FIRST PICTURES OF DEVASTATION IN KAMAKWIE EMERGE
We’ve seen pictures of what so-called protesters did to the Kamakwie police station on August 10. Just to put things in context, those pictures were published on social media by the government’s strategic communication unit. According to them they were visiting the town for the first time since those extremely serious disturbances.
Many Sierra Leoneans are struggling to understand why ordinary protesters would target a police station in this way. The pictures show a police station set on fire and the officers chased into the bush and killed. Why? All we are hearing is that people protested against the rising cost of living. Why should that translate into the burning of a police station – a facility used to protect everybody, including the so-called protesters? With all of this evidence, all we hear from those who matter in the business of justice and accountability is that there should be dialogue at all levels. We have no problem with this call for talks but why can’t we make some effort to get people to account for the destruction of a public property as important as a police station –the very embodiment of political and civil authority.
Kamakwei was hurriedly declared as headquarter of the new district of Kerena with nothing benefitting the title of district headquarter. Now, even the little infrastructure available has been destroyed in totally mindless violence.
We condemn the loss of civilian lives on August 10. We also vehemently condemn the killing of police officers particularly those who were not involved in responding to the violence on that day -which is not to say we understand any reasoning explaining the killing of those officers sent to stop so-called protesters from killing people and destroying public property. Those officers were on lawful duty and should never have been harmed.
The whole world is now waiting for the report of the Saffa Abdulai Committee that is now looking into August 10. We will be back soon.
THE SMOKING BAN LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING ONLY ON PAPER
When parliament banned smoking in public places recently we celebrated that achievement saying it was long overdue. At the time we also expressed concern that it might be an action by the government to tick boxes and satisfy some international requirement. Several weeks later, we appeared to have settled in our old habits again – the government ran back to the international community to say we have delivered while the people who initially thought their habit was under serious attack have simply re-surfaced to continue smoking in public and shame anti-smoking campaigners.
There has been no massive campaign all over the place to tell people about the new law and to ask ordinary citizens to help the government save the lives of innocent smokers and their friends who also indulge in the habit passively.
1. Why not erect huge billboards all over the place telling people that smoking in public is an unlawful act?
2. Why not require all public transport operators to constantly tell their passengers not to smoke onboard their vehicles? There should be on the spot fines for defaulters in the same way people are fined for failing to put their seat belts on.
3. Why not declare Youyi Building and all other government facilities across the country NON-SMOKING areas?
AT LAST NSA MAKES THE RIGHT CALL
The National Sports Authority which frankly hasn’t done many things correctly since it came into being a few years ago has just done something for which we commend them. We’re trying to find out why it took them more than TWO years and a lot of government money going down the drain to tell our sporting disciplines that to qualify for government money they should first qualify for international tournaments. The idea that just because we have a local organization of some sporting discipline the government should spend money to send delegations to all their activities in every corner of the world is wrong and should NEVER be encouraged.
The NSA press release says as from now on there should be local time trials, supervised by them before athletes are certified to travel and compete on GOSL money. We totally agree and we regret that this decision is coming only now. We may have allowed the horses to bolt before closing the stables.
However, here are some issues to consider:
1. We hope Ken Brima has not done this to target particular sporting disciplines. We also hope this is not one of those pronouncements that are not worth the piece of paper they are written on because they are NEVER implemented.
2. We call on Ken Brima to pay attention to football in particular. At all levels, the bulk of the nation’s money put into sports goes to football. NSA should be able to properly assess the fitness of all our teams before giving them money for international engagements. We have recent results in mind as we say all this. We are beginning to look like the whipping boys of West Africa. Why are we spending so much money on football?
3. There are other sporting disciplines that are in briefcases in the hands of few people. They are set up purely as legitimate means by which to smuggle people into certain countries and to drill money from the pocket of the average taxpayer in this country. Unless an organization is properly registered under rules set by the NSA, they should not receive a penny of public money. They can go ahead and do their normal blackmail on social media but we should care less.
4. By the way, there’s interesting news coming out of the NSA. Watch out for details in subsequent editions.
THE THIRD RETURN OF OUR LOCAL CHAMPION
When pictures appeared on social media of Musa Tombo at an airport in Libya the other day, many Sierra Leoneans said openly that we’ve been here before and the outcome of that latest attempt by Tombo to play professional football abroad will end just like the others. Frankly, there were some people who genuinely believed that this was the day that the Lord had made and Musa would be glad in it. It turned out they were wrong. The skeptics were totally right. By the time you receive your copy of this paper, there’s a very good chance the local champion would have landed at Lungi airport.
The background is that the local champion and his tik tok wife had spent weeks on social media complaining of so-called dirty tricks by his local club and officials of the SLFA that culminated in the striker not being able to sign a contract with a South African club. The local champion had gone on to misbehave on board a national team bus in order to retrieve his passport from officials so he could travel to war-torn Libya. His local club lost patience with their repeat offender of a striker and terminated his contract. Now the way was clear for the local champion to travel abroad as a free man and sign a big deal.
And so it came to pass that Tombo landed in Libya and was even unveiled to the fans in Real Madrid style. A few hours later, news broke that Tombo was returning home because he heard gunshots in Libya. He came on social media and said that himself. Next he blamed his faceless but talkative agent and madam tik tok for his troubles, adding for good measure that if he got hit by stray bullets his wife and agent should be held responsible. Oh boy!
1. How do you travel to any country without at least reading a few lines about that place and especially if you were going there to sign a contract running into years?
2. Why didn’t the agent provide the necessary briefing and assurances that stray bullets would be diverted from all places where Tombo would work from? That talkative agent who is looking for money and money alone should guarantee that.
3. On the day the local champion tells the world of his misery in Libya, madam tik tok appears on our phones dancing. Is that a way of telling our man he was on his own?
4. We know that there are many Sierra Leoneans who wish this guy all the best. They see him as Sierra Leone’s reply to Didier Drogba. He is not. He is just this local guy who likes playing in our mini-leagues in Freetown. That’s all. We should stop pushing him beyond that point.
5. He is coming back just as the COFA league is gathering steam. Already he is under suspension because he apparently signed up with two clubs. We hope he clears that soon so we can see him do what he likes most. Welcome to the Land that we Love.
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