President Julius Maada Bio’s 30-minute address to the nation is sliced with calls for unity, peace and national cohesion and building bridges but suspicion of hypocrisy grows deep among North-Westerners.
The people wonder how bridges can be built in light of deep regional and tribal divisions, mass killings, indiscriminate arrest and detention, oppression of opposition politicians, labeling of the main opposition APC (All People’s Congress) as a terrorist organisation, carrying out terror campaigns in opposition strongholds and mass sackings government workers deemed as opposition sympathisers.
President Julius Maada Bio, last Thursday, displayed a seeming readiness to create harmony by appealing to Sierra Leoneans to build bridges and not walls and that Sierra Leoneans can celebrate their differences and find strength in their shared aspirations.
He said “together, we can forge a path towards a brighter and more prosperous Sierra Leone where every Sierra Leonean is a stakeholder in the nation’s success.”
The President also stressed his call for peace and unity to the people of Sierra Leone in the name of peace and national development.
The call which is a dazzling display of a political will for real unity is also repeated in subsequent paragraphs in the presidential address to the nation.
In Paragraph-5, President Bio appealed to Sierra Leoneans to embrace peace and unity to sustain the momentum but without showing what momentum to maintain.
“We must embrace unity to sustain the momentum and advance our collective aspiration for a peaceful and prosperous country, only through unity, can we build a prosperous and harmonious future for all.”
President Bio does not stop there as he calls for peace in other parts of his address. He espoused peace and unity in paragraphs 11, 12 and 13 as indicated below in an overt attempt to galvanise Sierra Leoneans into accepting unity.
“Unity does not imply uniformity. It is about acknowledging and celebrating our differences while embracing the shared values that bind us together as one people.” The paragraph resonates with the SLPP (Sierra Leone People’s Party)’s motto of ‘ONE PEOPLE, ONE COUNTRY.’
In Paragraph 12, President Bio recognised the contribution of every Sierra Leonean towards the common good: “Unity is about recognising that each of us contributes to the rich tapestry of our nation and together, we can achieve far more than we can individually.”
He also reiterated such stance in paragraph-13 as he urged Sierra Leoneans to put dialogue and understanding at the top of the national agenda. “We must prioritise dialogue and understanding to foster national unity and cohesion.”
In demonstration of his government’s readiness to unite, President Bio informed Sierra Leoneans that his government had sustained the implementation of critical elements of the mediated dialogue including the establishment of the tripartite electoral review committee and the inter-party dialogue.
He said “we are continuing to engage in open and honest conversations where every voice is heard and respected.” Bio also touched on the unity of the nation in paragraph-26 as he noted that “our beloved Sierra Leone is a mosaic of diverse cultures, ethnicities and traditions. It is this diversity that enriches our heritage and makes us unique.”
He went on to state in subsequent paragraphs that diversity should be seen as a source of strength, a wellspring of ideas that can propel the country toward a brighter future. He said “as we embark on this journey towards national unity, let us remember the importance of the national pride.”
In paragraph-28, President Bio also called on Sierra Leoneans to overcome challenges and achieve greatness, and together the country could be transformed into a land that stands as a shining example of UNITY IN DIVERSITY.
The presidential appeals for unity and national cohesion could resonate well with Sierra Leoneans if made with utmost sincerity as the people especially opposition politicians still remain skeptical about government’s readiness to ensure peace in a country sharply divided by ethnicity, region and political parties with President Bio at the centre in ensuring a double-standard administration: one for South-East and one for North-West and the trend still continues unabated.
*Deepening The Divide
After several Bintumani conferences including the Commonwealth, AU and ECOWAS brokered dialogue, the divide between South-East and North-West is still deepened by the pattern of Bio’s governance system.
In the early days of his government, Bio made an overt attempt to create unbearable hardship in the North-West regions purely out of political consideration. One may ask how, but the answer is simple as shown in the rampant and illegal closure of mining companies and cancellation of several development projects that would have benefitted Sierra Leoneans and in particular North-westerners.
The illegal Cancellation of Mamamah International Airport Project and Closure of SL Mining now Marampa Mines Company are testimonies of government’s divisive rule in a tiny and poverty-stricken country.
Government knew that with these projects, North-west regions would blossom and there will be large crowds there to tap the economic windfall, a situation that will count against them in any election, and it is a threat that they will not put up with.
For the Bio’s government, the only way to eliminate such threat is to shut the projects down.
In their uncontrollable desire to impoverish North-West regions, it never dawned on government that had Mamamah gone as planned, there would have been hundreds of jobs for Sierra Leoneans and the nation’s capital, Freetown would have been decongested to an appreciable level.
The tollgate would have made more revenue for government and the community itself seen prosperity. Government would not like to see such economic transformation of the North-West by the implementation of a viable project that they had wanted to see in the South-East regions particularly Bonthe district, Bio’s hometown.
SL Mining was also illegally closed thus creating economic hardship in a community whose residents depend on mining for their livelihoods. Most of the company’s workers including expatriates were also arrested and detained, property vandalised and the export of ore indefinitely put on hold without justification.
As a respecter of the law, the company filed a suit at the International Commercial Court and government however bowed to pressure only after it lost the case and bore the cost. As a form of compensation, Marampa Mines mined and exported the ore for a year without royalties with the community who are the real owners of the ore on the wrong end. Such action which many see as callous never happened in the South-East regions, SLPP strongholds.
*Mass Killings
Although President Bio called for building bridges, the call came seemingly too late as hundreds of North-Westerners have crumbled under the barrel of the gun through disproportionate use of force by the state security forces.
The police and the army have been too heavy-handed in quelling down protests staged by unarmed and defenceless civilians in complete disregard of the people’s right to protest and petition government. Scenarios that depict lethal police crackdowns in the Northwest remain countless with other forms of atrocious and outrageous crimes perpetrated against peaceful civilians.
The people of Rosenge, a tiny village in Tonkolili district would never forget the day the police and the army broke into their community and killed commercial rider by pulling the trigger. Dwelling houses were also broken into and valuables carted away without explaining to the owners. The question which many are asking says:
Is it because the people of Tonkolili did not vote for SLPP in 2018 they got such treatment? The answer is left to those who carried the raid or those who authorised it.
The Local Unit Commander who attempted to condemn the police and military brutality was immediately suspended and it remained unclear whether he was called again to the police service. In various public order situations, the police are quick to use the gun as shown by the killings in Tombo, one of the famous fishing communities.
Fishermen who protested against an illegal fishing ban were gunned down, and reprisal attacks led to few police casualties.
The Iron Ore mining town of Lunsar also saw waves of killings when youth protested against their paramount chief who they suspected of conniving with government to shut down the mines. Tonko Limba in Kambia district also fell in the hands of armed men during a bye-election as an APC supporter was shot dead and several others injured.
Of course, Freetown also saw several waves of killings especially August 10, 2022 protests where 26 civilians were shot dead and six police officers hacked to death. Extra-judicial killings were also carried out at Pademba Road correctional centre where inmates protested against a ban by the Chief Justice, Desmond Babatunde Edwards.
The ban indicated that no inmate should see the light of day for a month owing to a suspected case of Corona virus. Government puts the casualty figure at 31 while unofficial sources suggested a figure higher than government’s. On the contrary, such killings never took place in the South-East regions where several protests have taken place rendering the bridge-building project farcical.
*Indiscriminate Arrest and Detention
Opposition politicians and residents in the North-West regions have seen intermittent waves of arrest and detention since the assumption of power by President Julius Maada Bio, but such has never taken place in the South-East regions even when the people go on the offensive.
On several occasions, Senior APC politicians and their supporters have been in police and prison cells sometimes without bail and released without charges. The first to fall victim of arrest was ex-Minister of Defence, Alfred Paolo Conteh who was roped in for treason after he was invited by government to help roll back Corona at a time the virus was wreaking havoc on several parts of the world including China where it first broke out.
The former Minister spent close to a year in harsh prison conditions as shown by media publications. He was however set free after the court found him not guilty of the crime although he was still held in custody for other misdemeanours.
Next in line was the former Minister of Social Welfare, Sylvia Blyden herself who was roped in for sedition and publication of false news. Like Conteh, Blyden came out through a presidential clemency.
Ex-Minister of Political and Public Affairs, Karmoh Kabba was also arrested for malicious damage during a riot that erupted during parliamentary bye-election and the case seemed to have died naturally after months of trials.
Even former President Ernest Bai Koroma was recently picked up in his hometown of Makeni, investigated and held under house arrest for days not until he was freed by the sub regional bloc, ECOWAS (Economic community Of West African States.
The spates of arrest, detention, harassment and intimidation of APC politicians began in the early days of Bio’s rule following the formation of an all-out commission of inquiry that investigated past government officials including the former President.
Their travelling papers were also confiscated without sparing those who had died. Families of former Education Minister and the Chairman, National Telecommunication Authority, Dr Minkailu Bah and Momoh Conteh respectively were posthumously driven out of their homes for the alleged criminal actions of the late men.
The spree of political vendettas still continued to date. The arrest did not only stop at the doors of ministers and other highly placed men in the party but also those in the lower cadres of society.
Sierra Leone saw the arrest, detention and sometimes torture of APC grassroot and politicians especially Med Kay, Alie Commoner, APC sheriff and others most times without justification.
Even the arrest of popular artist and rapper, Alhaji Amadu Jalloh aka LAJ had political flavour as he popularised the ‘Red Flag Movement’ which has close ties with APC. Most of them however saw the light of day on November 26 last year when over 1,000 prisoners were let loose in a so-called prison break.
No remorse or repentance has been shown by government amid complaints and grumblings among the public with questions raised about the building of bridges.
*Oppression of North-westerners
Residents in the North-West regions have borne the brunt of PAOPA’s oppressive and tyrannical rule in the past five years as evidenced by beatings and torture by security forces after pronouncement of curfews and states of emergencies for Corona and sexual violence.
It was during such pronouncements that the police and the army lorded it over North-Westerners when such oppression would hardly occur in the South-east regions. Following the pronouncement of public emergency in April, 2020 and the lockdowns and curfews that followed, residents in the Eastend of Freetown particularly Calaba Town and Allen Town communities were asked to lie down on the ground with their eyes fixed to the hot-burning sun.
Those who broke curfew hours were handcuffed and taken to various police stations where they would be detained and sometimes charged to court or released with complaints of extortion not uncommon.
Women and girls who ventured out to the streets to fetch water after days in their homes also fell in the hands of security forces. They were either arrested or sent home with strong warning while those in the South-East had a field day, a continuation of the political divide that has taken deep root in the country.
*Tagging Of APC As A Terrorist Organisation
In May 2020 after the killings at Pademba Road correctional facility, Tombo, Freetown and other parts of the country, President Bio tagged APC as a terrorist organisation owing to unsubstantiated claims that APC politicians planned, orchestrated and financed the violent protests in the country although it was clear that they were innocent.
The allegations were first raised by the Finance Minister, Mohamed Rahman Swarray although no iota of evidence existed to support his claims. For many Sierra Leoneans, the ploy was clear: it was a move to shut down APC by arresting most its senior officials for the party to become rudderless once bereft of leadership.
SLPP officials were quick to accuse APC of fomenting violence in the country to justify retaliatory attacks.
However, independent studies carried out by credible organisation revealed that APC played no role in the attacks but the protests were spontaneous; they were staged against the unbearable cost of living in the country.
Bio’s government never reversed the statement even when he was heavily criticised by local and international bodies that claims of terrorism would smear the image of Sierra Leone and dent the economy since no serious investor would bring his money in a terror-prone country.
Bio also came under fire for labeling a political party as a terrorist organisation as the party lacked such features. A well-known researcher in terrorism and security Studies found it difficult to tell what constituted terrorism and what features an organisation must possess for it to be called a terrorist Organisation remain one of the biggest debates in security studies.
Even former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair too struggled a bit to define terrorism when he appeared before the House of Lords following the bombing of London after the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. But, it is an easy task for SLPP to quickly tag a political party as a terrorist movement apparently to score political goals.
*Illegal Sackings
A little over 100 staff have been laid off in parliament under doubtful circumstances with more heads expected to roll in coming days. The dismissals have however sparked a row between the Speaker of Parliament, Dr Abass Bundu and his subordinate, Umar Paran Tarawally with no one knowing where it would end.
No one seemingly wanted to take responsibility for the mass sackings which has created new fears in the minds of many Sierra Leoneans especially those in the public and civil service.
An investigation is however underway into the circumstances leading to the dismissals. The sacking of the parliamentary staff is the most recent of government’s dismissals over the years.
Such public institutions as Statistics Sierra Leone, Sierra Leone Maritime Administration, State House, Road Maintenance Fund among others also saw massive sackings with North-Westerners as key victims.
Even existing civil and public servants are no longer safe in their offices owing to lack of job security. The people of Sierra Leone wanted these anomalies to be addressed first before government can talk of building bridges as one claimed by a long-standing lawyer who argued that “one cannot call for peace when they are sacking people from other tribes or undermining institutions that provide peace.”
In a radio interview, President Bio himself admitted that the country had been long divided by the WHITE MAN into North, East, West and South. Why is Bio urging Sierra Leoneans now to build bridges?