By Alpha Amadu Jalloh
Mr. President, is Egypt your new destination? A state visit? For what? All the time, you are seen at people’s places, yet no one comes to visit you. Even Ghana’s President, John Mahama, could not enter Freetown; he only stopped at Lungi International Airport and left. Mr. President, you have become a liability for other African leaders. Watch what happens when a true head of state makes a state visit: the president of that nation is at the airport to receive them with fanfare and everything to show they are happy to have them. Instead, in Egypt, a nobody received you. What does that say about your standing in Africa? Mr. President, “Yu Na Neba Fol Yu Don Turn So.”
Mr. President, your frequent foreign travels have become a national joke. You are everywhere but in Sierra Leone, where your presence is most needed. While you waste state resources on unnecessary trips, back home, your people are suffering under the weight of economic hardship, corruption, and political mismanagement. What exactly did you achieve in Egypt? What agreements have you signed that will improve the lives of ordinary Sierra Leoneans? The truth is your foreign trips are nothing but extravagant escapades that yield no real benefit for the nation. The millions spent on these trips could be used to build schools, fix hospitals, or improve our crumbling infrastructure. Yet, here we are, watching you gallivant across the world while Sierra Leone sinks deeper into crisis.
Mr. President, let’s talk about Koidu Holdings. The company has halted operations due to political interference, interference that is primarily instigated by none other than your wife. What you fail to understand is that we are losing foreign direct investment at an alarming rate, and your wife, who acts as if she is above the law, is a major contributor to this decline. She has been using your name to intimidate businesses, disrupting their operations with reckless abandon. Mr. President, do you realize the consequences of her actions? The closure of Koidu Holdings is a serious blow to our economy, and if this trend continues, it will be the final nail in the coffin. Investors are fleeing Sierra Leone because they see an unpredictable and hostile business environment. Who will want to invest in a country where even the First Lady believes she has the power to disrupt businesses at will?
Mr. President, Sierra Leone is bleeding economically, and you are standing by as it happens. Your administration has failed to protect businesses, and instead of encouraging foreign investment, you have sold everything and anything to the Chinese. You have handed over our natural resources, our infrastructure, and even our sovereignty to the highest bidder. But at what cost?
Let’s talk about Mosavie Village in Bonthe, your own hometown. Mr. President, did you hear that the Chinese miners you allowed into our country have started beating our own people? Sierra Leoneans, on their own land, are being brutalized by foreign miners whom you welcomed with open arms. What kind of leadership is this? How can you sit comfortably in foreign lands while your people are being treated like slaves in their own country? Mr. President, have you lost all sense of responsibility and duty to your citizens?
Your government has proven time and again that it does not care about the ordinary Sierra Leonean. We have seen how corruption, nepotism, and political recklessness have crippled every sector of our economy. You and your administration have looted state resources with impunity while the people struggle to afford basic necessities. Inflation is at an all-time high, businesses are shutting down, and youth unemployment is at catastrophic levels. Yet, instead of focusing on these pressing issues, you continue to embark on meaningless trips abroad,
pretending to be a statesman when in reality, you are a fugitive from the failures of your own leadership.
Mr. President, let me remind you of something: “MENE MENE TEKEL AND PASIN.” Do you understand what this means? It is a reference from the Bible, from the Book of Daniel. It was written on the wall as a message to a king who had misused his power, whose reign was about to come to an end. Mr. President, take heed, because the writing is on the wall for you too. Your reckless governance, your failure to listen to the cries of the people, and your obsession with self-preservation will be your downfall.
Look around you, Mr. President. Do you not see the growing anger among the people? Do you not hear their frustrations? Sierra Leoneans are tired of your government’s incompetence and deceit. Your empty promises have been exposed, and the people are no longer fooled. Your time is running out, and history will judge you harshly if you continue down this path.
Mr. President, it is time to wake up. It is time to lead with integrity, to put the people first, and to stop the destruction of our beloved Sierra Leone. If you fail to do so, you will be remembered as the president who sold his country to the highest bidder, who travelled aimlessly while his people suffered, and who allowed his wife to rule with an iron fist in his name.
The people of Sierra Leone deserve better. The country deserves better. The time for excuses is over. The time for action is now. Mr. President, can we talk?
