By Umaru S. Jah – Germany
The recent video making the rounds relating to the insightful utterances of Fatima Bio, Sierra Leone’s First Lady in the Northern District of Tonkolili, is unfortunate and a campaign of calumny. In that video, the First Lady publicly sowed seeds of discord among citizens facing immense suffering due to the economic stagnation that has plagued the entire nation into abysmal neglect.
According to the First Lady, Tonkolili doesn’t belong to the APC. She alluded that the recently elected National Executive of the All Peoples Congress (APC) does not represent regional balance. She believed that Tonkolili District was neglected in forming the APC National Executive even though she knew those National Officers were duly elected. The electoral process was in full view of the electorate, including a cross-section of the general public through many social media platforms.
The elections also depicted the change that we need in Sierra Leone’s breeding democracy after five years of SLPP misrule. Therefore, Fatima Bio’s promulgated question of why Tonkolili does not form part of the APC National Executive is inappropriate and has no locus standi.
Fatima Bio need not be reminded that the APC has gone too far in embracing the democratic norms of intra-party politics so it does not impose candidates on the people. It creates an enabling environment for all eligible members to vote and to be voted for.
Against this backdrop, the party recently witnessed the most historical and successful outcome of a just concluded elections at both the District and National levels, hence the National Delegate Conference (NDC) in Makeni. The NDC gave birth to the APC National Officers in question, including the Leader and Presidential candidate, Dr Samura Kamara, who, by all indications, is more than determined to redeem the country from its economic slumber.
On another note, why should the First Lady condescend so low to think that Tonkolili District, which in no uncertain terms remain one of APC’s stronghold, would concede to her political stunt or, better still, hate speech in her quest to gain voter empathy? The people of Tonkolili are not blind to the fact that the APC belongs to the people and not the other way around.
The people of Tonkolili know fully well that their party, the APC, represents the views of its people across the country, and it is inclusive of all tribes and regions, which is why the people of Tonkolili will not condone any distraction at these excruciating times in the history of Sierra Leone politics. The people of Tonkilili are equally victims of the economic hardship faced by every Sierra Leonean across the country. They are also victims of the SLPP’s lousy governance and do not need a soothsayer to remind them of the Maada Fatima Bio SLPP’s hypocritical lies and deceits. The people of Tonkolili and the entire populace are fed up with the system, and that is why I think Fatima Bio and her SLPP echelons are busy spewing hate speeches because they fear the unknown come June 24, 2023.
