By Francis Kamara
The people of Magburaka, on 16th June, 2022 welcomed their own son of the soil Muhammad Mahdi Sesay when he officially declared his intention to contest for the presidential flag bearer position of the APC.
Muhammad Mahdi Sesay made this declaration in front of thousands of supporters and loyalists, at the Magburaka Town playing field.
The event created heroic and emotional scenes as thousands of Sierra Leoneans both the young and old, women, children, people from different tribes, as well as the grassroots people of the APC party were in attendance to grace such an auspicious occasion.
Welcoming the presidential aspirant for the APC flag-bearer position and his delegates, the Section Chief of Magburaka Town, Allan Osman, thanked the gathering and the APC grassroots for their patriotism and support shown to their son. He added that it is a great move not only for the APC party, but for the nation as a whole to rally behind Muhammad Mahdi Sesay for president come 2023.
Allan Osman went on to say that it is a positive step in the right direction to give the new era a chance – and most importantly, that he, Muhammad Mahdi Sesay is the right candidate to lead the APC party to victory come 2023 elections.
He further said that Muhammad Mahdi Sesay has displayed tremendous love and affection for the people of Magburaka by creating a platform for youths to be employed. Muhammad Mahdi Sesay added that he has also erected street lights for his people, and has completed several other development programs that have benefited the people of Magburaka. He concluded that as section chief, he will try as best as possible to support Muhammad Mahdi Sesay and encouraged members of the audience to do the same.
Making his declaration, Muhammad Mahdi Sesay who is aspiring for presidential flag bearer for the main opposition APC party appreciated the positive love and support shown to him by the people of Magburaka. He stated that indeed the people of Magburaka have made him feel belonged and that he is proud to be a son of the soil.
He went on to say that he has not come to the people only to declare his flag bearer aspirations, but he also brought a strong message of unity, hope, and a return to normalcy in all aspects of governance in Sierra Leone when he assumed the highest seat in the land. He highlighted that in order for Sierra Leone to grow as a nation there must be patriotism, love and unity amongst every Sierra Leonean, adding that government officials, parliamentarians, and presidents, must be trustworthy, loyal and determined to work well as servants for the people that they are leading.
Mr. Sesay mentioned that it is time for the new generation to take over, and as an individual with vast experience in both the public and private sectors, and one who served under the Ernest Bai Koroma Administration as a special emissary, he has a sense of purpose coupled with great ideas to transform not only the party, but the country as a whole due to the fact that he has displayed his innate creativity as the sole pioneer of pre-paid meters in Sierra Leone – and not only that, he also introduced the idea for Sierra Leone to open an embassy in Kuwait and did his best to foster fruitful relationship between the two countries.
He also underscored that his flagship program will be to create 1.5 million jobs for Sierra Leoneans in the space of five years, because the absence of jobs and high unemployment rate in the country has paved the way for an instable economy and increased number of disgruntled youths. He added that Sierra Leone cannot develop as a nation without the development of the local industries, and that equally without a well functioned local industry there won’t be enough jobs for the people.
Mr. Sesay emphasized that bad politics have destroyed the positive fabrics of the nation due to tribalism, nepotism, and favouritism. He said: “the country has been held hostage by division and “unemployment, price instability, poor electricity, battered economy, and neglect of public-school teachers, is the real enemy that Sierra Leoneans should fight against.
He concluded that as he is working towards the framework of unity, love, and peace, he also has the vision of expanding the country’s infrastructure and develop the energy sector with clean and powerful hydropower system.
Mr. Sesay also promised the gathering that if elected and given the chance to rule the nation, he will create a university loan scheme that will ease the burden on struggling parents. The student loan scheme will help thousands of university students to pay for their education and it will also create the need to create job opportunities for university graduates to help them repay the loan. He added that there is also the need to build modern medical centres in every district, and create National Health Insurance Trust to render assistance to workers for them to receive better health care service. Muhammad Mahdi Sesay also promised that if elected, he will create 1000 affordable houses across the country every year and that will be done in partnership with banks and investors. He affirmed that he will also work with Sierra Leoneans in the diaspora and create a platform to partner with Sierra Leoneans abroad to help push the nation forward.
He comforted the APC supporters to be hopeful urged them to render their support to him and if elected, the party will return to power come 2023, as he has vast experience and he is capable of a positive transformation.
