By Sahr Matthias Bendu
Vice President Sahr Sam Samuel-Sumana is one of the many sons of the late Sahr Sumana aka Sahr Bendu who was Section Chief of Yormandu in Kono district. His late dad was close friends with President Siaka Stevens and a financial backer, born and bred member of the All People's Congress party.
Sam-Sumana arrieved in this world after his section chief was chained to his bed at the Koidu Government Hospital because he was in police custody for his political belief; a strong financial supporter then of Siaka Steven’s APC Party in Kono district. The baby Sahr Samuel Sumana was smuggled in to his father's bed side for their first encounter…..
The rest of the story will have to wait for another telling.
When the Daa-o party of T. S Mbriwa and A.A Mani merged with Siaka Stevens' APC party, Stevens promised the Konos the vice President Position for as long as the district remained loyal to the APC Party. Rumour had it then that Stevens had wanted to appoint Sahr G Washington Cava Gandi-Capio from the Sumana’s Sandor Chiefdom as the first Kono vice president to later succeed him as president. Sahr Gandi-Capio quaked with fear, begged Pa Siaka not do it. “I am just a small boy”.
Fast forward. Joseph Saidu Momoh was selected to replace Siaka Stevens, but Stevens, during his regime, showered ministerial appointment on Kono district. Let us take the very Sahr G W.C Gandi-Capio. He was elected Member of
Parliament for Kono North constituency (now constituency 23) on an APC ticket, appointed Minister of Interior in 1968, Minister of Social Welfare 1969-70, and Acting Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Trade and Industry on several occasions. He was also appointed Minister of Lands and Mines and Acting Minister of Health of Labour, Minister of Development and Economic Planning in 1972, Resident Minister, Eastern Province from 1975-77 and Minister of Energy and Power. Other Kono politicians in the APC with Stevens and later J. S Momoh had similar opportunity to move from one ministry to another. Yet Kono district remains totally backward because greedy Kono people were managing the affairs of the district.
In 2007, Ernest Bai Koroma, aware of Pa Siaka’s APC promise to the Konos, decided to choose somebody from Kono district and the lot fell on Sahr Samuel Sumana, a perfect choice, a true blood APC. As part of the 2007 APC winning team, Sumana remains to this day very loyal to his boss, committed, meek and striving hard to push forward the APC Agenda for Change. If the current APC government can proudly beat their chest for any achievements, Vice President Sam-Sumana is part and parcel of it all. Because the presidency is an institution, not an individual. Yes, it is an accepted fact that the credit goes to the President, but it is also factual that other key party members bask in the glory because success in governance is a team work.
Accepted that Sam-Sumana's tenure as vice President was eclipsed by a wide range of allegations. On the issue of the Timbergate, the Anti-Corruption Comission did not find him wanting while others remain mere allegations by his former business partners. Sam-Sumana's problems were compounded by intra-party rancor back home in Kono district. He quickly fell out with one of the kingmakers, Finda Dianna Konomanyi. Several attempts were made to settle their misunderstanding but they did not work out as both sides vowed to fight to a logical conclusion.
Sam-Sumana is a quiet achiever and philanthropist. Like Former President Kabba, he does not believe in trumpeting his kind gestures to organizations and schools such as the purchase of millions of laboratory equipment for the Koidu Secondary School. He has also provided machines and money for clearing the site for the construction of the Youth Centre
in Koidu, contributed to the diamond area scholarship for pupils in the district, constructed roads etc. Sam Sumana always says he is privileged to have worked with a man he considers his icon. On many occasion he has tried to woo young people from the district to join the APC party. His current boss has special place in his heart. Today because of deep-seated hatred some high-profile APC members close to the president have harboured against the VP they are hatching all sorts of diabolic machinations. To say that the APC party can do well on 17 November without the Kono votes is an unfortunate political analysis.
In the political history of Sierra Leone, only the APC party has considered the Konos as equal partners to share the presidency for the governance of Sierra Leone. How such a man is treated in and by the presidency, and whether the district benefited from the particular regime will determine in no small measure the future political direction of the country.
What is important to many of us is that our own flesh and blood is there. We may have our internal wranglings but we all love to see him in his current position for a second term. Removing Sam-Sumana will be a political miscalculation and its full impact will reverberate well beyond 17 November 2012.
