By Umaru Fofana
I had an interesting meeting with a lawyer friend of mine during the Independence Day break. When I was students' union president at the university in the 1990s he was one of my judges at the student court. Like many of those I appointed to my administration, he is a card-carrying member of the ruling All People's Congress party. Not surprising perhaps, our discussion, like many others around our country's 53rd independence anniversary, centred around the meaningless topic of a Third Term for President Ernest Bai Koroma. Absolutely meaningless!
We know it was executed by Robin Fallay, but whoever planned this latest round of this demeaning talk of Third Termism did a heck of a brilliant job albeit a gross disservice to the intelligence and nationhood of Sierra Leone: They took off the menu around our country's independence the meaningful and worrisome issue of the very tribalised nature of our nation with an ever-increasing never-the-twain-shall-meet attitude - thanks to our leaders - or how to ameliorate an eclectic electricity situation - albeit relatively improved to what it was seven years ago.
Such is how bad it has got lately that I had to buy 60 litres of fuel for my generator during the break despite living just a few yards from the central grid at Kingtom. Off the menu went even the lack of basic potable water for most of Freetown's homes. Never mind the nosedived nature of our educational system which I consider the bane of our pain. Rather the nation was forced to spend the whole Easter and Independence Day season talking about a third term for the president. What nonsense!
My lawyer friend tried to rationalise the third term idea by drawing parallels with the United Kingdom and some other European countries where he argued Third Term existed. I was stunned because such an educated person should understand the most basic difference between a presidential system of government where the head of state is almost always directly elected, and a parliamentary system which allows for a rule by a Prime Minister who does not necessarily stand for direct election by the electorate for that position - unless of course you lived in Israel between 1996 and 2001 when the Prime Minister was directly elected and not a part of the Knesset or Parliament.
But fundamentally, how does anyone think of changing the rules midstream simply because they think it suits them! Our constitution, unlike Britain's or Germany's, has a more stable tenure for the president but also has a term limit. But when the first argument failed my lawyer friend turned to the constitutional review process. His argument: Since "a new constitution" is being drafted, whatever term limit is enshrined in it will be a fresh start for President Koroma and he will be eligible to contest. This warped argument came in the back of a similar one made by another friend of mine - coincidentally a lawyer too. The constitutional review process going on now is NOT to write a new constitution, according to Attorney General, Frank Kargbo. But be that as it may, and whatever happens, Koroma is bound by the constitution under which he was elected, to not run for another term or have his term extended. Unless of course someone stokes up or ferment some trouble and uses the provision that allows for unending six-monthly extension of the life of the president and parliament.
Come to think of it Koroma cannot run for a third term even if he wishes to. I say "even if he wishes to" because it seems he is interested in staying beyond December 2017 or February 2018 which the constitution allows for. Otherwise how does he explain his silence on the matter or at the very least his apparent ambivalence over the issue by allowing it to be being pushed by senior members of his inner circle and his party without consequence to show he is not. He appointed his campaign manager to a cabinet minister after he serenaded the third term issue. And Robin Fallay continues holding talks across the country for some form of an extension of the presidential mandate the latest being during the Easter break in Segbwema. Shut them Up, not promote or retain them, if you really mean business!
That said the consequences of Koroma running again will be dire for him and his administration, and by extension his country which is what will force action by the people. Then the whole plot will boomerang. The arrogance and presumptuousness that oil and ore and friendship with China bring are nothing compared to the reaction from the free world to blatant undemocratic practices such as a presidential extension.
Additionally, it is amazing the ferocity with which some members and supporters of Koroma's own party have been condemnatory of the impression of him running for another term. That may be obvious but, somewhat naively, not all in the party can see through it. There are many APC members who are displeased for not having benefited from the largesse that is currently being shared within the party. That may not be surprising because, like in every other political party the world over, there are factions within the APC who are hoping to see the back of President Koroma and praying their own man will win the next election. These are the people who will resist any term longevity, and an implosion could be on the cards like it happened under Ahmad Tejan Kabbah who imposed Solomon Berewa and Momodu Koroma on the SLPP party pretty much against popular and correct democratic practices. But that is for my next article in relation to the undemocratic practices currently happening in the APC.
I feel it is an insult to our forefathers, to those who resisted the military coup of 1997 and the RUF rebel war, and to those of us alive - educated or not - to have our democracy being urinated upon with such brazen arrogance. When some irate SLPP sycophants started murmuring that their concern was about who should replace Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, the man himself discouraged it and warned against the peddling of any such foolishness. The presidential silence that is accompanying this AFTER U NA U nonsense is far louder than the very noise by some undemocratic elements. But I tend to feel strongly that it is all a gimmick to eclipse any talk about the real situation in the country which is biting deep into the homes of many a Sierra Leonean. I bet my life President Koroma will not run or extend his mandate through any other means. But the long-running nonsensical talk-about or chatter-boxing is several steps backwards for our democratic standing.
(C) Politico 29/04/14
