BLACK AFRICANS REALLY MATTER IN TUNISIA
We called attention to what was happening in Tunisia several weeks ago and one of our avid readers asked us why we were so concerned about events thousands of kilometers away. The reader asked us to concentrate on issues back home and allow Tunisians to enjoy the system they allowed to exist in their country. It’s not easy to ignore things because they are happening in other countries. We know that like objects in the mirror, things are almost always closer than they appear.
The president of Tunisia has attacked all the democratic institutions in his country – parliament, the judiciary, civil society institutions, and the media. KAIS SAIED has thrown his critics in jail, forced to go underground in the country or in exile. He is now the god of Tunisia. The world has been watching this drama unfold. Frankly, there’s not much outsiders can do but condemn. Anyway, even the condemnation is so weak that the guy thinks he is being encouraged to do all he likes to consolidate his power.
The other day, he gave a speech in which he suggested that BLACK Africans in his country are part of a plot to change the ethnic makeup of his country. In other words, countries in this continent were trying to change the population dynamics in his country by moving BLACK AFRICANS out there. The result is that ordinary black people in that country are now hiding in their home for fear of being killed. Many black Africans have been arrested and detained, including those on Tunisian government scholarships. All that African Union is doing is to continuously condemn the action.
We believe there are tougher actions the African Union can take to convince this dictator that we will not tolerate the killing of our people in Tunisia. That country should be suspended immediately from all African institutions – from the political to the sporting arena. The AU should not wait for more of our people to be buried in the sand or brought home in body bags before they start having meetings here and there.
IS A NEW SEASON OF VANDALIZING EDSA FACILITIES OPENING SOON?
Whether or not we want to talk about this doesn’t really matter. What matters is that the people of Freetown rural and urban areas should be prepared to protect EDSA installations in their communities because somehow we believe the stealing and sabotaging of those facilities would start soon.
Alhaji Kanja Sesay has just had FIVE rough years dealing with such matters and he should clearly understand where we are coming from. There were common criminals involved but we have to repeat that some of the sabotage in Freetown was absolutely driven by politics. We say there was a political motive because those driving that agenda knew that with massive improvement in electricity it was easy for the New Direction to go to the people and remind them that they’ve never had it so good. As the election result in the Western Area indicates, the ruling party benefited from such improvements.
We have no idea how things will end up at the Energy ministry in terms of what leadership would emerge. What we know is that people are no longer going to accept excuses all over the place. The people want EDSA to take concrete action to stop thieves and political saboteurs running rings around them while stealing our properties.
FCC OR NOT LET’S FIGHT RUBBISH THROWING ON OUR STREETS
Many Sierra Leoneans generally don’t like to be told what to do. They obey public order regulations only for a few days, especially in the early days of certain regulations being put in place but they soon return to their old ways and settle down with ease. It is also the case that even law enforcement agencies behave that way.
So people in Freetown in particular, would openly make the point that they obey regulations only in the first week or so of it coming into force.
We know however that using seat belts has been very well respected since the police asked everybody to do it or be fined some good money. Frankly, nobody should be reminded about the safety questions around using seat belts on the roads but the practice was almost a taboo in Sierra Leone. The few people who insisted on putting it on were seen as fussy or too much into Western orientation. Now, even the taxi drivers – known for their general lawlessness enforce the wearing of seat belts. And that’s a really good thing.
The next step is for the police to get public transport drivers to help stop this disgusting practice of people throwing trash on the streets from inside public transport vehicles mainly. It is not impossible. A good amount of the trash picked up from streets is dumped there because some commuters believe throwing rubbish on the road is part of life in a city. This small group sadly includes our brothers and sisters from abroad. They will not dare do that in London, Washington or Paris but for them anything goes in Sierra Leone.
This job is not just for the police but we urge them to take the lead once again. Good luck guys.
THE GLAZERS SHOULD STEP FORWARD AND CALL THINGS OFF
At this point we have to feel sorry for the fans of one of the greatest football clubs of our time – Manchester United. Since their iconic manager Sir Alex Fergusson left, the club has struggled to win anything big or to even hold their ground against those we know as small clubs in the Premiership. Their new Dutch manager has made some gains but Manchester United is looking like a pale shadow of its former self.
To make things even more difficult, the American owners of the clubs are busy treating the club and its millions of fans around the world with disrespect. More than SEVEN months ago the GLAZERS put the club up for sale. After more than FIVE bid rounds, only two people are interested – a rich British guy and a Qatari Sheik, the latter has put all the money the Glazers asked for, SIX BILLION US DOLLARS plus more but the Glazers have suddenly gone quiet while the media enjoy a field day with speculative stories about where the club is going from here.
The uncertainty around Manchester United is affecting the spirit of the players, officials and supporters and in preparations for next season, their ambitions in the transfer market would suffer because big players would think twice before talking about turning up at Old Trafford.
The Glazers should simply tell the world they’ve changed their minds about a whole scale or part sale of Manchester United and end the speculation. We however think that they have lost the respect of the fans and should leave. They should never allow their fans to continue to bring those street protests into the main bowl of Old Trafford every weekend.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (10/07/23)
