ORSAMU REFUSING TO APOLOGIZE DESPITE CONDEMNATION
Orsamu has been told by many Sierra Leoneans that he was completely Out of Order with his tribal rants the other day and should apologize and ask for mercy. Since those comments went viral on social media, we have been waiting patiently for this guy who continues to dream about occupying the State House in 2023 to stand up and say sorry but he has kept quiet hoping and praying that somehow we will all soon forget those comments and move on.
We are sorry to disappoint him because he will not be allowed to get away with this. Orsamu has to unreservedly apologize or stand by those comments and prepare for the political consequences for himself and his political organization whether he eventually becomes the presidential candidate or not.
When the Freetown Mayor did the same thing behind locked doors she tried to fight her way out of it by giving the kind of explanation that makes sense to only those who eat from her purse. As a country we lost an opportunity to deal with this abiding belief among some Tolongbo leaders that the tribal ticket was their only route to return to the State House. Here’s another opportunity to deal with this decisively. We cannot afford to fail again because the consequences of that will be difficult if not impossible to control as we move into the election season.
We expect the following to happen:
1. The leaders of Tolongbo should unreservedly condemn Orsamu and tell the world he wasn’t speaking their minds. They should consider some sanctions against him and assure the much maligned MENDE people of this land that we love that they have nothing against them.
2. We expect APPA to also stand up and be counted in their condemnation of Orsamu. There should be no neutrality in this.
3. Civil Society Organizations should step forward now. Orsamu is a tribalist and he should be told so in no uncertain terms.
4. The great international community has also refused to speak up hours after Orsamu decided to needlessly attack the same tribe that other Tolongbo leaders have been singling out for abuse since they lost power. It is one thing to monitor small bye-lections in far flung corners of this country but quite another telling one to make sure that those things that can potentially turn Sierra Leone into another Somalia without Al-Shabbab are dealt with decisively. We are waiting.
MASSIVE WELCOME FOR KANJA SESAY IN BO: WHAT’S THE MESSAGE?
Kanja Sesay returned to a hero’s welcome in his home city of Bo last weekend. The energy minister had been a little ill and had to be treated abroad. He was returning for the first time in four months and his people decided to make a big show of that. On the face of it this looks normal but we were on the ground a night before the big man landed like a Roman general returning home from a conquest and we heard a lot of things that many of those who took part in that massive welcome are not likely to know at this stage.
The tens of thousands who turned out last Saturday demonstrated love and care for Kanja. A good many of them were also sending a message To Whom It May Concern that they were implacably opposed to something called BASE ONE. This is a political group that we were told is loyal to the Queen of SHEBA. Some of those we spoke to told us that BASE ONE was created to marginalize the regional executive of the Green Movement. One lady told us “we are ready to fight back no matter what”. So this mighty show was not just about welcoming a brother recovering from illness but sending the message that BASE ONE has no clout, is an unacceptable distraction and must fold up now.
We also observed the list of the political heavy weights in the Green movement who turned up. They are certainly not the best friends of the QUEEN of SHEBA. So bringing such massive crowds on the streets of this key city is more an internal message for awareness-raising on the issue of where the actual power resides within the party than it is for their political opponents.
There is a six-way mayoral battle playing out in Bo city. Six people want the Palm Tree symbol which will definitely guarantee them the keys to the city council. That was also part of the debate out on the streets last Saturday.
We are waiting for the reply.
RETAKING BELLAIR PARK IS LONG OVERDUE
We are happy that the process of returning Bellair Park to its original state or bringing it to a better shape has begun. We’ve seen social media photos of minister Turad, the police and the big man in the judiciary taking a walk in the area and talking to obvious squatters. The quarters housing our judges are in poor shape and the squatters have crept up on them over the last FIFTEEN years. Today, Bellair Park is not fit to be the home of our judges. They are not even safe in such a place.
Minister Turad is a thoughtful, incorruptible guy and he means what he says. We believe he didn’t go to that place for a photo-op. He means business. We however want him to proceed slowly with this and make sure his own ground at Youyi building is clean. Here’s why:
1. He has to determine the authenticity of the documents that the squatters are definitely going to present to him to prove they acquired those properties legally. Some of those documents are signed by some of his officials. We don’t care whether they might have retired or not.
2. It is important not to hurriedly displace so many people at the height of what is clearly a vicious rainy season. There are other ways of getting people to quit government property.
3. Those mighty buildings that are clearly within the boundary of Bellair Park should be allowed to remain standing only if they pay annual lease fees to the judiciary at commercial rates.
4. Bellair Park should immediately cease to be a thoroughfare for the huge informal community in the neighborhood. That would send a clear message about the seriousness of the government on this issue.
5. Let’s start with major repairs right now on the quarters still standing in that place.
NO MORE SYMPATHY FOR MUSA TOMBO
In the name of discipline and respect we went to the CHAN tournament without our nation’s highest goal scorer and we have NO REGRETS about that. Musa Tombo pushed his luck with us too far and now we the good people of Sierra Leone have decided to tell him that no citizen is above the country.
Musa Tombo has thoroughly embarrassed many Sierra Leoneans who always thought he was a victim of heavy-handed coaches and that there was an undercover plot to destroy his career. In this same column we have had cause to hit John Keister hard because we thought he was out to destroy Tombo. Now we know the guy was the architect of his own destruction.
Tombo’s sins are many and we have no interest in going all over them here but all we want to let the world know is that we are part of those who believe he should NEVER return to the national team. We cannot keep giving chance after chance to the same man only for him to do crazy things. He totally disrespects football authorities, including the man who changed his life at Bo Rangers. We doubt he still has a place in that team. It’s all good for Babadi Kamara to be going out of his way to rescue Tombo but at which point will that affect the morale of the other players who are behaving like normal human beings by working hard and respecting the authorities?
A national player who insists on ditching the national team to play in nondescript community leagues should be allowed to go his way while the rest of us play according to the rules. Good Bye Tombo!
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