KING MESSI THREATENS “JIHAD” TO END “MUNKU POLITICS”
The Tolongbo convention has ended in their stronghold of Makeni and King Messi who was invited at the LAST MINUTE to chair the event did turn up. There was no complaint about the letter arriving late. We are just reminded about the excuse his office gave when he failed to turn up at the nation’s 60th anniversary event. Anyway, that’s up to those writing the history of King Messi’s reign in the country and his Tolongbo organization.
We are also not going to do anything extensive about his use of the word JIHAD just to describe how he would react if, according to him, any member of Tolongbo decides to disagree with what has been stitched up in Makeni with the help of the High Court. We think using the word JIHAD was a huge mistake that he will regret very soon. There’s a lot to chew on from that congress speech of King Messi but for now let’s deal with his concept of MUNKU POLITICS. King Messi did not define MUNKU POLITICS so let’s try and understand the message he was passing on to more than a thousand delegates in that hall. Let’s go step by step:
1. King Messi invited on stage the leaders of all the factions that have been campaigning for reforms in Tolongbo, particularly targeting a system in which their presidential candidates are handpicked by the party leader just like what King Messi did in 2018 with disastrous consequences.
2. He then told the crowd that all the recent problems in the party – countless court battles, relentless attacks and counter attacks on social media, a kind of civil war in Tolongbo was the handiwork of those he had invited on stage. He blamed everybody but himself.
3. He then warned them not to bring their “MUNKU POLITICS” into the Tolongbo arena because if they did, after this congress he would lead a JIHAD against them. We understand MUNKU to mean an UNCIVILIZED person. So that’s how King Messi sees those people he invited on that stage. It’s an old word that people hardly use these days in Sierra Leone but those who use it at any time actually mean to be condescending.
4. When pictures emerged of senior ministers and politicians in his government sitting on the steps of a house attending the wedding of King Messi’s daughter, before the 2018 elections many people complained about that clear disrespect but the characters involved were happy to play on. As far as we are concerned that was indeed MUNKU politics underpinned by sycophancy. When Emmerson spoke about MUNKU politics in King Messi days he was attacked by agents of the King. So where are we now?
5. Some of those who went to Makeni returned to Freetown feeling very insulted by King Messi. They have ideas as to how to react but they have to look over their shoulders because OSAMA BIN MESSI is ready to take them down in his promised JIHAD.
KING MESSI SAYS HE WANTS TO RETIRE: ARE WE DREAMING?
We are not the only Sierra Leoneans who do not believe that King Messi actually wants to retire from active politics. He told the Makeni conference he wants to go and live as a “statesman”. This is the THIRD time he is saying that in as many years. Why he continues to hold that office is something many in Tolongbo cannot understand. He went on BBC to tell the world that he would retire within months of leaving office. Three years on, he is still telling us he wants to resign and blaming others for playing MUNKU POLITICS in Tolongbo and attempting to destabilize the party.
King Messi knows that this new constitution adopted in Makeni represents the first step towards the ultimate objective of removing his grip on the party because he is now not able to handpick a presidential candidate and his running mate. His next move will be to use his money and influence to install the new leadership. He will then remain in his palace in Makeni pressing buttons within the party to get his way inside Tolongbo headquarters.
RASTA SENGS SAYS TEACHERS MUST STOP BEATING THEIR PUPILS
We don’t know the extent to which school pupils are still being flogged in schools when they go off the rails these days but Rasta Sengs says it must stop now. Opinion on the streets of Freetown as to the wisdom behind this move is mixed. There is a significant group that thinks corporal punishment must remain as a deterrent to bad behavior. In the normal run of things it is our job to reflect what all sides of the debate say and not make our opinion known, but the issue is of such importance that we feel compelled to throw in a word or two.
1. We are not supporters of corporal punishment but we need Rasta Sengs to indicate alternative methods of letting young trouble makers know they had stepped out of line.
2. We have serious concerns about what will become of law and order in our schools. Even with corporal punishment in place, look at what the children are doing all over the place. With that threat now removed, we can only imagine the rest.
3. So what happens if a teacher MISTAKENLY lands some stroke of the cane on the backs of their pupils? There are some teachers who enjoy whipping children around. Would they be sacked or thrown into a prison?
THROWING RUBBISH IN THE STREETS OF FLOODED FREETOWN
When torrential rains lashed Freetown recently many awful things happened – some homes were washed away and properties destroyed, power lines were cut and as we write this a good many ordinary Sierra Leoneans are trying to rebuild while looking over their shoulders to see what the rest of the rainy season holds for this country. We believe climate change is beginning to take a toll on Sierra Leone and there is a long struggle ahead.
Even in the early stages of operation, the National Disaster Management Agency is showing signs that it is ready to lead this struggle against all what adverse weather will throw at us. They need all the support from the government and international bodies that can help.
However, one of the most disgusting things we saw on that day was a widely shared social media video of a man pouring a huge amount of domestic rubbish on a flooded street. It was really disgusting. As part of what the Roads Authority calls FLOOD MITIGATION plans, we recently saw their contractors, supervised by soldiers clearing the drainage system in Freetown to make it easy for the heavy rains of this time of the year to flow freely. Surely, all the Sierra Leoneans who watched that video were appalled at how some of our people behave. It’s not as if the guy was caught in the rain, he actually brought the rubbish out of wherever and spent a good few minutes doing the awful deed.
We think the authorities should arrest him. We can’t continue to waste our taxes paying for people to clear the drainage to prevent floods while others knowingly take us back. We’ve done our own bit to make this a point to note, let the authorities now do their own bit. He is not the only one to have done that on that day but we have to start somewhere and with somebody.
Copyright © Politico Online (20/09/21)
