Sierra Leone Telegraph: 8 May 2019:
As Muslims all over Sierra Leone and throughout the world today progressed through their third day of Ramadan – fasting, the First Lady of Sierra Leone, wife of president Julius Maada Bio – Mrs Fatima Bio, has offered best wishes and prayers for the people of Sierra Leone.
She prayed for peace and harmony in Sierra Leone, and for God’s guidance and direction so that the New Direction will succeed; and that the president can continue to govern the country in a peaceful and democratic way.
Fatima calls on the power of God to remove all those who do not wish well for Sierra Leone. She asked God to continue to bless and protect Sierra Leone. Ramadan Mubarak.
This is what she says:
When people are not happy and struggling to get food on nthe table for their children is a big concern, you can’t trade your country’s wealth and leave others to suffer. Without even swearing, those culprits will never get away with things. God is everybody’s God.
I believe that most Sierra Leoneans are afraid of “MAMMY SWEH” and even the imams usually recites the Al-Faatiha, the most powerful verse of the holy Quran against evil people and asking the Almighty to reward them for their deeds (indirectly to change their “LAYDON PLACE”).
And the pastors usually quote directly from the Bible about Holy Ghost fire and even the late Peter Tosh reggae music Brimeston and fire lyrics is a direct quote from the Bible and the Torah for the Jews. I also believe that the recent confusion that the APC party and their leadership are currently facing is due to the first opening of our parliament when they deliberately desecrated the holy books in parliament before the swearing in ceremony.
But on the other hand, the APC party and their leadership have and will always continue to respect the “ARIOGBO SWEH” than the Ramadan Prayer from our First Lady, as was evident during our previous State House and election campaigns. “SIERRA LEONEANS PAY ATTENTION“ was their daily warming.
To be honest with you Sulaiman, I am trapped between SWEARING and FORGIVING. Some people would prefer to SWEAR, some to FORGIVE(ask God to change the minds of the bad ones for good) and some like me, both. That was why I asked for our PASTORS and IMAMS to help. But, if you ask me to choose between SWEAR and FORGIVE, I take a breath, I would choose to SWEAR any evil person against Sierra Leone. However, it can be done as you suggested.
Thanks Sulaiman for making my position clear now on this issue. But. I am still waiting for explanation from any pastor/imam on this debate. They would be in a better position to help us. Again, I say thanks to you Sulaiman for your observations.
Very difficult message to analyse. However, I will try. It took weeks to come out with a balanced comment I reckon. First of all, I commend the First Lady for noting the problems women are facing in every corner of our society. May God bless the First Lady for making that observation. The government should therefore, try at all cost to help empower our women and make them feel that, they could do anything their male counterparts could. The First Lady must work hard to improve the rights of women with her influence as someone near the seat of power.
The only problem I have with the speech is with swearing. The First Lady has the right to swear or ask the nation to help her swear anyone who is against the progress of the nation. But, on the other hand, swearing will not be the answer in my view. First of all, we are all the children of GOD and GOD likes his children(whether GOOD or BAD). I don’t think that God is going to punish/kill his bad children because, the good ones have prayed for that. Only God knows what to do in such situations.
Also, the First Lady and the President are both the PARENTS of the nation. What should a parent do when you have bad children? Will you swear them, drive them out of the house or kill them? I don’t feel so. SPIRITUAL and BIBLICAL interpretations in such situations is very difficult/complex to predict. Moreover, Sierra Leoneans have been praying ever since for the country to progress and prosper even before the present First Lady came to office. But things are still the same. Pastors like Reinhard Bonnke and others have tried but no dice. Will this First Lady make a difference this time around? In fact she has given till the end of the year as deadline. So, let’s wait and see. DISCUSS.
Although the First Lady did not mention anyone by name, it seems to me that, she knows or has an idea about certain individuals around her husband’s inner circle or husband’s party that are not helpful. I hope I am wrong with my observation. But, time will tell. However, for the benefit of the doubt, let us pray with the First Lady as she had asked, to drive out all forms of evil (including corrupt officials) from the country from INDEPENDENCE to date.
Finally, MAY THE ALL MIGHTY GOD DROP THE GREATEST AXE of PUNISHMENT on all those responsible for the DESTRUCTION OF SIERRA LEONE. I also ask GOD to forgive them if need be. AMEN AND AMEN. I ask pastors/imams to help me with how to swear and forgive at the same time. This is SERIOUS STUFF. Difficult homework by the first lady.
My conclusion is – DIFFICULT STUFF TO ANALYSE.
Wait wait wait a minute sir, are u saying it is difficult but can be done or difficult and can not be done..which one?
I believe you already have the answer in your response but you are just not comfortable in calling it out right now. Is that so? Hahaha..
Mother’s blessings is paramount in every home and as the current mother of our nation, I am 100% sure that God will answer her prayers, especially during the holy month of Ramadan.
Good Prayer Mama.
“Prayers are in order.” This is how I closed one of my earlier articles I wrote about ongoing political and economic, Veze’ve, so-called bread and butter positioning in the country. I don’t have the slightest idea whether the wife of the President, Mrs. Fatima Bio read the piece in question at all. But a day after that article, maybe by mere coincidence, Her Excellency offered prayers during this Muslim Ramadan season.
It is an inspiring prayer and the country needs it at this particular juncture in our country’s unenviable circumstances. Indeed, biblical teachings have established the power of Prayer as uncontested and therefore should not be underestimated.
Consider this, James 5:16-18 declares: “The prayer of a righteous man (woman?)is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three years and a half. Again, he prayed that it rain, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.” Lesson learned here is that God most definitely listens to prayers, answers prayers, and moves in response to prayers.
Jesus also taught us, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard (rice) seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. So let’s continue to pray unabated. We owe it to the nation of Sierra Leone and its children who desperately need divine intervention.
The larger picture here is for the country to pray together as a nation, together just like churches holding prayer vigils. Who knows what God has in store for Sierra Leone, but 58 years hence, nothing seem to work in comparatives terms with other countries in the same sub region of West Africa or in the world at large.
Even though the proverbial rain fell on the country in earlier times, does “Athens of West Africa” ring a bell. I am pretty sure it still rings vividly in our collective memories. And yet there has been a reversal of fortunes ever since. Successive governments have betrayed the citizens in every way possible with the trust that have been reposed in them.
It will take a new generation of leadership who truly has the welfare of the people at the very bottom of their hearts to try to ameliorate something that seems like a curse. Incessant corruption or lack of good governance, with it’s ugly attendant features of abject poverty, illiteracy, poor or zero sanitary conditions, lack of better educational facilities and infrastructure, low employment, or high unemployment, energy poverty, unsafe drinking water, neglected tropical diseases, teenage pregnancy, neglect leading to man made disasters that could be prevented with considered forethought by the powers that be – who are unselfish and enterprising.
One would have thought that the forced mitigated migration from Sub Saharan countries may have given the leaders food for thought.
The best and necessary first infrastructural investment, like building of roads, bridges, ports, and sewer systems, business deregulation, by making it easy for businesses to operate in the country, implement tax cuts and tax rebates are steps Sierra Leone can take towards development, but requires an unreserved honest and capable government.
Even people that are hired to work in government offices and departments must meet minimum educational requirements. And this must apply to ministers, head of parastatals, and other government agencies whose roles are critical to the success of the body politik.
As advocated recently by a prominent Nigerian Roman Catholic clergy, while visiting Rome, if African political leaders are patently unbable to develop their countries, they MUST resign. We are waiting .
What a good speech Madam Fatima. Sierra Leone is lucky to have an intelligent first lady. Sierra Leone loves you. Keep on the good job; be safe and natural and neutral. May God bless you and pa Bio and God bless SIERRA LEONE. Happy Ramadan to all Sierra Leoneans.