In every government, officials appointed on political basis can be dismissed or suspended mainly on grounds of incompetence or corruption. It is rare for them to be reprimanded simply for being zealous. Abu Abu Koroma the newly reinstated Resident Minister, North, was suspended for attempting to go too far in his bid to achieve compliance with government regulations. His style of governance was seen to be a shade different from the softly, softly approach of the Head of State. If he had his way he would adopt the style of Winston Churchill of Britain or Magufuli of Tanzania by disturbing routine and getting the work done.
There are several ways to kill a cat. It is the death of the cat that matters. Too many laws and regulations are being flouted with no deterrent measures from government. They are met with neither threats nor actions. The restriction of bike riders from the Central Business District of Freetown and the market sales on Sundays are two of the most glaring examples that could have needed an Abu Abu. He looks like a martinet.
Under the past APC regime there were numerous instances of dismissed politicians who were recycled even when they were glaringly involved in corrupt practices that affected the nation negatively. All that was needed was the right connection. In other words nepotism was the order of the day. In every government worldwide there is patronage.
Voters would not stick their necks out for nothing. They should be compensated somehow. And if the incumbent government leaves its supporters out to appoint its opponents what sort of rationale will that be? It will be counter-productive leading to sabotage which is why zealots like Abu Abu Koroma have to be appreciated. He hails from the stronghold of the opposition and had obviously endured the odium of living in a hostile territory as it were. He had the courage of his convictions which many a sycophant does not possess. He is a man whom the lust of money cannot buy.
We revel in the knowledge that we were the first to ring a bell about Abu Abu because we saw that something was going amiss. Dismissing him for what he did would have cost the government some reverse in an area that needs to be brought into the fold of the SLPP. This is in spite of the fact that Nightwatch is being wrongly tagged as an opposition newspaper because of our objective stance on national issues. The truth shall make us free.
We were obviously not alone in this reinstatement bid. There must have been behind-the-scenes moves within the SLPP and other citizens who felt that the suspension of Abu Abu was rather harsh. The fact is that like every policemen the man has his rivals.
Not only that. There are many opposition members and enemies who would like the man dismissed simply because of their myopic view that because he hails from the North he should belong to the APC. This is one major cause of the acrimony between the North-West and the South-East. People do not care what policies each party pursues that will lead to the development of the country. All they care is that a certain politician hails from their area. Patriots like Abu Abu teach us that it is the politician who brings progress to his or her people and not necessarily where he/she comes from that matter.
We close by commending President Bio for his stance and warning him that recycling of politicians is corruption and he should refrain from it.