By Mohamed Sankoh (One Drop)
Those who are au fait with Roman History know of the popular myth about the unpopular Emperor Nero who was said to have played the fiddle whilst a six-day inferno was destroying about seventy percent of Rome, leaving half of its residents homeless.
Despite the fiddle didn’t exist in ancient Rome (Which means that Emperor Nero could not have played it as he was known to have been good at playing the Lyre.); yet that myth is deliberately used as a metaphor for an incompetent and heartless leader in a time of national disaster (s)!
Enter President Julius Maada Bio who, like the unpopular Nero, is now well-known for a pastime: traveling the world like a troubadour! Despite, from January to last month, the nation is said to have witnessed more than 211 fires countrywide (according to a quoted data from the National Fire Force); President Bio could still muster the courage to travel to Barbados to attend a worthless (considering the current energy situation in Sierra Leone) 2025 Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) Global Forum—leaving his compatriots to sort themselves out in their hours of distress and homelessness!
Like the Great Fire that broke out during Emperor Nero’s reign; of the reported 211 fires in Sierra Leone of recent, Freetown, the capital, is said to have recorded 119 which even consumed part of the seat of power, State House, and the 34 Military Hospital. The southern province had its own share of 35; the eastern province got a slice of 32; the north-east scooped 19, and the north-west made do with six fire incidents. Yet, President Bio could not declare even a week of National Emergency and stay at home to sympathize with his people whom he always professes to love more than political power! Instead, he appears not to care about the fire incidents as long as they do not reach State Lodge (the Presidential residence) and his village of Tihun. He continues with his overseas travels like a troubadour who is determined to traverse the length and breadth of the world because that’s what matters to him the most!
That seemingly lack of sympathy for his compatriots and his appetite for costly overseas travels, in the midst of national disasters (the current outbreak of Mpox and the fires), seem to have put President Bio in the same league with Emperor Nero. The only difference is that whilst Nero immediately returned from his comfortable villa at Antium some 35 miles from Rome, when the Great Fire broke out”, and began relief measures straight away; President Bio seems unconcerned about the nationwide fire incidents and still continues with his costly overseas travels as if all is well and safe at home!
And as if to fling a tanker full of petrol into the inferno; in the midst of a nationwide blackout or erratic Christmas Tree-like electricity supply, President Bio could still pinch thousands of dollars from the resources-starved national treasury to charter a flight just to attend the funeral of Pope Francis at St Peter’s Square in Vatican City. Imagine the seemingly lack of common sense and fiscal wisdom of attending a funeral which he could have effortlessly watched on CNN in the comfort of State Lodge in Freetown. But when a leader appears to be in the same league with Emperor Nero; nothing much must be expected of him!
President Bio’s pointless presence at Pope Francis’s funeral, last Saturday in Vatican City, is suggestive of the manner in which he and his ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) have been thoughtlessly spending state resources like drunken sailors. What benefit is his attendance at that Pope’s funeral to the economic well-being of both the state and its citizens? Does his attendance help rebrand Sierra Leone, which is now being regarded in some international circles as a narco-state because of the alleged harbouring of Europe’s most wanted cocaine convict, Jos Leijdekkers or “Bolle Jos” (“Fat Jos” in Dutch)? And did President Bio waste thousands of dollars just to get a photo opportunity with former President Joe Biden of the United States of America (as seen in the photos that are being gleefully shared by the State House Media and Communications Unit both on social media and in traditional media)?
And what is laughably laughable about the State House press release of Friday 25 April 2025 is where it is stated that, “President Bio’s attendance [at Pope Francis’s funeral] underscores his deep personal faith and solidarity with the global Catholic community. This moment holds profound meaning for him, not only as a Catholic but also as a leader who admired [sic] Pope Francis’ moral leadership and compassion worldview….” I will not comment on this (albeit there is always a comment, or some comments, in a no-comment comment) because I’m still laughing out my laughter laughingly. But let me just say that unreasonable people always find unjustifiable reasons to justify their inexcusable excuses!
President Bio has repeatedly shown, by his actions and inactions, that he doesn’t seem connected with, or even concerned about, the suffering or calamities of ordinary Sierra Leoneans. All what that seems to matter to him is which country’s airport his next chartered flight will land to attend one conference or receive an award from a Ponzi organization that will be of no benefit to ordinary Sierra Leoneans. And our Commander-in-Chief appears to be more concerned with the trappings of political power than the welfare and state of mind of ordinary Sierra Leoneans.
So, ordinary Sierra Leoneans should never be surprised if President Bio departs the shores of Sierra Leone to attend an obscure conference, or to deliver a bland public lecture in a little-known university, abroad while the entire Freetown might be up in flames. And the only seemingly difference between President Bio and Emperor Nero is that whilst the latter was known for being good at an instrument (the Lyre); the former is still not known for playing any instrument for leisure! Except that he loves overseas travels even if such travels are undertaken at the expense of Government workers going without salaries!
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