The advocacy for Sierra Leone to stand alone became strong and compelling after President Julius Maada Bio was allegedly fraudulently declared winner of the June 24, 2023 elections.
The stand-alone campaign means no ‘White Man’ should dictate for the government and people of Sierra Leone in every aspect regardless of their standing in Sierra Leone. Despite the desperate call, Sierra Leone cannot stand on its legs without help from the international community.
Because Sierra Leone wanted to stand alone, a bag of rice is now close to NLe1, 000 or Le1, 000, 000 (one million Leones), a bag of cement stands at NLe120 or Le120, 000 (one hundred and twenty thousand Leones), transport fare from Freetown stands at Le100 or Le100, 000 (one hundred thousand Leones) not talking of Kailahun, Kono, Kenema and Kabala.
The exchange rate is appalling as close to Le3m goes into US$100 and the list is endless. These prices represent a big leap from where President Bio took over in 2018, and to return to the past easy days, economic analysts say, the country needs over US$4bn. Where will Sierra Leone get the money?
It is such a difficult and thought-provoking question as Sierra Leone has a tiny or minute GDP to take care of its teeming population and deliver services to its people. Although he fights hard to stand alone, Bio finds it difficult to solve any of those economic challenges that are taking Sierra Leone backwards.
It is difficult to implement the national budget that was recently tabled in parliament owing its deficits side. The budget needs over One trillion Leones to fund its deficit and that money would come only from the international community. Sierra Leone’s past budgets, over the years, were being funded by donor partners but funds had been withheld after Sierra Leone failed to conduct free and fair elections.
Despite the challenges, President Julius Maada Bio says it is high time Sierra Leone moved away from American and Western control and stand on her own. Sierra Leone’s standing alone is also an expression of a firm belief that Sierra Leone is a “sovereign state” as claimed by Chief Electoral Commissioner, Mohamed Kenewui Konneh and Speaker of Parliament, Dr Abass Bundu.
The CEC first invoked sovereignty principle after his agency, ECSL (Electoral Commission For Sierra Leone) came under fire for failing to live up to its expectation of ensuring a credible electoral process.
EU was blunt in its allegation against ECSL of unreliability after it failed to implement recommendations that emanated from the 2018 polls. EU was highly hopeful of a credible electoral process in 2023 only if the recommendations were implemented.
Dr Abass Bundu also has a share of its argument on the sovereignty of Sierra Leone after he referred to APC (All People’s Congress) politicians of making a sad mistake if they thought the “white man” would give them political power.
Those days, he said, had been trampled in the dust of history. The Speaker made the statement at a time APC’s parliamentarians staged a boycott owing to open electoral irregularities.
This means, regardless of what may come, the election result will be changed by no one, and stand as they were until Bio completes his second term despite the controversy. President Julius Maada Bio himself hit out at the United States and Europe saying Sierra Leone is sovereign and elections all over the world are not perfect.
He cited ex-US President Donald Trump who failed to accept the election results on to the final moment although there was a big difference.
Trump bowed to pressure and left the White House when time was up, but never stooped low despite the hammerings and taunts he got from within and outside Sierra Leone. In a seeming attempt to mobilise action against the Europeans and the Americans in Sierra Leone, President Bio posed a question that hinted on what had the ‘White Men’ done to improve Sierra Leone although, many said, he was quite aware of their role in the restoration of peace and democracy in Sierra Leone during the war period.
Sierra Leone, in early 2000, saw the highest deployment of UN troops to stabilise the country and bring prosperity to the people. It was also here in Sierra Leone that Britain launched a military operation at the ‘Okra Hills’ ‘West Side’ Boys which changed the scope and nature of the war.
‘West Side Boys,’ the most dreadful of all rebel groups emerged from the jungle and handed in their weapons to UN and ECOMOG (ECOWAS Monitoring Group) troops as they were left with no hope after the one-hour operation.
UN, US, UK and other countries did not only stop at the war zones in defence of Sierra Leone but also played significant role in the country’s socio-economic and political development.
EU, in particular, provided funds for the country’s infrastructural development as seen in the construction of roads and bridges to connect villages and cities to the capital, Freetown.
Several highways such as the Masiaka-Bo, Freetown-Kambia, Bandajuma-Liberia and others were fixed out of funds donated to government by EU. Key bridges such as Mabang, Moala and Magbele-Ferry were also constructed with help from the European body, and such contribution had immensely benefited the country as trade and commerce between Freetown and the provinces significantly improved.
Of course, Sierra Leone’s former colonial power, UK also strongly contributed to the post-war development process of Sierra Leone seen in the millions of dollars spent in the restructure of the police and the army after the war.
The Commonwealth Community Safety and Security Project (CCSSP) focused mainly on ensuring a re-born Sierra Leone Police bearing the Inscription ‘Force For Good’ while IMATT (International Military Advisory Training Team) retrained and re-equipped the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces to live up to their mandate within a democratic order.
UK also sponsored the establishment of the country’s Anti-Corruption Commission to prevent and investigate graft so that the country’s money could be saved for the common good, and the aid continues to date.
Since 2018, the Anti-Corruption Commissioner was being paid by UK through its development wing, Department For International Development.
Sierra Leone also hosts several investors from the UK with London Mining Company standing out owing to the huge millions of dollars it ploughed IN Sierra Leone. The investors created jobs for thousands of jobless men and women and improved livelihoods in Sierra Leone.
The United States also treads on similar path as Sierra Leone gets a fair share of her aid through the United States Agency for International Development. Despite the huge contribution to Sierra Leone’s economic development, Bio still bashes at the international community as they go after him to ensure an electoral reform that will cost him the power little did he know that his way to State House was paved by the international community (UK, US, EU, Germany, Russia and China) in 2018.
Then President Ernest Bai Koroma was popular enough to hold on to power without any resistance from the Bio camp.
But, threats of indictment from the international community in the outbreak of any violence restrained then President Koroma backed up by his love for the country. Sierra Leoneans were also aware about most of the complaints Bio used to make to the international community when he came under attack by opposition members.
Why is Bio hitting hard on the ‘Whites’ at a time they are on his throat to accept democratic principles? It was also the same way they went after former President Koroma for regime change in Sierra Leone between 2017 and 2018.
To date, the struggle continues with Bio still holding the forte without any recognition and support from the international community.
But, he prefers riding alone instead of working with the outside world to reduce risks in a risky country.