Ex-President Earnest Bai Koroma is remembered and honoured today for the sacrifices he made yesterday. Although President Koroma has left State House, he is still accorded the respect and courtesies due a former President. The former President is currently Head of Elections among member states of the regional and sub-regional blocs, AU (African Union) and ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States).
Peaceful, free and fair electoral processes that have recently taken place in African countries are to his credit. President Koroma observed recent elections in Namibia, Togo, Benin and quite recently Somali land. The elections, under his observation ended peacefully.
No rancour was reported and no foul was cried. President Koroma is the first former Head of State to be invited by the United States to monitor the Trump and Biden elections. The former President, by all indications, stands tall among former colleague presidents.
He stands tall not because of his stature, but sacrifices he made at a time ultimate and sovereign power was vested in him. Former President Koroma is well known and reputed for his high degree of tolerance to opposition parties particularly SLPP (Sierra Leone People’s Party) then in opposition. He demonstrated tolerance on the first day that marked the genesis of his governance project in Sierra Leone.
The announcement of the elections in 2007 was no easy moment for Sierra Leone. After many years of what the people referred as a political bondage under President Ahmed Tejan Kabba (late), they were set free by the Ernest victory.
Another group of Sierra Leoneans were however saddened by the defeat of SLPP in the polls. These were disillusioned SLPP youths who many described as former Kamajor fighters ransacked and damaged SLPP headquaters on Wallace Johnson Street in Freetown.
The vandalisation of SLPP office was referred by then Inspector-General of Police, Brima Acha Kamara (late) as ‘Operation Pay Yourself.’ The IG argued that the operation was for the SLPP youths to compensate themselves after the party lost the 2007 elections.
In a show of deep political tolerance to the opposition, former President Koroma visited SLPP headquaters to assess the extent of damage. The former President reportedly allocated over Le40M to SLPP to repair the building.
Ernest Koroma received accolades from SLPP members for the magnanimity he showed them. Throughout his leadership, former President Koroma was hardly accepted in the south-eastern regions of Sierra Leone, heartlands of the ruling SLPP. But, he used his political tactics to endear himself to the people in those parts of the country.
Between 2009 and 2010, former President Koroma displayed the highest form of magnanimity ever seen in any President. The period was one of unrest in the southern capital of Bo where APC (All People’s Congress) office and the house of Regional Chairman, Sheik Sillah (late)were set ablaze by alleged SLPP supporters. Many Sierra Leoneans expected a decisive and brutal government response.
President Koroma’s action ran contrary to the expected brutality that would have befallen the arsonists. The former President ordered police and army chiefs to provide maximum security coverage on all SLPP offices across the country.
Their mandate was to also ensure that no SLPP stalwart was hurt. Despite threats made by APC supporters, they heeded to the call of peace by former President Koroma, and sanity prevailed. He did not allow his trail of thought on governance issues to be derailed by detractors.
President Bio then SLPP flag-bearer toured the regions, and returned to Freetown returned home safe and sound. President Koroma’s quest for peace earned him respect among world leaders. Ex-President Barrack Obama wasted no time in describing Ernest Bai Koroma as a true democrat. In a summit of world leaders, former President Koroma was revered when he was flanked by former President Obama and Secretary-General, Kofi Annan.
He sat between the two international statesmen in the view of dignified world leaders. Even those that were arrested were pardoned by the former President so that peace could be consolidated. The chaos that led to the burning came during a thank-you tour conducted by President Bio then flag-bearerand his entourage.
The former President’s tolerance to opposition parties was extended to the inclusive governance heensured throughout his leadership. President Koroma never embarked on mass sackings which PAOPA regime implemented in its early years of state governance.
Hundreds of civil and public servants were dismissed uponPresident Bio’s coming to power. Most of those dismissed were perceived APC sympathisers. In the days of President Koroma, prominent south-easterners were given top jobs in the Koroma-led administration.
Moijueh Kaikai was Minister of Social Welfare, Joseph Bandabla Dauda was Minister of Internal Affairs, John Arrow Bockarie was Deputy Minister of Justice, Denis Sandi, Minister of lands and other notable south-easterners who occupied top ministerial jobs in the Koroma administration.
The administration was one of broad-based government of national unity. President Koroma’s leadership style quite well resonated with recommendations of the 1999 Lome Peace agreement and the 2002 Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report.
On several occasions, the former President was commended for his leadership style in a post-conflict state. In a democracy, the freedoms, civil liberties and fundamental rights of the citizens reign supreme. The Koroma administration was tailored towards respect for the rights of all in Sierra Leone regardless of tribe, region and political affiliation.
His governance model portrayed Sierra Leone as a country that has signed and ratified international conventions and treaties that recognise and uphold the rights of all men. Sierra Leone is a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 1966 and other several global human rights instruments.
The Constitution of Sierra Leone, 1991 contained provisions analogous to the aforementioned treaties and conventions. The former President held the people of Sierra Leone in high esteem since he believed that political sovereignty belongs to the people.
The constitution of Sierra Leone re-echoes the sovereignty of the people of Sierra Leone in early pages. It says sovereignty belongs to the people of Sierra Leone from whom government through this constitution derives its powers, legitimacy and authority.
In most of his speeches, the former President would caution his APC comrades to use the law to solve their differences. In his days, nobody took the law into his hands because he believed that Sierra Leone belong to Sierra Leoneans, and same time, it is a country governed by law. In his last days, former President Koroma told Sierra Leoneans that his government killed no one.
These qualities are rare in any African leader, and these keep him alive. Former President Koroma is today a global icon and celebrity. Sierra Leoneans are ready to lay down their lives for the former President when situation calls for that.