BURKINA FASO IS BOILING: WEST AFRICA MUST TAKE NOTICE
The home of Captain Thomas Sankara is being slowly torn apart by what the western media call “Islamist” violence. Burkina Faso has just completed a few days of mourning following the killing of many civilians and soldiers in coordinated attacks. We are dealing with this issue because of the role the country’s maverick former leader, Blaise Compaore played in the civil war that killed many in Sierra Leone.
Charles Taylor is sitting in a British jail right now for war crimes committed here. Available evidence is clear that Compaore was just as wicked to this country – helping with arms supplies and possibly even fighters. He is now in exile in Ivory Coast while plans proceed very well to bring him before the International Criminal Court.
In the immediate term though the whole of West Africa should pay attention to what is happening in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso for the following reasons:
1. What is happening now in those three countries and indeed the Boko Haram thing in parts of northern Nigeria could spread to other countries in West Africa if it is not contained now.
2. In some countries there may well be operatives on the ground building up the cells, training people while waiting for the opportunity to strike. There should be no such opportunity.
3. West Africa has a history of armed conflicts and just when many thought the conflicts of the 1990s were gone, see what we have on our hands again. We should act now and not allow the rebels roaming our region to exploit local grievances in furtherance of a political objective.
4. Ivory Coast should let Compaore fact justice. He is responsible for much of the war going on now. He it was who moved arms and men in this region to destabilize countries and force a regime change. Now the chickens have come home to roost.
5. We should NEVER send any Sierra Leonean troops to Burkina Faso for peacekeeping. Compaore is gone but we have not forgotten what he did to Sierra Leone.
GREEN BOYS TAKE DOWN CAMPAIGN BANNERS FROM PARTY OFFICE
So while the big boys were out in the countryside enjoying their holiday, the young men at Green Party office became so hungry and bored that they decided to pull down campaign posters of all candidates for party positions in the coming party conference. The only one they spared was that of Principal’s.
We understand that some of the boys wanted to send a clear message that the march to State House started at Green House headquarters so the big guys MUST always remember where life in governance started. It didn’t start in South and South East London or in Bradford.
What the boys did can be easily described as extreme but they are now used to big guys going there all the time to give out free food and some cash. When it’s Ramadan the whole thing becomes a kind of competition among the big men who are always accompanied by their social media journalists to sing their praises.
We call on the big guys in the Green Movement not to pretend as if the boys at their party headquarters are irrelevant. They are not!
BRAZILIAN HAIR EXTENSIONS NOW ATTRACT 5 0 BOYS
Brazilian hair extensions are expensive but very popular among high end fashion ladies in Sierra Leone. But going by recent developments, particularly during the last festive period, criminals are beginning to get attracted to ladies with such hair extensions not because they make them even more beautiful but because a trade in secondhand hair extensions is beginning to boom in Freetown in particular.
The thing is that nobody can deny that things are difficult for many people. Things have always been like this since the war ended but what amazes us is the extent to which some people in Freetown in particular are going to make ends meet. How can anybody explain the fact that ladies with Brazilian hair extensions are ambushed in street corners and the Brazilian hair extensions removed and resold? What does a secondhand hair extension cost? Why should anybody risk a sound beating or jail or even lynching when caught doing such a thing?
From our side we have been trying to understand why this kind of criminal act is suddenly hitting the headlines and we’ve found the following interesting clues:
1. Brazilian hair extensions are outrageously expensive in Sierra Leonean terms so naturally criminals are going to be interested. Also because more often than not the women make too much of a big show of it to distinguish themselves from their less fortunate colleagues the criminals easily spot the difference and target them.
2. To say the truth the demand for Brazilian hair extensions has become too oppressive now on young guys in Freetown in particular. Two of such demands even in three months are almost certain to dent the house hold income. So it probably makes sense for a young man to buy one for a girl and cause a FIVE O boy to steal the same hair for the man to honor another demand for Brazilian hair. Isn’t that a possibility?
3. It could well be that the FIVE O boys will soon open their night market just to sell Brazilian hair. So ladies who lose their hair to thieves should simply wait for that market to open so they can catch the thieves.
4. Ladies should weave the Brazilian hair into their natural hair so tightly that the only way a FIVE O will steal it will be by pinning them down and shaving it off carefully. That’s not easy to pull off.
5. Frankly, our ladies should simply stop the Brazilian hair thing and do the natural braid.
REMOVE ALL CHRISTMAS TREES NOW PLEASE
We are kindly asking all those public institutions still keeping Christmas Trees in the business area of their offices to please remove them immediately. We saw huge Christmas Trees in at least two banks and an Airline office. Please move those expensive Christmas decorations into a store and keep them there for the next ten months. Please don’t ask why this should concern a newspaper because we are your customers. That’s the principal reason. Here are a few more reasons:
1. We don’t want to be reminded of the financial damage we’ve done to ourselves over the last month or so and the pain we are taking now in January.
2. Christmas trees are really for high class people. Those of us who scrape our daily bread from the streets are somehow offended by something like a Christmas tree. The cost of that tree is a week’s meal in many homes.
3. Did the governing boards in those offices actually approve the purchase of Christmas trees? What did the MDs tell those board members? Did they say, for example, that the intention is to put their customers in the Christmas mood? Sorry to say it didn’t work with many customers.
4. Did those institutions feed the poor and hungry on Christmas Day? That would have been a most worthy thing to do. It’s easy for society to ignore the poor and weak but once in a while big institutions like those under scrutiny right now should open up to tell people they are not just there to collect money.
5. Please don’t include the cost of a Christmas Tree in your budget for 2020. We have already asked you to keep what you bought in 2019 to be used this year. Good luck!
Copyright © 2020 Politico Online
