BLACK LIVES MATTER PROTESTS TAKING PLACE AROUND THE WORLD
For fourteen straight days people in the US have been protesting the killing of a black man, George Floyd by a white police officer after arresting and handcuffing him for alleged forgery in Minneapolis. The rest of the world has joined in using this event as an opportunity to urge leaders to do something decisive about racial inequality in the US and around the world. The violence and looting that characterized the first few days of the protests have given way to something much more peaceful, concentrated on driving home the message that indeed “BLACK LIVES MATTER.”
We still can’t come to terms with the way that police officer now charged with second degree murder killed Floyd. The black man was already handcuffed and further restrained by other officers so why did that officer believe he needed to press his knee against Floyd’s neck for EIGHT MINUTES to subdue him? The officer maintained that position even as Floyd continued shouting “I CAN’T BREATHE.” The other police officers either helped the killer restrain Floyd or simply stood by watching murder being committed in broad daylight and in full view of passersby.
We have a humble request to make to the judicial officers in Minnesota: we respectfully ask that the trial of this killer and his accomplices be broadcast live on TV so we can religiously follow proceedings like the OJ Simpson and Michael Jackson trials. We don’t know what the law is in that state but we plead with the authorities there to make this possible.
The killer officer has been put on bail on a bond valued at just over ONE MILLION DOLLARS. That’s a good start but here’s our question for the killer and his defence team: At what point does a knee press on the neck to restrain someone actually become a press to kill? We think that even if knee press was an approved tactic to restrain somebody being arrested, maintaining that position after 45 seconds conveys an intention to kill.
ABANDONED TRUCK AT HILL STATION IS A DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN
We really can’t understand why after FOUR days the police and the SLRSA have still not removed a very dangerous truck that broke down in the middle of the road at Hill Station driving towards Regent and out to Grafton. The vehicle has no registration number and there is no triangular reflector to warn approaching vehicles about the danger ahead. We will hold the police and SLRSA personally responsible for lives that could be lost in that place. This negligence is beginning to look very criminal.
We have seen police and SLRSA vehicles lifting cars parked in prohibited areas in central Freetown on a daily basis and we know how much people pay to retrieve their vehicles. So why have they abandoned that potential killer in the middle of that busy highway for the last FOUR days?
We are sounding a warning here because should any lives be lost there, we will be urging the good people of Sierra Leone not to accept any technical explanation of what happened. It will be down to pure criminal negligence for which the two institutions will be held responsible.
Against this background we want to serve notice that when we begin our road safety campaign before the end of this year, we will focus a lot of attention on how vehicles that are clearly NOT ROADWORTHY are licensed by the SLRSA and sent to our streets to kill people. The particular truck in question has no business on our roads. We will be very surprised if it is not on the road illegally right now.
WHY IS SENIOR PREFECT STILL EXPLAINING HIS ROLE IN GOVERNMENT?
Those who’ve been reading newspapers recently should have noticed something about Senior Prefect. There is a small scale media campaign going on around him. It’s possibly aimed at either telling us that without our dear Senior Prefect there will be no New Direction (does anybody believe that?) or that we should read between the lines and notice that things are not looking good as before for the Senior Prefect, therefore Principal in particular should be reminded of who his friend from Sugar Candy Mountain really is.
Frankly, this country is full of rumors and we’ve heard a lot about Senior Prefect and the next chapter in his political career especially after making his way to the top of Kamboi Hills. We were in parliament when he told the world he wasn’t a politician. Yes, we remember that. Those were the early days of the New Direction and there was a huge swag around the Senior Prefect. So great it was that even the MPs did not ask in a serious way how Senior Prefect could be coming up for a job like that and yet be that bold to tell them he wasn’t a politician. Anyway, that was then.
Since then Principal’s man has had big arguments with the media and quietly some Junior Prefects are drip-feeding the media about Senior Prefect’s style of doing things and his attempt to look too far ahead of himself, in terms of the politics of Sierra Leone. It’s either he is too concerned about his place in history or he is looking to succeed Principal. We shall see!
SALONE PREMIER LEAGUE CAN RESUME WITHOUT DIFFICULTY
European Leagues are resuming one after the other. The games are being played in empty stadiums as part of the fight against coronavirus. A football match without fans creating the atmosphere is complete rubbish but at least something is being done out there to complete their leagues and prepare for the next season in August, by which time the world is supposed to be in a better place dealing with this dreaded virus.
So what are we doing in Sierra Leone? Our league was called off in the same manner as those in Europe. In fact we continued to play for weeks before our index coronavirus case showed up and our country was locked down. We recently called for the queen of SLFA to kill off this season and hand the trophy to Bo Rangers with no relegations. That has not been done because obviously the queen thinks our suggestion is mad. On our part, we know she needs the current stalemate. How dare this paper ask her to end the league? Well sorry madam we are only doing our job. We would have made the same suggestion if FC Johansen were leading. We know that if that were the case, we would have been hailed as the best newspaper in Africa by the queen’s bootlickers.
Anyway, today we want to move away from our earlier suggestion and now call on the Premier League Board to restart the league immediately. Here’s how:
1. All matches will be played at the national stadium. Even matches involving provincial teams will all be played in Freetown. The SLFA will pay for their travel and maintenance in Freetown.
2. The SLFA can use some of the money that FIFA deposited into their accounts recently or they could go and ask JJ Blood for more of our tax Leones.
3. All TWENTY-ONE stands will be occupied by only the number of people required to maintain accepted standards of social distancing. In fact, not many people will turn up anyway to watch some of the teams play. We are talking about the worst performing ones like Central Parade and Freetown City Council FC and even some of those who win but have no swag in their play. In this case we reference Ports Authority.
4. Just so that people don’t pack themselves into the covered stands, the corporate world would provide umbrellas to each person entering the stands. They can brand it as much as they like as long as people shelter from the rain. Spectators would drop the umbrellas with marshals as they leave the stadium so they can be used for subsequent games.
5. At the end of matches, all the gates will be opened wide enough to make it possible for people to leave without having to fight their way out. The gate opposite stand 17 that has been locked for decades should also be opened. So now, let the game play. Hope the SLFA will find this latest suggestion useful.
The truth is the queen will surely dismiss this again. By the way, when is the SLFA elective congress holding? We shall return to that.
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