ATTEMPTED JAIL BREAK, MINDLESS VIOLENCE AND PRINCIPAL SPEAKS OUT
The last two weeks have been traumatic in this country. After many years of peace following the civil war, the last days in April seemed like we were right back in era of mindless violence marked by the destruction of public and private property and the killing of our own brothers and sisters in some of the most difficult communities in this country. Yes indeed, Sierra Leoneans killing Sierra Leoneans inside Sierra Leone apparently in the service of politics.
It took military muscle to defeat an attempted jail break at our so-called maximum security prison. It has to be an attempted jailbreak otherwise how do prison commit such wanton destruction if they did not plan to escape? Lunsar erupted because the police wanted to do their job – protecting the life and property of the Paramount Chief. Foredugu, some two miles away was next. And then the normally sleepy fishing village of Tombo in the Western Area Rural entered the claws of violence. In the background were explosive and inflammatory social media comments targeted at those who are unable to understand the motives of the people churning out those audios mostly from the safety of Western capitals.
When Principal finally addressed the nation on the issues, he was really tough. We have read the statement over and over again and we can only say NOTED. We say so because we now wait to see what happens when attempts are made to cross the LINES HE HAS DRAWN IN THE SAND and implement those security sector reforms he spoke about.
In the meantime we’ve been thinking about the following:
1. We know what has happened to Chieftaincy as an institution in Sierra Leone since the civil war but the rate at which our chiefs are being attacked by their own grandchildren for the flimsiest of reasons is alarming. Chiefs are supposed to be at home with their people, not having a battalion of armed police in their backyard.
2. Isn’t it possible to demonstrate peacefully? People in other countries do that all the time and we see such demonstrations on TV. How is a clinic connected to the decision by local authorities to stop some people from going out to sea?
3. You attack a police station because the officers stop you from destroying public property? And then a week later armed robbers raid your home and you go looking for the same police to rescue you. Where would you find them? Isn’t that mindless!
4. What does it profit anybody to continuously use the possibilities of modern communications technology to send young people into harm’s way in furtherance of a political objective?
5. We know that even in a full blown war situation civilian facilities are protected by international law and basic conscience. Those who knowingly destroy them are held for war crimes. We want serious action against those who attacked such facilities in the last two weeks.
INTERNAL AFFAIRS MINISTER SACKED. TOO LATE IN THE DAY!
There is nothing to celebrate here but we had called for the SACKING of this minister weeks before it happened and it’s not because we had any idea that the country would experience such violence just talked about. It’s just that we knew he was rocking badly in that office and needed to be taken out before something serious happened on the national security front.
We have just put down a well-publicized jail break at great cost, several private and public properties have been destroyed and lives lost in situations that may have been prevented – at least some of them.
Why nobody listened to our call going back several weeks can only be explained in terms of political expediency. That’s very important for those in active politics. Our business is to scrutinize public office holders in terms of their ability and suitability to do the job for which we pay them comparatively big money.
So the minister is gone but we still want to re-state one of our other recommendations for Principal to consider immediately and also make some comments on what happens next.
1. We ask Principal to establish a MINISTRY for LAW and ORDER. It’s clear that attempts are being made to do things that will paint Sierra Leone as a lawless place not worthy of foreign direct investment. We must stop that. This ministry will concentrate on the police, correctional services and fire services. Immigration can become a department on its own.
2. There’s an attempt to spin the sacking of the minister by telling us he actually resigned. Let his spin doctors try another trick. Why didn’t he resign in the hours following the attempted prison break? He was sacked and he knows that. Resign?! Na Salone? Hahahaha!
3. We’ve been searching through our archives to get information about the last time he was interviewed about anything having to do with his ministry – passports, the fire brigade or human rights, the police, issues in the prison. The only one we can find was one he did inside the Bo prison with the BBC nearly two years ago. We can’t find any other. We have nothing against this man but he was simply missing in action.
4. We don’t know much about the new guy taking over, besides the fact that he is very loyal to Principal. Surely Sierra Leoneans are not prepared for any slow start in that office anymore. This man should hit the ground running. No excuses please. And his unimpressive job at SLRSA, where securing a drivers’ license under him was a nightmare, should be left in the past.
5. We hear other heads are about to roll. The public knows that public servants who are completely out of their depth should be put out of their misery. If Principal needs help he should ask the people. We need to shake things up.
PRINCIPAL WHERE IS YOUR RED CARD SIR? WE ARE STILL IN 2020
Yes we are fighting a deadly enemy called CORONAVIRUS. The whole world is fighting it and we believe we shall overcome. Having said that we wish to tell Principal that despite his COVID-19 War, this was supposed to be his declared YEAR of DELIVERY – the year in which the New Direction turned things around dramatically from the sleepy final years of King Messi.
When Principal took his ministers and Parastatal bosses to Bintumani Hotel he told them he would brandish his RED CARD and remove non-performing guys from their positions without first warning them with a yellow card as football referees would do when the foul is sinister. Even in the current circumstances we expect Principal to brandish his RED CARD in a number of places.
1. Where is the RED CARD when a civil war is raging in the most troubled agency of government? We are talking about the Sierra Leone Maritime Administration where there have been sackings and ACC investigations in the last two years. Now it’s the supervising ministry against the board. With the facts we have so far, there should be a RED CARD in that ministry?
2. Where is the RED CARD when some ministers spend a lot of time calling attention to themselves on social media instead of keeping their heads down to deliver on their assignments? Social media wars and Kung-Fu photos distract from the main agenda. Come on!
3. Where is the RED CARD when everybody knows that some dangerous and totally unnecessary turf wars are going on in the system, threatening to derail the New Direction train and shatter the hopes of the people?
4. Where is the RED CARD when we hear that some ministries and departments go to extraordinary lengths to get their parliament-approved subventions from the Finance Ministry? One agency boss told us he had to call Principal himself before his subvention was released. Are we dreaming or what?
5. Where is the RED CARD when some departments and agencies have simply settled in their old ways of doing things? We were promised a NEW DIRECTION. Now, in some areas at least, it’s beginning to look like déjà vu.
END SALONE LEAGUE AND DECLARE BO RANGERS CHAMPS
We just have to be honest now and agree that the current national football season cannot be completed as planned even if we woke up to news tomorrow morning that the coronavirus had been defeated forever. The rains are here earlier than usual and momentum in the league is lost.
We want the SLFA to stop thinking about playing the remaining matches and declare Bo Rangers the Champions for the 2019/2020 season. There should also be no relegations from or promotions into the Premier League. Many clubs would contest this action but this is time to take action and demonstrate courage in leadership. Other countries in Africa and elsewhere have done this and the sky has not fallen on them.
At least sport reporters would have something to be talking about once again until football resumes for the next season. These days all we hear about are food and cash donations to players. Sports journalism has become a little boring. Sorry about that, guys.
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