Those Little Things
How Sorie Fofana’s Peace Message Got Lost In Onomatopoeia
By Sheikh Mustapha Bawoh
Sorie Fofana, like many other SLPP members and supporters, has openly expressed grave dissatisfaction over the recent brouhaha within the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP).
As a result of the prevailing negative situation, he felt compelled to intervene to reduce tensions and call for party unity. He could have expressed his views in his famous Majoroka Column as he always does, but this time he chose another medium with a wider reach and spoke in simple Krio, admonishing all for peace, calm, and a genuine effort to hold party members and supporters together, rather than to create a wedge that would ultimately annihilate the party he loves so dearly.
Sorie’s love for and loyalty to the SLPP is unquestionable. He has done everything a Journalist would do for a political party.
His interview on Ecko Media was simply a radio version of his famous Majoroka Column with punchy “SLPP: Unite or Perish” perpetual admonition.
The interview itself was fantastic – he said all that even the most fearless within the party wouldn’t dare say. He called for unity, discipline, and a return to the values that once held the party together.
Then came the onomatopoeia
While calling for unity and stability within the SLPP, Sorie tried to illustrate the ephemeral nature of political power. He said when your party is in power and you are appointed to a position, there are privileges that come with it, including an official vehicle. Those privileges disappear the moment your party is voted out of power.
He cited himself as an example, explaining that he has been issued a brand new Prado, fully air-conditioned, which he also uses on weekends to visit his hometown of Manjoro.
And then he added: “Feh! Feh! Feh!”
That onomatopoeic expression – meant to mimic the cool breeze of the Prado’s AC and the comfort of power – was intended to make his point more vivid, more relatable in simple Krio.
But the joke backfired
Instead of the nation discussing his powerful message of peace and unity within the SLPP, the conversation shifted to “Feh! Feh! Feh!” Social media memes, opposition spin, which even some SLPP supporters focused only on the Prado sound, accusing Sorie of boasting about enjoying the trappings of power.
In trying to make his message simple and humorous, Sorie’s substantive warning got lost.
The lesson
In these hypersensitive political times, even a genuine peace message can be drowned out by one catchy sound.
But all what Sorie meant to say: Value the peace you have now, because the AC will stop blowing when you lose power.
Unfortunately, what people heard, or were made to hear, was just: “Feh! Feh! Feh!”
People are now trumpeting only this aspect of his otherwise powerful interview to not only mock him but also present him as one of those basking in affluence. This is not true!
The Sorie I Know
Sorie and I have spent almost two decades together as colleagues in the same newsroom. He left the UK to return home in 2008. And in April 2009, we established Global Times when we realized there was a gap we needed to fill.
He started building the only house I know he has from that same time in 2010 and only moved in the property about three years ago. He has not acquired even a piece of land since the SLPP came to power in 2018.
As Chairman of NCRA Board of Authority, he is not entitled to even a single liter of fuel for the official vehicle he uses. He has been responsible for the wear and tear of the said Prado since it was assigned to him six years ago. But he has never openly complained to anyone. He is a very content and modest man.
So if you thought Feh Feh Feh is the same as being rich, you have missed it. For a man who earns less than two thousand dollars quarterly in his current role as Chairman of NCRA, he can never be that rich. If anything, he only pretends in order to save himself from the embarrassing question of how much he has actually realized from the government which he stuck his neck out eight years after ascending to power.
A cozy Prado car, of whatever description, is not a wealth but a necessary tool he needs to facilitate/ease the work he does. Period!
In fact had it not being for some consideration particularly as it relates to His Excellency the President, Global Times could have long opted out of whatever relationship or situation-ship that exists between the paper and the government.
Oh yes!! Sorie, who is not a Minister, or Deputy, or head of a Parastatal or Ambassador, has suddenly become a target of some SLPP members and opposition members who actually think he is one of those enjoying the largesse of this government or the spoils of power. He is not!
What is even more disheartening is the fact that we know that among the perpetrators are people who never even believed in President Bio in the days of struggle; and contributed nothing and not only Feh Feh Fehing but have made exponential improvement in their lives in this very government while Sorie continues to live his usual simple life. Nothing much to show for his sacrifice!!!
Sorie had at least two Mercedes Benz vehicles before the SLPP came to power in 2018 and was living a decent life already before then. So in your next malicious propaganda, bear this in mind!!!
I never said Sorie was well-to-do, but he was at least comfortable with life long before the Prado began Feh Feh Feheing in 2020. This fact is known by the leadership of the SLPP.
