VIOLENT PROTESTS ARE NOT GOOD AT ALL
Those that are constantly calling for protests in Freetown in particular are busy telling the world that they are doing so in the name of democracy. They say it’s their democratic right to do so. We have counter arguments to make but that is not where we want to go at this time. All we want to do now is to call their attention to a few issues. We know we will be ignored because it’s very likely other people have said the same to them. In other words we are not saying anything new.
1. We know how people in the great democracies where the main instigators live and enjoy the good life go about protesting against certain government decisions. We see them on TV frequently. They carry placards and are generally always well behaved.
2. In Sierra Leone even the language used by those instigating the protests can be so rude and violent that those taking to the streets are left with no choice but to be violent. They openly attack ordinary people going about their normal business and burn down commuter vehicles. Is that what these people call democratic rights?
3. How come the organizers are so averse to meeting the police to properly organize these protests? During the elections political parties held rallies all over Freetown without significantly affecting other activities in this small city. Why can’t the same method be used for the kind of rallies these people want to organize?
4. Rolling protests are very bad for a country like Sierra Leone where many people go out on a daily basis to look for food. It’s really insensitive to ask them to jump on the streets to protest daily.
5. By the way, where is all this taking us to? We wonder if that small segment of the Sierra Leonean diaspora has not succeeded in giving us a very bad name as the worst people on social media. It’s always insults, threats of violence and murder, arson and all that. After many years of war, Ebola and Covid 19, this country desperately needs some rest. We are not suggesting that all is well, we are saying there far are less painful ways of turning things around.
WOEFUL LEONE STARS DISAPPOINT AGAIN
There are very few Sierra Leoneans who watch our national football team play these days with any hope of winning. We watch because we have to support our country. It’s the only country we have and in the true Sierra Leone spirit we always leave cinema halls complaining about poor referring or atrocious decision-making by our technical staff. From time to time we complain about the unbelievably poor performance of the players. In other words we are always complaining because we are not winning anything despite all the investment we are making.
So we are now at the end of an era in the national team. Coach John Keister was told before he even selected his players for that horror show in Bissau that his contract would not be renewed. That means he should have compiled his handing over notes to pass on to his successor. One particular name is being thrown all over social media in an attempt to force the hand of the government and the SLFA. On this side we are waiting for an announcement to be made. In the meantime we make these general comments for those who matter in this business to consider.
1. The whole technical staff that worked with Keister should be sacked. Any attempt to keep some of them in their posts would completely undermine whatever new beginning we are being promised.
2. Keister has been a loyal servant of this nation. He wasn’t perfect at all and we have not always agreed with his decision-making but he was a professional guy with the right temperament to handle a national team. Keister respects people. We believe he has a future in Sierra Leone football and we should further invest in building up his knowledge base.
3. Apart from FOUR players, our national team is stuffed with players with very little skills playing in nondescript leagues around the world. They are better off playing in our local league but the easiest route to our national team is to just leave our shores and get some social media hacks to constantly post your picture and put pressure on the team manager back home.
4. We need a non-Sierra Leonean coach to lead the kind of rebuilding process we envisage. The name we are being bombarded with now is not capable of doing that. He may get the job in the end but we will be happy to tell the SLFA months down the line that WE TOLD YOU SO.
WHO IS RUNNING THE MAMBO WATERFALLS ATTRACTION?
We visited this nice place the other day just to get away from all the noise of the city center and to relax. Sometimes it’s just great to move out. Mambo Waterfalls is a good place to hang out and have no hesitation to recommend that place to those that have not visited. We spent about two hours at the place and we observed certain two main things that we want to bring to the attention of those that are concerned.
1. We had no problem paying to gain access to the place. We do that all the time at one or two of our beaches but we didn’t like the chaotic nature of how the money is collected and the way those who collect the cask relate with visitors. They definitely need some training. From the look of things they make some good cash in that place but when we looked at the ticket there was no sign that the NRA had anything to do with that business.
2. That place needs some cleaning and organization. We don’t want to push into details but we just believe that the place can be constantly cleaned up and let there be somebody to talk to visitors about what’s going on there. Those who can read should read this.
On our way back we observed that the guy who collected the money from us was gone and the place was free for all. It’s almost as if he came there to get enough money to feed his family for the day. Anyway, long live Mambo Waterfalls.
WYSE AND LIGHT OUT OF AYV BUT IS THAT THE END OF THE STORY?
AYV only delayed the action against their star presenter but it was always that Sam Wyse Bangura was never going to survive the social media frenzy that followed his report about thieves attacking and stealing a huge amount of money from him. That’s just the plain fact. AYV acted more to protect their brand than anything else. The other day Manchester United was blackmailed into taking Greenwood out of their club even when the case against him was dropped because the prosecutors knew that they had no chance of winning in a court. We have no problem with organization’s protecting their brand name but we believe that in this Wyse drama, this is certainly not the last word.
AYV did not explore or even deny that Wyse was doing INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM, they only told us they didn’t sanction that INVESTIGATION. Are they telling us they always sanction all their reporters do in our communities? Have they now acted against Wyse because of his trial and conviction on social media?
In the next episode of this story, AVY will face the same situation Manchester United is now dealing with regarding Anthony. Some more videos are coming, showing their personnel doing things obviously unauthorized by them. See you soon guys!
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