JUNE 2023 IS OVER. LET’S GO BACK TO WORK FOR SALONE
More than a year ago, Principal told the country that on the 24th of June 2023 he would return to the people of Sierra Leone to seek a fresh mandate. The Sierra Leone constitution has a two-term limit for a president. That means Principal has now entered his final term after beating Orsamu for the second time.
The other results for parliament and local councils will fall in place in the coming days and probably before the end of July a new democratic government will be in place. Please don’t bank on our timeline. Things may move fast or even fall a bit beyond July because appointed ministers would have to appear in parliament to go through the approval process.
Anyway, all we want to say is that all the acrimony that characterized the campaign should end now so that we can pick ourselves up again, start the healing process and forge ahead in unity to develop our country. We have no option now.
There's no problem with people spending twelve or more hours a day on social media as long as it’s for productive reasons. This idea of using that space for divisive political rhetoric and obscene language has not achieved the desired result at the polls so why continue along that line?
Principal has set out a very ambitious agenda for his second term. It requires the support of all Sierra Leoneans – people outside the SLPP, including those who’ve played no active part in partisan politics. He says he is ready to work with all Sierra Leoneans. We are waiting for the cabinet to see if he really means what he said at his swearing-in.
DYING IN THE MEDITERRANEAN AND DYING NEAR THE TITANIC
Let’s make something clear from the outset. This is not an attempt to trivialize the significance of the two incidents we want to talk about. We believe however, that at a time like this, we should put these things on record for the world to read where we stand on such issues. We hope that may change things but we are prepared to be wrong at the end of the day.
A boat full of migrants sank in the Mediterranean killing many people. We still don’t have the correct figure but all reports say many women and children were killed in that sea as they tried to reach Greece. They believe life is good in Europe so they are always prepared to risk everything and even pay smugglers to take them across.
We will not countenance anything the Greek authorities said about the failure of their Coast Guards to rescue the people despite the fact that they knew about the ship being in distress for several hours. They deny that but we can only tell them to shut up and bury their heads in shame.
On the other side of the world, FIVE rich people trying to explore something around the Titanic which sank in 1912 experienced trouble in their submarine and lost contact with their team on land. We don’t want to describe in graphic detail how the big guys in the world responded as they attempted to save their lives. So here we are, two incidents happening at sea in different parts of the world attracting disgracefully different responses in terms of quality and intensity, even media attention.
Anyway, our hearts go out to the families of those hundreds who died in the Mediterranean Sea graveyard and indeed the Explorers who died near the Titanic.
Why can’t the world allow the Titanic to rest on the seabed forever? Let’s concentrate on solving problems on earth where human beings live.
WAGNER AND THEIR CANDLE IN THE WIND PROTEST IN RUSSIA
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner mercenary group fighting for Russia in Ukraine is a very confused man. He starts a rebellion against the Russia military establishment in the morning, captures a few military outposts and within 24 hours he marches his troops back from the frontline and goes into exile in neighboring Belarus. What was he thinking?
Prigozhin has good fighters under his command but they are very ruthless ones indeed. They are accused of committing atrocities in Africa and Ukraine. This commander of the brutal mercenary force talks too much and he enjoys playing politics from the frontline. He absolutely hates the Russian military establishment and blames them for everything going wrong in Ukraine. Now, it looks as if Putin is fed up with his foolishness and wants to get rid of him.
There are many people around the world who thought Prigozhin’s forces were heading to Red Square in Moscow to topple Putin, certainly the Western media in particular were beginning to enjoy the drama – broadcasters altered their normal schedules and bloggers went into overdrive. Now the rebellion has been put down and Putin is looking out for his own people who either helped Prigozhin deliver such a scare or were so incompetent that they couldn’t deal with danger that the Wagner boss represented before he went within 200 kilometers of Moscow.
We are not soldiers but to undertake and successfully execute a rebellion on the scale of what it takes to unseat Putin, the planning and financing should be correct and adequate on all fronts and the negotiated outcome should not be the leader going into exile in the country most friendly to the man he was trying to oust while leaving his fighters exposed. Now Putin will lay hands on Prigozhin and he has a good idea what the outcome is right now.
Ukraine must be disappointed that things ended this way. Maybe there’s another Prigozhin around, in fact inside the Kremlin. Our real concern in all of this is that the war MUST end. The world is suffering.
DISENFRANCHISEMENT IN WAFA WHILE SLFA LOOKS THE OTHER WAY
We are now well and truly in a period characterized by wickedness in football administration in Sierra Leone. In this period, those in the administration of the local game are prioritizing mediocrity over competence as long as it serves their main purpose of entrenching them in office. And from the look of things, the SLFA is looking the other way. The leaders are thinking about getting votes from those denying other people their rights today when that crucial time of an elective congress comes around. This is what is happening in the ongoing regional elections that would culminate into the SLFA congress in a few weeks.
We have received a lot of papers detailing what happened at WAFA, leading to the disqualification of two leadership candidates, leaving a pastor, the incumbent unopposed. The reality is that as long as he remains in office as chairman, those who manipulated things in his favor would continue to function with real powers. The pastor’s church is not doing well at all, how can such a man continue to pretend to be chairman of the largest football region in the country?
Anyway, Daddy Brima is taking himself into a hole. Turning a blind eye to injustice by hiding behind constitutional provisions serves no useful purpose. Trying to satisfy the executioners is like feeding the beast. When you have no more food for it, the beast will eat you up. That may happen sooner than we imagine. They say journalism is the FIRST DRAFT OF HISTORY. Watch this.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (28/06/23)
