TOLONGBO CONVENTION IN THE KINGDOM OF DE PA
The Tolongbo faithful are gathering in their stronghold of Makeni, in Bombali district for a conference to deal with constitutional matters and such other issues too complex to attempt to explain on the pages of a newspaper. We can wish them well and hope that they will peacefully conclude their congress. We must however hope that threats of last minute court actions that could once again derail their congress remain mere threats. Otherwise we could have another Portloko situation where Tolongbo ended up holding what they described as a PRESS CONFERENCE because an 11th hour court injunction ruined everything.
In the last 48 hours we have read a statement from the SLP laying down a number of restrictions around the congress. The SLP say Tolongbo agrees with those restrictions and we have no reason to doubt that because several hours after the document circulated on social media, the normally temperamental Tolongbo scribe has not issued a counter statement.
We’ll see how those measures would be implemented on the ground in Makeni. We are amazed at the extent to which Tolongbo is now going to protect itself against itself. The police statement says there should be no banners or T-shirts declaring support for any of the twenty or so people vying to replace King Messi as leader of Tolongbo. That reminds us of the congress in the same Makeni where King Messi anointed the leader and deputy leader of Tolongbo. They went on to lose the election in 2018. King Messi decreed that all leadership hopefuls MUST assemble at Wusum Stadium and be driven in a bus to the hall. He also decreed that only his own banners should be displayed throughout Makeni. So we are back to the 2018 standards.
We call on the SLP to be as professional as possible and not play into the hands of people who would provoke them into doing something out of the way. This congress is a serious affair and in the spirit of democracy we want to see a fair outcome. Long Live Sierra Leone.
ONLINE VOTING AT IPAM: WILL THAT END VIOLENCE?
From what we have seen so far the promised online voting in the coming Student Union election at IPAM is not a bad idea. We believe it will make things easy for all those students who are to vote to be able to do so without being molested by their own colleagues. Online voting should make it impossible to end up with those kinds of ridiculous voter turnout figures we saw recently at FBC. A winner did emerge at the end of the day but questions are still being asked as to why so few people voted in an election that promised so much.
The next thing we are likely to encounter will be complaints about the accessing the technology or even getting money to pay for data. We should simply ignore all that from particularly the losing because election or not, the students are always online on whatsApp, Instagram and the other platforms chatting away and posting pictures.
1. Now there will be no argument about the register of voters because only those that have registered will be able to access the portal and vote.
2. The voting should take place over a period of say a week. We don’t want people complaining that the internet was down in their area on voting day. In fact voting can take place at any time of the day from anywhere in this country.
3. We will also not hear complaints of administrative interference in Student Union elections. People now have to campaign and win votes. There will be no excuse about political connections.
4. We will encourage Sovula not to deploy any police officer in that place so we don’t end up with accusations of police brutality. The process will be monitored and the results can be verifiably monitored.
5. We want the authorities at USL to do the same for all elections in their constituent colleges. Those who make money or a name for themselves by instigating or being violent at Student Union elections should go look for something else to do.
ACC SCORPIONS AND ROGUE SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS
Once again we thank the ACC and their allies for successfully tracking down and arresting those Sierra Leoneans who have made it their business to destroy the future leaders of this country. Principal is busy pushing his Human Capital Development agenda but our own people are also determined to derail that process because they want to put money in their pockets.
When ACC paraded some of the rogue teachers near the Cotton Tree some time ago, all manner of so-called civil society groups suddenly emerged from their holes with press statements shouting human rights and presumption of innocence. We now have to wonder why several days after the latest arrests our civil society groups have not found it necessary to speak out in support of the ACC and urge them to bring the matter to court right now.
We know all the human rights literature and we know why we have them but as Sierra Leoneans we support some shock and awe tactics at times to send out a powerful message that we care about the future of this country. How do we know that the backlash against the ACC did not encourage the new nation wreckers to step up?
The most ridiculous argument we read somewhere was one that accused the ACC of only chasing teachers while politicians stole the nation’s money. We are interested to know where that person has been all this while. Up with ACC!
DESTROYING ENEMIES OF PROGRESS IN LUNGI
In the end it wasn’t a surprise to many Sierra Leoneans who saw pictures of people in Lungi, a town just across the river from Freetown invoking mystical powers to end unbridled criminality in their community.
Our information is that despite the improvement in the supply of electricity in that part of the country, particularly with the use of a mix of solar and thermal power, the people of Lungi have not been able to enjoy the facility because criminals are stealing cables, damaging transformers and taking away solar batteries despite the efforts of Sovula’s men. We have actually seen a few of those arrested and thrown into prison but it would appear as if the young guys in that place believe stealing EDSA facilities is more profitable than farming or dragging fish out of the sea in their backyard.
The traditional authorities have now launched their local nuclear weapons and from what we have been told since those pictures emerged, the consequences could be as bad as firing a cruise missile at Abacha Street market in broad daylight. In fact it’s even worse because we are told that even the family members of the criminals will be within range whether they live in Lungi or America. Isn’t that very serious? One of our sources told us that such traditional nuclear weapon is never launched without the permission of the local authorities because of the devastating consequences it could have for the community. So now, let’s see what happens to Lungi going forward:
1. It is possible the criminals will simply ignore these traditionalists and continue with their thing. The criminals would conclude that Stone Age actions like have no power in the 21st century criminal underworld.
2. Sovula’s men should now make those traditional people an integral part of their fight against criminal behavior in that part of the country. Why not? The Sovula boys failed to protect even the solar light just a few yards from their station. In fact the criminals stole things from even the military garrison in Lungi.
3. If the traditional authorities succeed they should open up a big cemetery to accommodate the new people moving in soon with their families. Let’s be prepared for some surprises.
4. In fact EDSA should encourage communities up and down this country to do the same thing because Sovula has failed to protect such vital national assets.
5. We don’t have legs to stand on and criticize the people of Lungi about the use of such traditional tactics even when it makes us look so backward. The truth is Sovula has failed to deal with such small time criminals so let the people do what they think works for their community.
Copyright © Politico Online (17/09/21)
