By Umaru Fofana
Dull moments? Hardly, if at all, for members and supporters of Sierra Leone’s two main political parties. Just weeks after the governing All People’s Congress (APC) held their national delegates’ conference, the main opposition Sierra Leone People’s Party are gearing up for theirs. You have got to give it to them. They are keeping internal democracy alive. Even if with some teething challenges.
According to the National Democratic Institute, “Political parties are an essential component of democracy. By competing in elections and mobilizing citizens behind particular visions of society as well as through their performance in the legislature, parties offer citizens meaningful choices in governance, avenues for political participation, and opportunities to shape their country’s future.” I can’t agree more!
The SLPP are busy preparing for their delegates’ conference to happen in Bo next month. This could not have come at a better time. The wrangling is deepening in the party. The party is nose-diving. Any further bickering could lead to its disintegration. And the masses will suffer. NDI believes that “When public confidence in political parties is compromised, the entire democratic process suffers”. There is no gainsaying that in any sustainable democracy the structure of political parties must be deeply and durably entrenched in the fabric of society.
Had the SLPP not been strong with a doggedly loyal membership, its recent squabbling could have sounded the death knell for it. And with that the public interest as it could have spelled a return to a de facto one party system. So it is good for our democracy that the party seems to be making some efforts to make some amends. That is absolutely good for our democracy. It would be a disaster for democracy in our country and accountability at the top if the SLPP were to suffer any further demise. A strong opposition takes away tenure from the government, adds manure to democracy and enhances the growth of society.
The recent governance and financial challenges confronting Sierra Leone are due to a large extent to the internal bickering within the party. That internal disagreement itself has been due in part to their arrogance when the party was in power between 1996 and 2007, and the fallout after their defeat almost six years ago. Ours is a society whose politicians are mainly in politics to enrich themselves at the expense of the masses. Not for service. So there must be an opposition strong enough to hold the leaders to account.
It is therefore refreshing that the SLPP are back to the drawing board after the bloodletting – figuratively speaking – between two of their most illustrious sons. The leadership tussle between the party’s Chairman and Leader John Benjamin and its flagbearer at the last poll Julius Maada Bio, made worse by the unattractiveness of being in an opposition party in country like Sierra Leone, caused haemorrhaging with many leaving the party.
Over the weekend, Allie Bangura declared his intention to lead the party. A former ambassador to Ghana and trade minister in the last SLPP administration, he has as his sing-song UNIFIER. And the party needs that. It is deeply divided. He may have been sympathetic to Andrew Kailli in the last flag-bearer election but his impartiality was widely acclaimed as he goaded the process of choosing the party’s presidential candidate in 2011. He was able to bring together former President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah and Vice President Solomon Berewa at his launch and the two shook hands. And smiled. And laughed. That was the first in many years. Many believe the last time the two did was when Kabbah’s son passed away some three years ago or so.
There are four other people who will likely run against Bangura. Dr Abass Bundu, Chief Somano Kapen, Momodu Koroma and Dr Prince Harding. They are all people who supported Maada Bio in the leadership contest last year. And they were not present at the launch of the Allie Bangura campaign. It gives one the impression that Ambassador Bangura is running against a Bio interest, or the Bio interest will run against his. It will be interesting to see how the four challengers gel, or not, to determine who runs in the end against Bangura.
But perhaps what is most striking in this whole leadership contest in the SLPP is the fact that four of the five potential contestants are from northern Sierra Leone. In fact they are Temne. For a party that is perceived by many as being a south-eastern and ethnic Mende party, this is a huge achievement. And the fact that Prince Harding is a rank outsider makes it certain that a Temne will head the party. If you believe John Karimu, a former finance minister and presidential candidate, Bangura will be the first “full-blooded Temne” to lead any major political party in the country. Both of Bangura’s parents are Temne.
With Sierra Leone’s largely monolithic political system espoused by its two major parties, of the four northerners running for leadership whoever wins, it will be a major step in efforts to restart a genuine effort to de-tribalise Sierra Leonean politics especially so because the candidates are not being patronised as they each can stand on their own merit.
But that will not necessarily be the end of the bickering in the SLPP. Bio’s grassroots involvement with the party and following can help in pulling the party to either side. It is lurking in the air. He probably is still interested in becoming the party’s next presidential candidate. After the delegates’ conference the tussle between him and Benjamin as to who is what in the party will be laid to rest. The next Chairman and Leader will be indisputable.
Whatever happens, the Bio followers who, rightly or wrongly, have been blamed for the trouble in the party, must let the new leader be. Bio should cooperate with them fully and unreservedly. Like I said before, hardly has any former flag-bearer in any political party in Sierra Leone been as much a kingmaker in the party as Bio will be in 2017. Whether he runs or not. He has to be statesmanlike and bring whatever pressure to bear on his followers.
But already the blame game has started within the party. Dr Bundu has traded banter with Dr Bobson Sesay who is a former minister and current Chairman of the party in the North. And Dr Sesay has not left the words flying unaccompanied – he has blown his in the air too. The tension should be well managed. If only former Vice President Solomon Berewa had not come out publicly to support one candidate – Allie Bangura – he would have been in good standing to serve as that respected and acceptable elderly statesman that the party so badly needs but so conspicuously lacks. The SLPP must be careful in choosing their next leader as it will be crucial for them in the 2018 polls. And the APC must be watchful too. I am sure they are.
