PRINCIPAL FLIES TO RUSSIA TO MEET VLADIMIR PUTIN
So about 40 Presidents, Kings, Queens and Emperors from our continent are meeting Vladimir Putin in Sochi, Russia to discuss cooperation in the energy sector. This should be an interesting summit for Sierra Leone because the Russians are virtually absent in this country. Their absence goes back since the last Russian helicopter pilots working for the UN peacekeeping mission left this country all those years ago. There is no Russian embassy here, no cultural center, negligible amount of scholarships for our students and no Russian tourists visiting good old Sierra Leone. So why have we been invited to me Putin?
We’ve spent the last twenty-four hours trying to understand how connected we were with Putin’s Russia to be invited to this summit. The only thing we could lay finger on is that fact that we have an embassy in Russia and our ambassador probably lobbied for us to be included. That’s not bad at all. In fact, we ask Principal to keep ambassador Yongawo in post for five years. He is a great diplomat. How about that?
We call on Principal to note our concerns about the following issues and we plead with him not to ignore us. The people of Sierra Leone take these issues seriously.
1. We don’t want to wake up one to find Russian troops stationed on Bonthe Island. It is very possible because they did it in Crimea. They like taking territory from other countries.
2. Switching of positions between President and Prime Minister is something we are allergic to down here. The very thought of it causes uneasiness and skin-itching throughout Sierra Leone. Please we want no such lessons from the Ex-KGB man and don’t want to be supplied with Russian military hardware. We have too much debt from the King Messi-era debt to service
3. We want Principal to please bring home some LADA cars. We need to replace this aging fleet of gas guzzling PRADOS King Messi bought in Dubai for our ministers. Also, our ministers would look very modest – a definite vote winner.
4. Principal should not forget to meet the few Sierra Leoneans in that country who have to deal with naked racism on the streets of Russian cities on a daily basis.
5. We don’t know what Russian food looks like but we hope Principal took along some Sierra Leonean stuff with him.
COFA HAS FAILED AND SHOULD BE BANNED FROM YOUTH FOOTBALL
In terms of identifying, developing and promoting talented young footballers for this country, the Central One Football Association, COFA has failed. They’ve failed spectacularly. In Monday’s edition of this column we called on the authorities to act decisively against COFA because they have strayed from their stated aim and are now looking for money, money and more money. All we have to do again in this edition is to basically reproduce aspects of what we published on Monday in the hope that after such football hooliganism on our streets, somebody would finally act against COFA.
We advance the following as factors responsible for violence breaking out at COFA matches including the very costly one on Monday night.
1. When presented with an opportunity like the latest one COFA has woefully failed to act against the guilty party. Why haven’t they expelled certain communities for three to five years for example? Why haven’t they banned some violent individuals who are known trouble makers from participating in COFA leagues either as players or officials? This is very possible under the laws of Sierra Leone.
2. How thorough is the security assessment done at COFA matches? How involved are the police in all of the security arrangements? COFA can’t continue opening people’s lives and properties to risk every time their league is on. Surely they must take some responsibility.
3. Why do we still have Premier League players participating in that COFA league? The argument that they leave in those communities is unacceptable. We can’t call it youth football for the identification and development of new talent and then include players who have spent years in the premier league. In fact, many do not live in the communities they represent. They are mercenaries. This is the main source of all the tension.
4. COFA is prioritizing money over talent development and public safety. They can make all the money in the world but we should never allow them to compromise our safety by assembling criminals at football matches to damage public property. Totally unacceptable!
5. The next time we experience any violence at COFA matches we will hold the police personally responsible. They cannot continue to be granting clearance for this league that easily turns violent to our disadvantage and then pretend everything is normal. We are not amused.
DEAD PIGS TURNING UP IN SMALL CORNERS OF FREETOWN
We need somebody to explain to the country why dead pigs are turning up in mostly slum areas where they are bred and in the immediate vicinity. What is happening? This is very serious because we now believe the dead meat has entered our food chain.
In this same column we have been complaining about pigs roaming free in Freetown and asking the Freetown City Council to take action to remove abattoirs from the city to the rural areas just outside the city. Now pigs are dropping dead and still no word from the FCC.
When we hear from the FCC it will be about the Red woman attending some meeting in a faraway place. We have no problem with that but we also need her to handle serious issues back home.
ADMINISTRATIVE CONFUSION AT SLFA SECRETARIAT
The SLFA secretariat has been thrown into confusion once again over their attempt to retrieve trophies from the last premier league from FC Kallon and East End Lions. The secretariat wrote to both clubs asking them to return those trophies but even before that request could be considered, awkward as it is, the SLFA Media team released a statement saying the organization was shifting that responsibility to request for the trophies or not to their new PLB. Now then, who makes decisions in that place?
The SLFA is full of contradictions: on one level they told the world, particularly their pay masters in Zurich that they had nothing to do with the last premier league that was successfully run by Emmanuel Saffa Abdulai and that it was in fact an unrecognized league so why are they now trying to lay their hands on the trophies from such a league? We understand they wrote to FIFA challenging the legitimacy of the league.
All we know is that the league was funded by the government of Sierra Leone and all questions should be directed to State House. We are waiting for your queries.
FC Kallon and East End Lions were told they could keep the trophies so what is all this fuss about? Those trophies belong to those two clubs. Please go and get your own trophies for your own league.
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