ON THE AIRWAVES WITH POPE JOHN PAUL – MINISTER OF FOOTBALL
The last ten days have been a kind of rollercoaster for Pope John Paul, the minister of Football. The Pope is never tired swimming in the rough seas of media and political controversies in Mama Salone.
The other day at least two newspapers reported that the Pope told a youth meeting that “chicken dear pass umannar Salone” (a chicken is more expensive than a woman in Sierra Leone). What in God’s name was the Pope trying to tell his audience, the whole country and beyond, about Sierra Leonean women. We are surprised that the usually garrulous women’s groups have still not asked this guy to clarify whatever he is reported to have said. The Pope has not denied the reports, come on people! We live in a changed world where such glib comment about any group of people, especially women, is totally unacceptable.
The Pope then made an angry appearance on Pa Alie’s sport program on Eagle FM. The Pope was well and truly out of order for a government minister. He was angry, largely disjointed and incoherent.
Next day the minister announced he would not accredit any media group or individual journalist to cover the match between Leone Stars and their Sao Tome and Principe counterparts. We have never seen this kind of a thing before. We have no evidence but we are prepared to listen to the minister on the question of previous accreditation documents being subject of fraud/corruption. Until we are convinced of such, we will argue that the minister’s action amounts to throwing the baby out with the birth water. And his argument about patriotism is as ridiculous as it is untenable. So patriotism is about buying tickets to football matches? Come on Paul! And we call on those confused so-called sport pundits polluting our airwaves with non-sequiturs and illogical reasoning, to please give us a break. If we don’t rescue some of our sports programs now, they will sink further into becoming platforms for the expression of eccentric opinions.
Look Mr. Minister, a good many of us have a lot of respect for you as a senior colleague and we are publishing this with that in mind. You must know that it is unwise of any politician to take on the media in this way. Politicians are never safe and secure. Stop teaching people how to be patriotic. We all love Sierra Leone.
Just a little parting shot sir, if you continue like this we will have no alternative but to do our national service in a forceful and fearless manner.
URINE UNDERMINING NATIONAL STADIUM FOUNDATION
We are ready to work with the Stadium Management to end this uncontrollable practice of passing water freely and everywhere around the national stadium. Both sexes are deeply involved but for practical reasons it’s mostly a men’s thing. Who’s with us? Put your hands up please! Will FontiKabia set up another diary – maybe PISSERS DIARY? We have some pictures of players emerging from their dressing room to spray urine on the wire mesh fencing just under STAND 12. Is there no toilet in the dressing room? Let’s even say there’s none, there’s definitely one functioning even if smelly one under the presidential stadium very close to the dressing rooms. Why is it that people just can’t stop this bad habit?
The women are notorious for doing their show under the staircase leading to the covered and open stands. We challenge anyone to visit the bottom of the staircase leading to STAND 12 to see what we are talking about. We don’t have pictures of the women but we know it’s happening there and other stands around the stadium. When have you seen English Premiership footballers urinating on their terraces? Come on you footballers of Mama Salone, don’t get too sucked into this habit. You will be shamed if you ever get a professional contract to play abroad and behave like Osuofia.
The people running the stadium ought to know that this urine spraying is revolting to ordinary Sierra Leoneans and their guests who visit the stadium for entertainment. What is this place turning into? In fact, people are urinating all over the city. Even at the back of State House. There are no public toilets, we know that. Just a little self control please.
The Freetown City Council is completely missing in action and we understand why. The people will speak in November and street toilets will appear in January...just watch!
CCSL - PETITO AND OUR ROADS
Dear Minister of Works,
We congratulate you on your appointment as minister by De Pa. (when was that?) Anyway, we congratulate you also for your attempt to turn Wilkinson Road to Paradise Avenue and Spur Road to Enjoyment Road. Man you are working hard eh? You are the real heir to the throne. We understand you are quietly hoping De Pa will throw Sumana out of the window and nod you in. One of your close friends let that slip and we were standing by. So you’ve been part of this VP push all along? You truly know how to do your thing. Your close friend talks too much.
Sir, as your real friends, let us call your attention to something that might undo you. You appear to be going all over the place with this your Sierra Leone-is-a-works-yard drive in such a way that the thing makes no sense to even your best friends like us. Look at this, Wilkinson Road? Well, not bad, could have been better and there are great alternatives with the same money. Spur Road? Hmmm, not bad too and we make the same comment as of Wilkinson Road. Thunder Hill? Fantastic! Well done Petito! Dundas and Mends Streets? With very important West Street as wretched as it is, we see no sense in those two streets at all. Aberdeen Road and Lumley Beach Road? – An absolute disgrace. And Aberdeen if where the tourists stay at and they get that VERY BAD first and last impression. Sir, have you ever been to Frederick Street, Horton Street and those areas? What’s the point of this facade called Wilkinson Road when all you needed was a good overlay and some lay-by for parking in a few places and good drainage works at Wilkinson and Spur Roads to free up cash for you to do the entire OLD ROAD to the east of Freetown and remove that mighty village from Freetown. Take a drive on the entire OLD ROAD sir, you will shed tears. We do it all the time to beat the gridlock on the main road through Calaba Town. Sound reasoning eh? When you surround yourself with Salamutu people who are only interested in telling you how great you are, you never get to hear such frank talk. In fact where is the road user fund that was transferred to your ministry from SLRA? Or is everything being hidden under the cloak of the general “works yard” funded by donors? Come one, man! We are too intelligent to be fooled by fools.
We are still working on our story about the dire situation of the SLRA. The place is collapsing on your watch. Salaries have not been paid for April, the last time we checked. Contractors have given up and no repairs are taking place. The new road fund body says it’s swimming in Leones, so what are you waiting for? But no, you are busy trying to be VP. Is there no other job in town?
MUNU – FIVE MILLION LEONES FOR EACH DEAD MAN
When will De Pa put Munu out of his misery – and indeed mystery – by telling him never to return to POLICE HQ as IG...yes as IG. He could be brought there to answer for all the lives lost on his watch through some of the most inept policing some of us have witnessed since Keatu-Smith. And this business of giving people money “to compensate” for the killing of their children by your men Mr.Munu is in very bad taste.
We find it hard to believe that every time your men came in contact with ordinary people there would be some funerals. Some of us are beginning to conclude that you have made it a police of your stewardship as IG, that your men must shoot-to-kill when confronted by irate young people even if they are unarmed. So in two weeks the police have killed at least three innocent Sierra Leoneans in dubious circumstances. At that rate and with you as IG, there will be no more young people left in this country before long. From Bo to Bumbuna and from Wellington to Goderich, aggressive policing – Siaka Stevens-style is here. To make the situation worse, all Munu could do was turn up with a box load of money to keep the community quiet. No problem...but until you provide answers that make sense, there will be no closure.
See how funny this whole thing is: police officers are called to a crime scene by a family being distressed by some of the many lazy young boys (and they are mainly boys) we have in Freetown. The officers arrive and open fire at young community volunteers killing two. Just before the dust settles on that, another policeman kills a bike rider at a checkpoint at Goderich. What is really happening at the training school at Hasting? Your men have no idea how to treat civilians in a demonstration or even a loud argument. This guy makes “operation-pay-yourself “Acha Kamara look like an angel.
And we notice that the SLPP jumped on that bandwagon again with their own envelope to the bereaved family. Hmmm... November 17 don cam for true. We wish every year were an election year.
