By Alpha Amadu Jalloh, “The Fox”
Thank God, Mr. President, that things have started to unravel in your party, the great SLPP, the party once revered by our traditional rulers, now in the hands of mediocres. As I mentioned in previous conversations, it was only a matter of time before a war would break out within your party, and here we are. Your blue-eyed boy, Dr. David Sengeh, who some call “Samson,” is all over the place, picking fights like a man certain that the flagbearership is already in his bag. He’s even locked horns with Dr. Sylvia Blyden, who, interestingly, isn’t even part of the SLPP. “E Dae Dreg Fet Cam Insai di Party,” he’s now dragging unnecessary battles into the fold.
Now, Mr. President, I see why you placed Samson in charge of the SLPP Constitutional Review Committee. The truth has finally come out. The review process, led by him, has strategically absorbed certain members to pursue the flagbearer position. There’s a particular clause that will leave some of your heavyweights on the sidelines: anyone vying for the flagbearer must have been an active, continuous member of the party for five consecutive years. And now, the pressing question emerges: Do the likes of Dr. Kandeh Yumkella (the “Prince”), Alhaji Musa Tarawally (the “Businessman”), and Dr. David Sengeh “Samson” himself qualify under this criterion?
Mr. President, you’re lighting a time bomb inside the SLPP. Perhaps you are aware of the fine young men eyeing your seat as the next president of the Republic of Sierra Leone. The ambition is there, the hunger is growing, but so are the divisions. Just as in the SLPP, so too in the APC; they are at each other’s throats for their own flagbearer position. What’s worse is that instead of statesmanship, we’re seeing individuals hiring the crudest bloggers, young boys and girls on social media who have little understanding of research or decorum, creating chaos with baseless accusations and inflammatory content.
Now, Mr. President, let me take you back to the days of President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah. In his time, when APC was embroiled in its own battles, President Kabbah had to step in, as a statesman, to help them restore peace. He understood that a country cannot thrive with political parties constantly at war, even with their opponents. Unfortunately, your predecessor, Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma, did the opposite. Rather than fostering peace between SLPP factions when he had the chance, he propped you up instead, seeing an opportunity to maintain control of Sierra Leone from the shadows. He let the SLPP tear itself apart, hoping that it would collapse altogether. But the wisdom of men and women who truly loved the party saved it from extinction. Today, the SLPP stands alive, yet it’s on the verge of collapse because of you.
Mr. President, “Yu Borbor Samson don go tote fet wae e nor go able.” Your boy Samson is in a fight he cannot win, yet you sit back and watch. Why not use your position as the leader of the country to help salvage not only the SLPP but the APC as well? You’ve meddled in the APC enough already, using men like Peter Conteh to bog them down in the courts, wasting their time and energy. This, of course, was your strategy all along, distracting them while you rigged the 2023 elections with the help of your Chief Electoral Commissioner, magician Mohamed Kenewui Konneh, who made the results disappear like a master illusionist.
Now, you sow seeds of discord in the APC through old warhorses like Alhaji Minkailu Mansaray, Dr. Samura Kamara, Alhaji Foday Yansaneh, and Hon. Chernor Bah (Chericoco). Meanwhile, their social media battalion, led by bloggers like Adebayo, only adds fuel to the fire, spewing misinformation that further divides the nation.
Mr. President, it’s heartbreaking to say, but you’ve done irreparable damage to this country. Sierra Leone, which once held so much promise, is now in tatters, and the fault lies squarely with the political maneuvers you’ve overseen. From manipulating your party’s internal politics to rigging national elections, your governance is marred by disunity, corruption, and selfishness.
And it’s not just the SLPP. Your government’s grip on every sector has stifled the country’s potential. The youth are left directionless, disillusioned by a system that rewards cronies over competence. The middle class, once a beacon of hope for the country’s growth, is dwindling under economic pressures that your administration either ignores or exacerbates. Your ministers, once the hope for reform, now act as gatekeepers for a system designed to keep power in the hands of the few.
We cannot forget about the institutions that are supposed to serve the people, like the judiciary and the police force. Under your leadership, these entities have become mere tools of repression, silencing opposition voices while emboldening those who will sing your praises. What happened to the dreams of a truly democratic Sierra Leone? A country where the rule of law governs, not the whims of those in power?
I don’t say these things lightly, Mr. President. I, like many others, had hope when you first took office. We believed that you, with your military background, might restore order and discipline to a country that desperately needed both. But instead, your leadership has deepened the divide between the haves and the have-nots, perpetuating a system where loyalty to you and your inner circle matters more than loyalty to Sierra Leone.
And let’s not even talk about your legacy at this point. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: you’re lighting a time bomb in the SLPP. The seeds of discord you’ve planted will grow into a full-blown crisis, and when that happens, there won’t be any recourse. You will have alienated too many, betrayed too many, and failed too many.
The APC might be in disarray now, but do not be fooled into thinking that this gives you the upper hand. The people of Sierra Leone are watching, and they are growing tired. They’ve seen how you’ve manipulated institutions, how you’ve favored the few over the many, and how you’ve put personal gain over national interest. It’s only a matter of time before that frustration boils over, and when it does, no amount of party control or court cases will save you.
So, Mr. President, I leave you with this: Do you want to go down in history as the man who finally broke Sierra Leone, or will you change course before it’s too late? Time is running out. The country is watching, and so is history.
