Sierra Leone Telegraph: 12 February 2017
The members of the newly formed peace committee of Sierra Leone’s main opposition SLPP party (Photo) have gone to work in earnest. Since their appointment last Wednesday, they have been hard at work trying to consolidate the party’s hard won peace settlement.
But more importantly, they are currently pulling together a draft document that will outline strategies for dealing with all outstanding issues that have brought so much friction and chaos in the party.
The committee has been mandated by the party to help produce a roadmap and blueprint that will unite the party, transform it into a credible opposition and position the SLPP as a government in waiting.
The committee is comprised of Ambassador Daboh, Chief Ernest Ndomahina, Alie Kabba -who is serving as Chairman of the Committee, Honourable Veronica Kadie Sesay, and Dr. Abass Bundu.
(Photo: From left to right – Ambassador Daboh, Chief Ernest Ndomahina, Alie Kabba (Chairman of the Committee), Honourable Veronica Kadie Sesay, and Dr. Abass Bundu.
All rank and file members as well as party executives and presidential aspirants are being urged by the committee to support the peace process and ensure that the party succeeds by helping to engender positive and conducive environment for peace, order, discipline and stability to flourish.
This is the Peace Accord that was signed last week by all the stakeholders of the party:
The stage is set, or has it, for the marathon. The finish line is not too far off as some of us may think. In political terms, 2018 is already in sight.
Some may make it to the finish line, some may not and some may well pass out without getting a glimpse of the finish line. Overall stamina and resourcefulness are at stake here. In other words it is curtains.
One can only hope that the gentle manner in which the arguments have started will be the unannounced consensus till the end, where both losers and winners exemplify grace and dignity.
I am neither A.P.C. nor S.L.P.P, which allows me objectivity that borders on divinity. When voting day comes I will vote for the candidate that I believe can lift the country from corruption, nepotism and lethargy. This will only come about if Charles Margai stays off the race.
None of the presidential candidates known so far deserve unconditional support. They should be closely srutinised and analysed by all of us beforehand, or else we will end up with more of the same.
When A.P.C. let us know who their candidates are, equal analytical attention should be directed at them to ensure that they are not the type that will bring the sun to a lower orbit to melt our brain and stop us from systematic thinking.
Both major parties have let us down over the decades, because they know that we allow emotions to get the better of us at election time rather than objectivity and sober thinking.
The Temne is attracted to the Temne; the Mende is attracted to the Mende; the Limba is attracted to the Limba; and the trend goes on in this fashion until we end up again with accomplished thieves leading us.
I am extremely glad about and proud of the way my mind works. I am Temne, but Charles Margai is the man I want to see at State House.
What I sense here from my two brothers – Mr No and Kaikai, is that they are trying very hard to sell their leaders. Dr. Yumkella’s father being one of the founding members of SLPP does not make Dr. Yumkella a loyalist of our great party. I say this because whenever I listen to the brother he says: ‘Your party’.
I stand to be corrected and I will defend it if challenged. He is charismatic and eloquent, but so are many others in the party. Dr. Yumkella is a man of huge talent and will of course be a very good team player, but to lead a country like Sierra Leone AT THIS CRUCIAL TIME of our political history is not plausible.
My brother Kaikai mentioned about Maada’s popularity. In politics you’ll never know if you are, or are not popular, especially when you take a close look at our politics in Sierra Leone.
Brother Kaikai, remember that all those who wear the green t-shirts with Maada’s face at the front or back, do the same when Kandeh visits town. They even wear the red t-shirts of APC when Koroma decides to go round town. You know why? POVERTY IS THE ANSWER.
Every electorate takes that as an opportunity to roast the politicians. My advise is to look at policies and what each of these flag bearer aspirants will bring to make the ordinary Sierra Leonean move away from poverty and degradation.
Any genuine patriot of Sierra Leone, regardless of what tribe he/she is will lament for the state of the SLPP. The problem is that some of the so called today’s leaders of the SLPP have no genuine love for and interest in the SLPP – not even for the country. All that they are interested in is power and money, and so they destroyed our beloved and great SLPP.
At one of the APC meetings, President Koroma told the APC members: “One of you will soon be the President because when we get into power we will last at least 20 years”.
And at the moment that seems to be the truth because of the pathetic state of the SLPP. Right now the only hope the SLPP has to win power lies in one and only person – Kandeh Yumkella. I am Mende and I do not even know Yumkella, but for the love of the SLPP and Sierra Leone Yumkella is the one and only possible hope for the SLPP to gain power in 2018.
Even president Koroma said this: “The only SLPP candidate difficult to beat is Yumkella…”. The President remarked, “Yumkella would have been good for the APC, but Yumkella’s loyalty lies in the SLPP because his Paramount Chief father was one of the founders of the SLPP.”
In the last General Election there was NOT A SINGLE SLPP MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT from the North and Freetown Area. Forget about whom you like or do not like, be realistic and put the SLPP first. The North is Temne and APC, the Freetown area is almost APC, and whom does any SLPP member think has a chance to win even HALF of the North or Freetown area? Nome but Yumkella.
To be a President of Sierra Leone one has to win the South-East, the SLPP land, and the North or Freetown area or at least to win the SLPP “land” and half of the North and Freetown area. At the moment no member of the SLPP has the chance to do that except Yumkella. Politics is the ‘game of the possible’ not sentimental, and the ‘possible’ is Yumkella.
I totally disagree with your assessment of Dr. Kandeh Yumkella. I agree that the brother is charismatic. But that alone is not enough to win the presidency. When it comes to presidential politics, it is undeniable that Maada Bio is the most popular politician in Sierra Leone today.
You may not like him, but you can not deny his appeal among the grassroot and young people who are desperately yearning for change in Sierra Leone. And if politics is about numbers, there goes your misguided assumption.
As a Mende man, it might interest you to know that there is a concerted effort to deny anyone from the South East the privilege to become President in our country. We all witnessed the Tejan Kabba saga, and the resultant devastation to the party.
Of course the APC party would be ecstatic to have Yumkella or anyone who hails from the North to replace the current president, because they may want to maintain a northern hegemony when it comes to the presidency.
And the reason for this is that their area will stand to benefit from infrastructural development at the expense of the other provinces…..as we have come to see from the experience of the Ernest Bai Koroma APC government.
You probably need to travel to places such as Kenema to see why the people there are so desperate to put in office someone who will represent their interest. I know Kandeh is well meaning, but you cannot deny that his loyalty lies in the North.
Bio and Kandeh will be a formidable team. But as far as who will be the flagbearer, I think that choice is clear for me and I am not a Mende man.
I am disappointed by our politicians in Sierra Leone.