those of us who served in militaries and law enforcement, will tell you that at a time of war, no one, no matter your rank, is allowed to take a vacation.
Has our party’s Commander-in-Chief circumvented the ethos, i.e. the moral nature of what holds us together as a party and family?
How can a commanding officer be AWOL in the thick of a battle for survival of his constituents?
These are the critical questions we must be asking our leaders, and not just be complaining about what our members are enduring.
My message to Ernest Bai Koroma and the entire leadership of the party is simple. Please end your “well deserved vacation” and come home. We need your presence.
We will stand by you, go to war with you wherever, to ensure our party’s survival. If Mohamed Kamarainba can bring his supporters to the streets of Freetown to challenge the powers that be, imagine the millions of Sierra Leoneans that will walk with you in the streets of Freetown.
Lastly, we need the party’s leadership to start planning for a convention where new and effective leadership will be chosen to fight the good fight in opposition.
Just my crazy two cents worth more than someone’s million dollars
Author: Dr. Yahya Kaloko
EBK is not a leader but a ruler. So let him stay in Guinea and rule the Guineans.
All those who have gone into hiding should come out to answer to Mama Salone about what they have done in the last 10yrs for God’s sake.
I stand with the critics of the previous administration in their struggle for justice and the peaceful resolution of the corrupt practices that plagued and degraded Sierra Leone.
This is part your party’s problem, as identified in the beginning of your “two cents worth”. Absolute power in the hands of one person has failed you, and by extension – the country. Yet still you’re looking out for your elusive leader (your world’s best).
Dr, aren’t you aware that you’ve been abandoned? The sooner you guys realise that your “stocks” (support/ popularity) are reducing in value by the minute, the better. The “commander” is AWOL in the middle of the battle. That’s sufficient notice of his intention. I was told your other supposedly second in command spends his time roaming SE London- having a “good time”, whilst the current gov’t are having a field day.
Please don’t use Kamarainba as a barometer to gauge the opposition or lack of one presently in the country. Partly due to absent opposition, you have the numbers in parliament that doesn’t translate to meaningful deliberations in/out of the House.
The party should move fast inwards, first to restructure and possibly create a “second chamber” within the party structure to house O’Bai and others, to make way for others before further damage is done.
In any case, if your “commander” is MIA in the battlefield, what do you do? Can’t someone assume responsibility in order to protect what had been gained, if not advanced further?
I hope your party provide the much needed opposition in the country as our people are being short-changed currently.
Please let the commander know that he can’t win the “war” from a distance. We need boots on the ground. Anyways, long “well deserved vacations” ain’t that good. Hopefully, we’ll have “commander” before you know it. Please endeavor to keep us posted whenever he turns up.
One of the key points of your story is calling on your ‘leader for life’ – your Supreme Leader EBK, to come home from whatever cesspool he is hiding, to lead your million-man march on the streets. Well, I must remind you Mr APC that as long as you seek permission from the police to march, you and your caboodle can march all you want.
You claim that your comrades are being persecuted. That is a false narrative. Those that have been invited to answer questions of corruption are still free, except one of your notorious comrades – Karamoh kabba who has been arrested for refusing to handover government property.
You and your comrades must come out of your slumber and recognize that there is a new government that is bent on ensuring that the massive wealth that you and your morally bankrupt and corrupt APC cabal stole, are restored to its rightful owner – the people of Sierra Leone.
So you can pretend not to understand the issues at hand. Sierra Leoneans are going to be shown how you and your cabal raped and left our country on the edge. We all want to know where your Supreme leader is hiding, because he has lots of explaining to do. Please when and if you do find him, share his whereabouts with the public.
EBK is no longer the leader of APC Party or the leader of Sierra Leone. I see some of you have the strong desire of humiliating him out of grudge, not facts. Well you have to eat your hearts out and wait.
He is retired and needs privacy. He didn’t slaughter his opponents out of paranoia as others in the current government.
You do not have to be a rocket scientist to figure out why Ernest Koroma is still on “a well deserved vacation”. The GTT report is out with a slew of allegations of corruption against the former president and his close associates. Moreover, Koroma’s passport has been impounded by the Sierra Leone police.
Does Koroma believe that he can successfully defend himself against the multitude of criminal charges that he will be facing once the Commission of Inquiry starts deliberations? I doubt it.
Thus, the price of Koroma returning to Sierra Leone to lead his troops in the war that he initiated over his ten years of stewardship may be too high. There may be too much evidence in the hands of the Anti-Corruption Commission that may well tighten the noose around Koroma’s neck.
It is no secret that Koroma has a proclivity to the good life. Definitely, Pademba Road prison can only offer an orange prison suit, and may be a meal a day. That is quite a contrasting lifestyle to what Ernest Koroma is used to.