By Alpha Amadu Jalloh
Mr. President, can we talk? Again, yes. Because silence from the State House has become too loud to ignore, and the growing embarrassment surrounding your administration is now threatening to collapse what little credibility we have left. This time, it’s not about electricity shortages or a collapsing health system. This time, Mr. President, it’s your wife, our First Lady, Mrs. Fatima Bio, dragging the presidency into international disgrace.
Koidu Holdings, a major stakeholder in Sierra Leone’s diamond industry, has threatened to sue the Office of the First Lady. This is not mere political banter. This is a potential diplomatic and economic disaster, one birthed from unchecked arrogance and fueled by your consistent failure to rein in the overreach of your wife’s public conduct.
Mr. President, let’s get to the point. The First Lady publicly accused Koidu Holdings of tax evasion and economic exploitation, on social media, no less, without evidence or due process. It wasn’t a formal complaint. It wasn’t channeled through the Ministry of Mines or the National Revenue Authority. It was a performance, a populist stunt designed for applause but executed at the cost of our country’s image.
And now, Mr. President, the company is responding not with tweets, but with lawyers. They’re ready to sue for defamation. They’re demanding a retraction. They’re preparing to expose the very thing you’ve always been scared of: that your leadership has failed to draw the line between state business and family drama.
Mr. President, this is your failure. Your wife did not elect herself to that position. She holds her power because you allowed it, because you smiled when she crossed the line, and you stood silent when she transformed the Office of the First Lady into a political machine.
You’ve allowed her to walk into spaces where only ministers should tread. She speaks on behalf of the country as if she has a constitutional mandate. She dominates press cycles. She launches initiatives without oversight. And now, she threatens our national economy with careless, legally ungrounded accusations.
Mr. President, this is not love. This is negligence. Sierra Leone is not your matrimonial estate. It is a constitutional republic. And when your spouse acts recklessly, it is your duty, not your privilege, to correct her.
You talk often of discipline, of order, of a new direction. But where is that order when your own house is in disarray? Where is that discipline when the First Lady is accountable to no one, not the Cabinet, not the Parliament, not even the Constitution?
This is more than just a domestic dispute gone public. This is a matter of national reputation. Investors, diplomats, and observers across the globe are watching how your government handles this moment. Will you protect your wife’s pride or the country’s dignity?
Mr. President, you cannot preach investment while your wife attacks investors. You cannot promote stability while allowing recklessness at the heart of your administration. Your silence signals approval. Your refusal to rebuke her publicly sends a message to the world: that Sierra Leone is a country ruled by emotions, not institutions.
We must ask ourselves, what exactly is the Office of the First Lady supposed to do? Raise awareness? Champion causes? Mobilize social programs? Fine. But it was never created for political declarations or economic warfare. Fatima Bio is now acting like a co-president, without the constitutional burden, without public consent, and without consequence.
Mr. President, do you recall your campaign promises in 2018? You vowed transparency. You pledged to protect our image. You said, “New Direction,” but we’re seeing the same old pattern, personal interests overriding public responsibility.
Your wife has insulted a corporate stakeholder. If they proceed to court, we could face financial penalties, loss of investor confidence, and reputational ruin. But the saddest part is not even the lawsuit. It’s your failure to lead when leadership is most needed.
Mr. President, this is a test. And so far, you are failing.
Where are your advisors? Where is the Attorney General? Where is the press secretary? Is everyone too afraid to tell you that this woman, your wife, is endangering your presidency?
This culture of fear, where Fatima Bio is untouchable, is the real cancer eating away at your administration. Ministers tremble in her presence. State officials avoid her wrath. And you, Mr. President, do nothing.
This is not leadership. This is surrender.
Let me be clear, Mr. President: this is not an attack on your marriage. This is a defense of our republic. No one voted for the First Lady. She holds no office under the Constitution. Yet, she has more power than many elected officials. This cannot continue. Sierra Leone is not a monarchy. It is not a kingdom where the queen wields unchecked influence.
Accountability must begin at the top. And that includes your home.
Let’s speak plainly. No serious investor will engage a country where public officials or their spouses can make defamatory allegations without consequence. Koidu Holdings may be the first to fight back. Others will simply leave silently. And when they go, jobs will vanish, development will stall, and poverty will deepen.
This, Mr. President, is not just your cross to bear. It’s a coffin we will all share, unless you act now.
Respectfully, Mr. President, tell your wife, Enough. Pull her back from this dangerous path. Make a public statement that restores clarity, not confusion. Demand legal restraint. Demand institutional respect.
This is your presidency. Reclaim it before it becomes a punchline.
You must do three things urgently:
First, publicly disassociate the presidency from the First Lady’s statements against Koidu Holdings. Second, empower your legal and communications teams to manage this crisis, not social media influencers. And third, set clear boundaries for the role and public conduct of the First Lady moving forward.
None of this is personal. It is all national. If you love Sierra Leone more than you love power or public image, then lead. Not as a husband, but as a president.
Mr. President, you were elected to serve Sierra Leone, not to defend one household at the expense of the entire nation. If you fail to act now, this scandal will outlive your presidency. And history, Mr. President, will remember you not for the promises you made, but for the silence you chose.
Can we talk, Mr. President?
Because this may be your last chance to listen.
By Alpha Amadu Jalloh
Op-Ed Contributor | Political Commentator | Youth Advocate
