WHAT IS GOOD FOR CHINA SHOULD BE GOOD FOR AMERICA
It was very refreshing to hear directly from De Pa last Friday as he addressed the media on the outcome of his recent visit to China. The news conference answered a few questions but as is always the case, a lot more questions are crying for answers. Someday we shall evaluate the impact of this renewed Chinese push into Sierra Leone. For now we congratulate De Pa for meeting the media and for promising to do so every month.
Three weeks is a long time in politics. Three weeks ago all journalists in this country were busy calling each other discussing how to react if the government went ahead and jailed our leaders as promised by the SEA on behalf of “the government of Sierra Leone”. Now, De Pa has promised to be meeting the media once every month because he understands there can be no democracy when the media is in jail. Well Done!
We however want to call on De Pa to talk exclusively about his White House meeting with Obama. Somehow he forgot to do that and eventhough we’ve been calling his attention to that omission for more than a month now, he appears to have ignored us – what is good for China must be good for America.
We have nothing against China, in fact we applaud them for their development strides. But we just want our country to treat all her friends on equal basis. Also, our curiosity has been heightened by the fact that Obama has since paid a return visit to West Africa but he singled out Senegal. We would have done our best within our means to host Obama but alas, the world’s most powerful man snubbed us. What really happened at the White House?
JUSTICE COWAN: THE HIGH PRIEST OF THE NATION’S CONSCIENCE
We congratulate the new president of the Sierra Leone Bar Association, Elvis Kargbo and we also appreciate the efforts of the man he succeeds Blyden Jenkins-Johnston for organising a fantastic annual conference.
We also thank the lawyers for giving us another opportunity to hear Justice Edmond Cowan. We were seeing him for the second time since he became Ombudsman. The man hasn’t changed one bit. His keynote address sounded and felt like his days in the high court when he would pass sentence on a convicted criminal. He was busy talking down on his audience – that’s why we call him the High Priest. As far as he was concerned every sector of society was failing in their duties excluding the office of the Ombudsman even if his office located at the edge of Bo reservation is firmly locked for many hours daily.
Justice Cowan thinks lawyers spend all their time looking for money, the Police are too corrupt, civil society activists have no idea what their mission is and Journalists are too fussy - they agitate too much and in fact, the idea that late Harry Yansaneh was murdered by the children of Fatmata Komeh, as concluded by a Coroner’s Inquest was an elaborate lie carefully stitched by Journalists and Magistrate Fisher. Interesting stuff! We don't know how the family of HH Yansaneh or the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists will react to this but in the coming days and weeks and months we shall have our say on that speech. But for now, we remember what Dr. Victor Willoughby, HH Yansaneh's GP, told the court under oath. We stand by that.
Even High Priests should be sensitive to the feelings of other members of society. And just to let people who are not journalists know, we always know a lot more about men and things than we publish. Now that we have been tickled so publicly, we might consider letting a few things out. We will not be disappointing anybody because the High Priest has told people who he thinks we are. Good Morning Justice Cowan. While the “Good afternoon” is en route, suffice it to say that when you point your index finger at someone else, apart from the thumb the other three fingersare pointing back at you. Just demonstrate it now and see.
MODEL JUNCTION TO LEICESTER – A LOOMING DISASTER
For the umpteenth time we are calling the attention of the authorities to the looming danger on the hills of Mount Aureol, Leicester and Gloucester. We are doing this on two fronts.
- The whole stretch of road is in a very poor shape. The most mediocre road project ever – near Albert Academy School – is nowhere near conclusion, further compounding the problem. The annual spot improvements that take place on the road on account of De Pa attending the University Congregation did not take place this year because De Pa pulled out of the event.
- Some of the worst vehicles in this country are operating as taxis in this area. More than 90% of them are unlicensed and uninsured. And if we check we will find out that only a handful of the drivers there have a valid license. Traffic Police usai u dae?!
- The place is just lawless. In these rickety taxis, passenger numbers are above limit, a crime for which those operating in the town centre are arrested and thrown into jail. Why is Model Junction any different? It’s happening in the full view of the police and SLRTA wardens.
- Finally, Sarah Bendu of SLRTA lives up the hill and she passes by these vehicles daily without doing anything about them. If anything there should be more road discipline on this road than any other place because the SLRTA boss lives there.
We hate to say this but by the look of things, next time we mention this road, we probably would be reporting a disaster. We shall hold Sarah Bendu and Petito personally responsible for that.
ANTI-DRUG STRIKERS AND THEIR DRUG-CRAZED FANS
A new football team with the unlikely name Anti-drug Strikers gained promotion into the Sierra Leone Premier League last year. They are owned by a man who despite hismuch talked about holding of forty or more postsin Sierra Leone can’t just stay off football. So Anti-drug Strikers find themselves in this funny position – the man who owns their team, is a member of the Council of Elders of their powerful neighbours. Who is this guy loyal to?
Let’s say it’s the last day of the football season and the powerful neighbour needs just a point to win the trophy but they have to get that point off Anti-drug Strikers who, we should also assume has no chance of winning the league, what will our man do? The sooner this guy is thrown out of that Council of Elders thing the better.
Well we turned up at EBK stadium just outside Freetown last week to watch a match between the two teams at the centre of this conflict of interest. It was largely a drab affair not worth the effort of fighting our way through traffic. At the end of the match, fans of the powerful neighbour behaved very badly. We are waiting to see how the SLFA would react.
But we also noticed something about the Premier League debutants.
1. They have chosen the EBK stadium in Newtown as the place where they will play all their home matches. The point is the marijuana trade is to Newton what fishing is to Goderich. Why would an Anti-drugs team choose such a place to host anybody?
2. Fans of Anti-drug Strikers openly smoked marijuana and consumed large amounts of cheap alcohol before, during and after the match.
Please don’t ask us how we were able to identify them. They were in uniform. And with their leaders’ physical bulk, they can never hide.
