According to grassroots supporters and members of the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) after President Bio exits the stage in 2028, there will no longer be an SLPP to speak about as the President, who is Leader for life of the party has an hundred per cent stranglehold on the party and its affairs; a state of being he has conditioned and maintained since 2012.
The concerned party members say the president has consolidated power so much so that there is no one in the party that can take on the incumbent president , neither is there anyone in the party that they are confident will be able to wallop the All People’s Congress (APC) as Bio has done since 2018.
The contention is that if the president decides that he will not contest for a third term the party’s grassroots say they don’t see how the party will be able to manage another presidential election victory without Mr Bio.
“At present the SLPP cannot do anything without president Bio. He has consolidated his power in the party government to such a level that he has consolidated within the party. This is good for him but bad for the party because if Bio decides not to contest 2028 the SLPP will be in trouble. We can say this is not by mistake but by design. The president has weakened the SLPP constitution to the point where he can have his way even after he leaves power he will still be in control of the party to the point of influencing party leadership going forward. This is why he changed the SLPP constitution,” an SLPP grassroots member posited.
Making an example of how president Bio has dominated and captured the SLPP, the party’s grassroots members that spoke to this medium say many people in the party had wanted to throw their hats into the party’s flagbearer race but just one word from Bio put a halt to their activities until further notice.
“Members of the party still respect president Bio as leader and commander in chief; when he speaks everyone listens. Remember he still has the power to hire and fire. Many people who came with him in 2018 that considered themselves untouchable and that Bio wouldn’t fire them, all got the sack. The president keeps a tab on all of them and knows their character and behaviour. But after president Bio we don’t see anyone in the party that is capable of doing what he has done,” said members of the SLPP grassroots.
The ruling partisans reminded that it was Maada Bio that rescued the party after being in the opposition since 2007.
“For 11 years there were all these SLPP big guns but despite their popularity none of them had the formula to defeat the APC. But Bio as a military man fought hard and returned the party back to power. Everyone in the party knows that Bio rescued them and the party. However, it is not good for the party to put all its eggs in one basket .After all, power is fleeting and Mr Bio will have to sail into the sunset and the party will have to move on under another leader,” one of the SLPP grassroots reminded SLPP executives.
In his speech to the nation in commemoration of the nation’s 64th Independence Day anniversary, opposition flagbearer Dr. Samura Kamara said political parties have been captured by the executive, stating that: “The hopes of our forefathers to build a peaceful, united and prosperous and dignified nation has been choked, not by fate but largely by the failures and poison of our subsequent partisan politics and leadership.” The APC flagbearer said since Independence the destiny of Sierra Leone has been hijacked by leaders who prioritise power over people, party over country and personal ambition over national purpose.
“For decades, the destiny of Sierra Leone has been hijacked by self-interest, political tribalism and regionalism, and short-sighted governance. We have accommodated politicians and leaders prioritizing power over people, party over country, and personal ambition over national purpose…Democratically, a political party is the property of all its members and those who look up to it as an instrument for positive change. Thus, any sustainable unity within a political party or between political parties must be an embodiment of all members and the country as a whole. A true political leader must have the love, carrying capacity, and will to serve all shapes of people,” rapped Dr Samura in his Independence Day speech that warranted his house being surrounded by state security.
Sierra Leone’s politics has been dominated by the strongman syndrome where power is centred in one hand. It must be noted that Maada Bio returned back to Sierra Leone as a former president who was also encouraged by then outgoing President Ernest Bai Koroma in what many have called regime change.
“The problem with strongmen in party politics is that they control everything to the party’s own hurt because after people like Maada Bio leaves power they create a leadership vacuum that is very hard to fill. Because they do not allow anyone else to shine while they are in power, after the strongman leaves power the party is left in disarray. This is where the SLPP is allowing Maada Bio to lead them. It has now come down to people in the party to wrestle power back from Maada Bio. Until then president Bio is in total control of the SLPP and there is no telling what will happen as we approach 2028. If the party is sure that they cannot win without Maada Bio I will not be surprise if he does to the National Constitution what he did to the SLPP Constitution to give him more attempts for the seat of power. Who is to stop him? There is no one in the SLPP or APC. It will be interesting to know who will lead the SLPP into 2028 without Julius Maada Bio who has been responsible for turning the party’s fortunes around,” said a ranking lawyer in the main opposition.
As the SLPP prepares for life after Julius Maada Bio there is every indication that the party will not be able to get rid of the political monolith the former junta leader has become.