CHIEF SIDIKIE OF C4APC DEFINES TERRORISM ON VOA
Chief Sidikie was on Voice of America radio early this week talking about an incident involving him and his supporters on one side and the Sierra Leone Police in the northern town of Port Loko on the other. The police admitted firing teargas to disperse the crowd that they believe was a bit threatening to the peace of the place and the chief himself. In that interview Chief Sidikie of C4APC called the action of the police TERRORISM. Now this is looking like the Chief has just stretched the meaning of this concept to breaking point.
Let’s get this point out of the way from the outset. We don’t like teargas being fired at any anybody in this country especially when they undertake their business quietly without disturbing the peace of their neighbours or flouting any of our laws. But equally so we become very worried when people knowingly flout the laws and then run to social media to play victim on being challenged.
As with every other case in which the police are accused of behaving unprofessionally, we respectfully ask the highly credible Independent Police Complaints Board to impartially investigate and let the chips fall where they may. Whether Chief Sidikie’s allegations were reported to them or not let them investigate.
So while we wait for that let’s see how far Chief Sidikie has stretched the meaning of the concept of TERRORISM. When the VOA presenter pressed Chief Sidikie on whether what he said happened to him was really TERRORISM, he replied by saying, among other things that “well they terrorized me.”
Dear Chief Sidikie we have a few questions for you. These are questions you can answer easily because you were the head of the police council when these incidents occurred and should know about them.
1. By the time you were sacked by King Messi the police had shot and killed FIFTEEN ordinary people across the country during peaceful demonstrations, was that terrorism?
2. When opposition broadcasters were attacked in their office by your party supporters and you sent in the police who beat them up and arrested some of them and you subsequently closed their radio station, was that terrorism?
3. When you were told by the then ruling party from which you had been expelled, not to drive through the east end of Freetown and your convoy was forcefully diverted through Regent when you returned home to register to vote, was that terrorism?
4. When you told the media you couldn’t travel to your home district to register because of some violent plot against you on the way and you registered to vote in Freetown instead, was that terrorism?
5. When you ordered hundreds of people, including Paramount Chiefs to sit on the floor for you to address them, threatening them with fire and brimstone, was that terrorism?
6. When you woke up one morning to the sounds of an army general disarming your guards and taking them away, was that terrorism?
7. When a boulder from nowhere entered your bedroom in that your hillside palace, was that terrorism or act of God?
8. Do you remember when some politicians came to your palace at night like Nicodemus and asked you to resign under pressure from King Messi and his media infrastructure and you agreed to but changed your mind by dawn, was that terrorism? Surely we will be absolutely correct to call that structural terrorism. What do you think sir?
All these things happened on your watch not too long ago. They say the newspaper is the first draft of history. We are simply preparing that draft.
WHAT’S THE NAME OF THE NEW LUMLEY-JUBA LINK ROAD?
The Principal is beginning to look like King Messi all over again. We say so because despite King Messi’s overwhelming focus on INFRASTRUCTURE for almost eleven years, here we are again with Principal even appointing an infrastructure Czar to be close to his office while the Prince of Koinadugu runs the ministry at New England. The second Juba Bridge or Sengbeh Pieh Bridge is completed and it’s been a real blessing despite all the noise over the name. The as now we found all of that noise-making pointless because both Sengbeh Pieh and Wallace Johnson are worthy Sierra Leoneans who deserve to be honored.
Here comes another issue: what’s the name of the other new road linking Lumley Beach with Cassava Farm, near Juba barracks? If Principal has not thought about this yet he should start doing so now. We have a few suggestions to make.
1. Alhaji Tejan Kabbah road is a good one. He was a long-term resident of Juba and a worthy citizen who wasn’t that obsessed with his place in history like others who named every school, university or open space after themselves.
2. Pa Sande road. Pa Sande was the original name of what we now know as Lumley. We should keep that name alive.
3. Major Marah or Pa Marco road should also be acceptable. This soldier spent all his life working at Juba and retired at Lumley. No fewer than FIVE of his children played football with the national team, Leone Stars. Why not?
4. Lumley by-pass road. That’s what it really is.
5. Principal should simple open the road and leave. That way he will avoid distraction from people who complain about everything but do nothing.
BANNING PLASTIC BAGS NOW MAKES A LOT OF SENSE
The whole world is taking action to limit to use of plastic bags and single-use plastic bottles because of the damage they cause to marine life and our environment in general but Sierra Leone is not taking notice. Or we are pretending not to have heard the worldwide cry. We live in a country where only heavy political issues get people going like rogue MPs losing their parliamentary seats or going to the ECOWAS parliament which is tied to the certainty of getting huge per diem.
Our Mayor of the SUN who likes talking about Flood Mitigation measures like clearing gutters of huge mounds of debris to make way for the heavy deluge in July and August is not talking about this plastic ban at all. We know that as a great lover of social media, she makes symbolic appearances at cleaning sites with TV cameras in tow but how come she hasn’t noticed that all our drainage are blocked by plastic water sachets and single-use plastic bottles? Those who sell water and soft drinks in plastic containers have no respect for our environment. We don’t even know if any Environmental Impact Assessment study was done before they received their operational licenses. If so then is anybody monitoring that?
Frankly we can’t continue like this. We need to see a plan that will get us out of this waste plastic trap now. Let’s fight this menace together with other people on this planet.
WHERE IS KAMARAINBA THESE DAYS?
We have missed this guy on the political landscape recently. With the death of SALONE TRUMP, the nation is now left with Kamarainba who promised to rebuild our health care system and make it world class within two weeks of winning the last presidential election. Even if Trump decided to pump all the money from the US treasury and deploy the best companies to that effort, they will not complete it in two years given the low base from which are trying to emerge.
The other day we spent about one hour listening to some of Kamarainba’s interviews from the day his APC subscription was rejected to the release of the results of the last general and presidential elections – very interesting stuff guys. Our job in the last month or so has been to compile the contradictions and use that to argue our point about what is wrong with Sierra Leone politics. We are also looking at other politicians, not just Kamarainba. But he was the guy who came here from great USA and vowed to uproot the two-party system that has been so dominant in Sierra Leone and never to join any of them. Now he is beginning to backtrack.
Anyway we need Kamarainba to get in touch with us on the following issues before we conclude our work.
1. Is that TASER case still taking place in Kailahun? If yes, is your defence team still the same? If the case is dead, please tell us whether it died with the removal of the Red Camp.
2. The last time we saw you, you were inspecting an unfinished building in a small corner of Bo just off the main road to Gondama. Is that where you live now or you are building a retirement home?
3. Are you on speaking terms with your running mate in the last election? We hear she is doing a good job in the North-west.
4. State House is promising ‘more appointments soon’ are you considering working with the Green Camp? There’s no shame in that. After two editions people like us in the media will get off your back. Life in the opposition can be tough.
5. Are you back in the US to work on the Trump campaign? He may soon join you in the opposition.
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