By Ralph Sesay
The Human Rights and Democratic credentials of Former President Koroma are well established and will linger on for decades.
As a President who inherited a post war country ravaged by a devastating conflict that saw the killings, maimings and amputation of women and children he was able to consolidate the fragile peace to the admiration of the United Nations and other international players who were increasingly pushing to have Sierra Leone as a Guinea pig of a United nations brokered peace country.
Former President was resoundingly acclaimed retirement for closely tolerating dissenting views from the opposition, civil society players and the media.
He was notable for travelling with critical players in the country politics including the current President Julius Maada Bio and other opposition figures to the annoyance of his party members.
Koroma finished his two years term in office without having a single political prisoner or neither approved the death of single Sierra Leonean.
His share of the national cake spread from Krubola to Koinadugu to Makeni to Magburaka through to Pujehun,Bo and Kenema and Kailahun.
His road infrastructure, solar lights and Free Health Care projects have benefitted all regions and Districts in the country.
His quest for peace was what led him to be appointed as the Chairman of the Committee of Ten for the Reform of the United Nations Security Council.
Sierra Leone under his watch attain very favourable rankings in the Global Peace Index and the Doing Business Reports making the country the new baby of the sub-region.
The country’s mining sector boomed with notable investor’s ceating jobs for hundreds of Sierra Leoneans and medium term businesses.
He was able to immediately resuscitate the battered image of the country which was already a safe haven for the transportation of cocaine through to Mauritania.
The arrest of 700 Kilograms of Cocaine just few months after his assumption to power was very reassuring to the International Community that the country will no longer settle for such a menace then under the SLPP led Government.
The foreign nationals arrested with the cocaine were tried and later transferred to various jails in the US.His Government had also gone for a very strong Anti Drug Law to be able to nip the drug menace on the board once and for all.
The United States and many other multi lateral nations have applauded Koroma’s determination to make the Lungi International Airport which was almost blacklisted a drug-free.
His strong tolerance for Peace also took him to many countries as an envoy of either ECOWAS or the Mano Region whenever there are issues around Peace in the Mano River Basin and Africa as a whole.
Koroma had called for a strong sub regional peace and economic reintegration by taking the bold steps to start contributing to Peace Keeping Operations.
Under his watch the Sierra Leone Police moved to various Peace Keeping Missions in Haiti, Darfur, Somalia and the Directorate of Peace Keeping Mission in New York.
The Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces was also not spared by his efforts to make meaningful progress in all sectors of the country.
His declaration of February 18th every year as ‘Arm Forces Day’ and the continuous provision of rice supply,decent accommodation and other military equipment to the military and the Police was exemplary and helped restored the battered image of our forces.
The story is the same with the Teachers and the Health Care workers who were able to receive better and reasonable salaries under his watch.
All of these remarkable Human Rights and Democratic Credentials have continued to inspire various Peace Institutions and Organizations around the World such as Horasis formed by Former World Economic Forum boss, the African Union to use his expertly and experience in consolidating Regional and World Peace.
Former President Obansanjo and other prominent former heads of States had are always yearning to have Sierra Leone elder statesman around.
His African Engineering Military Corps concept calling for the use of the Military in Africa Countries to undertake various developments programs against the end of wars and military interregnums has been highly applauded.
The Horasis Meeting for 2020 is expected to seal Koroma’s idea for the subsequent attention of AU/ECOWAS Heads of States.
Koroma told the 2019 Horasis Meeting in Canada that the discipline and numbers of African armies should be exploited to push through developments.
He had cited the US Engineering Corps massive successes as a model.