By Mohamed Sankoh (One Drop)
In my opinionated opinion; the best profession which could have suited President Julius Maada Bio perfectly is that of a Hollywood script writer. He appears to have a fertile imaginative brain that would have won him several Oscars if he had taken up that profession, as he is always in his element whenever he delivers speeches laced with half-truths to national or international audiences.
Creative Writing seems to be President Bio’s strength. Most of his speeches appear to be combinations of political fictions and historical tall tales. He appears to have mastered the literary genre which Salman Rushdie employs in writing his second novel, “Midnight’s Children”, and his fourth, “The Satanic Verses”. And whenever I want to amuse myself amusingly in an amusing way; I pick up one of President Bio’s speeches to read.
But whosoever his ghost writers are; they are doing a great disservice to his reputation. They are always exposing him to public ridicule. And they always make him look like a chronic lying liar! They know that President Bio is on record to have said on Radio Democracy FM 98.1 that Sierra Leone had been divided into “Temne Land”, “Mende Land”, and “Limba Land”. They know that he had told that same radio station, in that same interview (to commemorate his three years in power then), that he was only comfortable with the “work ethics” of his tribesmen which might have had a great influence on most of his presidential appointments. And his ghost writers are aware that our First Lady, Fatima Bio, had once allegedly said in a WhatsApp audio that “only those who are SLPP supporters are the true Sierra Leoneans”.
Yet, President Bio’s ghost writers had the audacious audacity to insert in his statement, during the general debate of the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Wednesday 20 September 2023, that: “My re-election as President for a second and final term serves not merely as an endorsement of my leadership but a solemn testament to my Government’s commitment to fashioning a Sierra Leone that thrives as a united, peaceful, and dynamic bastion of hope and opportunity…” This is just a true lie. Any honest Sierra Leonean, who is still living under the excruciating five-years-plus of Bio’s reign, knows that President Bio is presiding over the most divisive era ever in Sierra Leone’s history. Common sense dictates that any country where harmless citizens are frequently gunned down, whenever they want to demonstrate peacefully against harsh economic conditions and violations of their basic Freedoms and Rights, cannot be a peaceful country.
Apart from the apologists of the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), every Sierra Leonean knows that Sierra Leone has been divided into one country for the ruling elite and another one for the suffering masses. We all know that there are seemingly special privileges and a prevailing sense of justice for different groups of citizens depending on their tribe and places of birth. And we have never known about “tribal lands” in Sierra Leone and the “true Sierra Leoneans” among all Sierra Leoneans until President Bio came to power!
Realistically, you and I know that under President Bio’s reign; Sierra Leone is no longer a country of “hope and opportunity”. It is now a nation of abject poverty, despair, and hopelessness. It is a country where “peace” now has a contrary meaning to what it is meant to mean. And it is a nation where its people appear to have been programmed to be “united” only to project their political party’s interests than the national interests!
And that’s not all. The audacious audacity is further stretched where President Bio tells the world that Sierra Leone is “A nation where our aspirations for abundant jobs, food security, quality education, and equitable healthcare are not mere dreams but manifest realities. Where justice and opportunity are not the prerogatives of a few but the birthright of all….” Such a statement is not just laughably laughable but tragically tragic! Here again, I won’t say our Head of State is lying through his teeth but will simply state that he has the knack for being economical with the truth! At least the utopian picture painted of Sierra Leone in the midst of massive unemployment and food insecurity, coupled with dilapidated healthcare facilities nationwide, will make a very good Hollywood script!
And the unforgettable part of President Bio’s statement at the 78th Session of the UNGA, which would have won him an Oscar if it were a Hollywood script, is where he says, “Any attempts to undermine the constitutional order will find no place to grow in a country with ample jobs, flourishing industries, and a prevailing sense of justice….” Yea, President Bio might be rightly right—though in a paradoxical way. Indeed, “ample jobs” only for the boys and girls whose “work ethics” are in sync with his and “flourishing industries” in a country where unemployment has flourished flourishingly!
One of the tongue-in-cheek parts of President Bio’s statement, under review, is where he notes the, “…decision by certain member States to introduce unilateral coercive measures, including visa restrictions, on Sierra Leonean citizens following our recent multi-tier national elections….” It is my view that he should have been very honest to clarify that the visa restrictions are specific only to “the true Sierra Leoneans” who are alleged to have been complicit in the claimed stealing of the June 24 general elections. They are not generic to the “false” Sierra Leoneans like me (despite my mother is a Sherbro-Limba and my father a Temne-Temne) who believe that the electoral wishes of the majority should be respected.
And it will be good to quote, ad verbatim, the 31 August 2023 press statement issued by the United States’ Department of State on “Visa Restriction Policy on Undermining the Democratic Process in Sierra Leone” to know whether our Commander-in-Chief is speaking the truth or not. It is clearly stated that, “Under this policy, the United States will pursue visa restrictions for those believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining democracy in Sierra Leone, including through the manipulation or rigging of the electoral process; intimidation of voters, election observers, or civil society organizations through threats or acts of physical violence; or the abuse or violation of related human rights in Sierra Leone. Family members of such persons may also be subject to these restrictions….. The visa restriction policy…will apply to specific individuals and is not directed at the Sierra Leonean people….”
Even those who attended bush grammar schools will comprehend both the surface and hidden meanings of that policy statement from the United States’ Department of State. So, what President Bio should have told the world is that the visa restriction policy is targeting only “the true Sierra Leoneans” who are believed to have been responsible for electoral thuggery and theft!
And I will not review other parts of President Bio’s statement, during the general debate of the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Wednesday 20 September 2023, because they are littered with self-gratifications and feel-good bravados. But what comes out, clearly, is that what is presented appears to be far from what is really real in Sierra Leone.
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