SIERRA LEONEANS UNDER PRESSURE IN LIBERIA
We are getting disturbing reports of Sierra Leoneans being harassed, arrested and detained by Liberian immigration officers because, according to the Liberians our people don’t have the necessary papers to live and work in their country. It got so bad recently that our embassy in Monrovia was forced to call a meeting of those agencies to express concern at the way our people were being treated. Our sources have told us that they are absolutely sure nothing positive will come out of that meeting. In other words, there is no guarantee that the harassment, intimidation and extortion Sierra Leoneans face will cease.
Liberia has a history of being hostile to Sierra Leoneans when it comes to immigration issues. This goes back to the days of Samuel Doe in the early to mid-1980s. We believe that this is all down to xenophobia and the corrupt tendencies of Liberian immigration officers. We hardly hear about Sierra Leoneans being chased around and locked up for residential papers in counties like Senegal, Ghana and Nigeria. It happens on a very small scale in neighboring Guinea and nothing as organized and ruthless as what is happening in Liberia. It MUST stop NOW.
And here’s how we think our government must approach it.
1. The foreign ministry in Freetown must make a statement on the issue as a way of sending a clear message to our Liberia neighbors that we DO NOT accept the kind of treatment they are giving to our people. We have NEVER harassed any foreign nationals in this country, especially those from the MRU and there are many of them in Sierra Leone. Underground diplomacy will not work.
We have not heard the nationals of other ECOWAS or MRU countries in Liberia complaining. Why are they targeting Sierra Leoneans?
2. We commend the efforts of our embassy staff in Monrovia but we want them to work with Sierra Leonean groups in that country to help our people regularize their papers and ensure that the process is fair, unambiguous and devoid of corruption. All Sierra Leoneans who want to live and work in Liberia should be able to do that.
There are many regional and sub-regional agreements to support that. We can’t sign up to something that other parties decide to ignore without consequences. Where is ECOWAS or MRU in all this?
3. Let’s also be clear that those of our brothers and sister who refuse to obey the laws of their host country should be encouraged to return home and continue their normal lawlessness that we are getting used to now. Just as we will not encourage foreigners to be lawless and get involved in criminal activities here we shouldn’t expect Liberia to accept that.
VIOLENCE AT TOLONGBO OFFICE AS COURT RULING LOOMS
In King Messi days, Tolongbo told us that they had a tried and tested way of solving any internal squabbles: they would simply go into their party office and sign their victory song and they would all hug each other, smile and go home feeling good. In those days Tolongbo was in power and King Messi had cash to splash. He also had the police and military to deploy against those who refused to sing the party song. He still has money - a lot of it but he cannot now throw people into prison.
These days there are many people in Tolongbo who are willing, able and ready to openly challenge King Messi and all the structures he created to serve him in Tolongbo whether in power or not.
In the last few days the guy trying to get King Messi and his loyalists out of leadership positions in the Tolongbo project was badly shaken by the way he was treated when he went to his own party office to address a news conference. After many years in Great America, the guy now understands what it takes to get King Messi to understand that his race in national politics is run. We know there are many other big guys in Tolongbo who are working with this man from America - they are providing cash and strategic direction to his effort.
As he cast his ballot in 2018 in Freetown, King Messi told the world he would resign his position as LEADER for LIFE of Tolongbo within THREE months. That announcement took many by surprise because the good people of this country know that King Messi enjoys power. A few days later, he pulled back from that position and entrenched himself even further.
We may be wrong but King Messi has to be very careful with this latest bid to oust him with his mandate long expired. After nearly ELEVEN years in office as the NUMBER ONE man in this land that we love, what is so interesting about leading a political party in opposition? Anyway, King Messi knows what he is looking for.
PARALELL PRESIDENCY GONE ON DAY ONE FOR JJ BLOOD
Apart from meeting his new staff, JJ Blood has moved swiftly to kill this thing we use to know as OFFICE OF CHIEF MINISTER at State House. He believes that he is Chief Minister WITHIN the office of the president. In other words even the semblance of a parallel presidency that the previous guy quietly smiled at, is a very bad dream and the nation should pray fervently against it. Initial reaction has been overwhelmingly positive for JJ Blood.
We called attention to the presidential style of the former Senior Prefect many times in this column but we were ignored. We now feel really good that JJ Blood who, probably was unable to stop that co-presidency thing while still at the finance ministry, has now destroyed that idea. Well done!
Ordinarily, we should comfortably argue that the former Senior Prefect was thrown out of that office because Principal was fed up with a structure that was carefully constructed to look like a parallel presidency but we know a bit more than that. So while we will not rule it out as one of the many reasons why Principal acted the way he did recently, we know there are three other main reasons why we have a change in that position and in the approach to executing the functions of that office. When the necessary journalistic checks are complete, we will reveal those reasons in the best interest of our people.
Please we don’t want to receive any more emails or whatsapp messages asking whether the Chief Minister is more powerful than the ELECTED VP. JJ Blood answered that question on his first day in office.
EID MUBARAK TO OUR MUSLIM READERS
We congratulate all our Muslim readers for going through the most blessed period in their religious calendar. We wish them Eid Mubarak and pray that Allah answers their prayers for themselves and their families and this country that we love.
We thank all those people who, during this period made the necessary provisions to lessen the pain of the less fortunate who were keen to undertake their religious obligation.
There are also those people who took advantage of the period to inflict pain on their brothers and sisters by unnecessarily hiking the prices of basic food and drinks. Instead of making it easy for people to worship and fast, they spent all their time plotting to make big money. May Allah have mercy on them and change their ways for the better. All societies have such people. Some did it even as they themselves were fasting. We are not in the business of judging people so we leave that to Allah to handle.
We look forward to a change of attitude particularly how we treat each other and our country.
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