The question of who calls in ECOMOG (ECOWAS Monitoring Group) is now the most frequently asked since Alpha Kanu appeared on a radio discussion programme last week.
ECOMOG is the military wing of ECOWAS (Economic Community Of West African States), a body formed in May, 1975 to provide security and economic free zone in the sub-region for a thriving trade and commerce.
Kanu who is former Information Minister in the Ernest Bai Koroma government is currently the Presidential Spokesman for the government of President Julius Maada Bio.
He said ECOMOG troops were invited by his former boss, Ernest Koroma who provided a base for them in the Northern town of Lungi. “The building for the ECOMOG base is now nearing completion and ECOMOG should be here now to occupy the base,” Kanu said during the discussion.
The ECOMOG base, he went on, would serve as a springboard for military intervention in any West African state where the khaki boys usurp power without just cause. Coups and counter-coups have been a recent phenomenon on the continent especially West Africa.
The need to have an ECOMOG base in Sierra Leone stems from the lack of an ECOWAS (Economic Community Of West African States) standing army to restore democracy where it has been toppled.
In recent times, Niger, Mali, Burkina Fasso, Gabon and neighbouring Guinea have seen a rapid spate of coups that threaten regional stability especially when armies of the five countries ganged up to fight any ECOWAS troops that would land into their country. Even one of the strongest armies in Africa, Egypt reportedly vowed to fight for the coupist regimes.
The prevailing political situation in the sub-region demands ECOMOG intervention and it is also one that the former Spokesman would capitalise on to ensure that the people of Sierra Leone accept his position.
However, other credible sources have rejected Kanu’s claim as untrue saying the troops were called in by President Julius Maada Bio out of hope that they would be here to protect his government.
Bio had such hope after the failed coup of November, last year when military and police armouries in Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown were overrun by armed gun men who looted unquantifiable number of arms and ammunition. It was quite a dangerous situation but was more dangerous when the invaders melted into air, and fear that they would strike again remains rife.
The November attacks is a situation that is reminiscent of the 1998 era in which renegades of then Sierra Leone Army went into Okra Hills where they formed a group called the ‘West Side Boys’ who carried out deadly raids on the highways to loot, maim, rape and kill.
The ‘West Side Boys’ threat ended in a day after British SAS (Special Air Service) invaded the thick jungle dislodging the armed men ending a reign of terror that lingered for years. Currently, President Bio hoped to see a similar situation in which his government would be protected by the ECOWAS troops.
However, there is a sudden twist of events after it became clear that the troops will be here to protect the people of Sierra Leone and restore democracy.
The democratic restoration in Sierra Leone means an omen for the PAOPA regime as such move signals that there is no democracy in Sierra Leone. As such, sources say government is currently stifling the deployment of ECOMOG in Sierra Leone so that government would continue to remain in power.
ECOMOG deployment, according to sources, is also stalled owing to big doubt that the local forces cannot take care of the country’s security forces. The people of Sierra Leone have incessantly questioned the real rationale behind the deployment of foreign troops in the country when the police and the army are paid to guard and secure the country.
However, the police spokesman, Brima Kamara recently said the upkeep of ECOMOG troops also known as ECOMSIL (ECOWAS Mission to Sierra Leone) would be the sole responsibility of ECOWAS and not government, but they would support local security forces in the maintenance of peace and security.
The ECOMSIL would monitor the peace and security in the short term and take appropriate military action in an event flare-ups of violence are detected and reported.
Credible sources also said the ECOMOG troops would be financed by the United Nations as was the case when ECOMOG deployed in Sierra Leone in the Tejan Kabba era.
Despite claims to the contrary, the ECOMOG is a stabilisation force whose deployment in Sierra Leone is facilitated by the international community to ensure that Sierra Leone is calm and peaceful as threat to national peace and security is visible.
The Tripartite Committee, a body set up to examine alleged irregularities of June 24, 2023 election, is about to complete its work as findings and recommendations would be made public just in few days. According to reliable sources, the Tripartite Committee would put out their recommendation on 18th of this month.
As the committee sets to round up its work, the people of Sierra Leone especially low cadre members of APC have made known three key demands hinging on either a rerun or fresh election is recommended or the opposition leader, Dr Samura Kamara declared President of Sierra Leone.
A protest or demonstration could not be ruled out if the committee of election investigators rejects one of those demands.
Sierra Leone is a country whose peace has been derailed by waves of protests embarked on by the people of Sierra Leone since the incumbent, President Julius Maada Bio was declared winner of the elections.
September 11, 2023 protest was the first to be staged by a group of Sierra Leoneans in the North-West regions to send a loud and compelling message that the PAOPA government did not win the election, and must relinquish power.
Two persons, according to official reports, were fatally injured including Alfred Kallon, a disabled top-up seller while unofficial sources tagged the casualty figure at six.
The September 11 came after intermittent waves of protest including August 10, 2022 protest which is terrific in nature and devastating in consequence. Reports stated that 31 protesters including six police officers lost their lives during the protest.
Another bloody protest is on the way coming and its consequence on state security is real, a situation that necessitates the deployment of ECOMOG in Sierra Leone, but who calls them?