By Alpha Amadu Jalloh
4th November 2025.
His Excellency Julius Maada Bio
President of the Republic of Sierra Leone
State House, Freetown
Your Excellency,
I write to you today not as a critic, but as a concerned son of the soil whose pen bleeds with the pain, hope, and resilience of the ordinary Sierra Leonean. My name is Alpha Amadu Jalloh, author of the book Monopoly of Happiness: Unveiling Sierra Leone’s Social Imbalance and the popular essay I Am the Misfit No One Can Tame. I am also the writer of the Op-Ed series Mr. President, Can We Talk?, a collection of frank conversations between a citizen and his leader. Through this series, I have sought to echo the struggles, fears, and aspirations of a nation that has long felt unheard. I am a youth advocate, human rights activist, social justice campaigner, and peace builder who believes that truth spoken with sincerity can heal a nation divided by mistrust.
Your Excellency, I am sure my name may not be unfamiliar to you. I have been described by many as aggressive, outspoken, and unfiltered. But permit me to clarify that my words, however strong, have never been born of hate or disrespect. They have come from a place of love, love for a nation that deserves better, for youths who deserve hope, for women who deserve protection, and for families who deserve peace. I write because I believe in your ability to change the story of Sierra Leone, not as a partisan leader, but as a father of the nation.
Today, I write to commend you for one of your most courageous actions since assuming office, the bold stand you took to confront the devastating Kush and Tramadol scourge that is ravaging our youths. When I watched you live on Liberty TV addressing the victims at the Hastings Rehabilitation Centre, my heart swelled with emotion. It was not just the authority in your tone, but the empathy in your words that moved me. I saw a President who was not speaking for political applause, but out of genuine concern for the future of his people. For that, I applaud you.
Your meeting with the youths and their parents, and later with the stakeholders and first responders, showed leadership with compassion. You looked into the eyes of a broken generation and offered hope. You reminded parents of their duty, communities of their responsibility, and the nation of its shared burden. In that moment, Your Excellency, you rose above politics and became the father Sierra Leone has long needed.
However, I must also speak as a youth advocate and a voice of conscience. Please, Sir, do not let this war against drugs be politicised. Do not allow it to become another avenue for blame or favouritism. The fight against Kush and Tramadol must be waged without fear or favour. Those who profit from this Death For Sale, whether they are ministers, security officers, businessmen, or party loyalists, must face justice. Let the law be blind, as it was meant to be. Only then can our people begin to trust again in a system that has for too long failed them.
Your Excellency, the plight of the youth extends beyond drugs. Many are unemployed, disillusioned, and drifting into despair. They graduate from universities only to meet locked doors and empty promises. Their potential is being wasted in street corners, motorbike parks, and ghettos. These are not lazy people; they are victims of a failed system. You can change this by investing in vocational education, agribusiness, and local entrepreneurship. Create more rehabilitation centres not only for drug users but for those whose spirits have been broken by hopelessness. Give them something to live for, not merely something to recover from.
Our women, too, are silently suffering. Many face domestic violence, workplace exploitation, and lack of access to justice. The Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs must be strengthened, not just for formality, but with resources and power to protect women’s rights. There should be a national push for economic empowerment of women in rural areas, especially widows, market women, and single mothers who carry families on their backs while living under daily struggle. These women are the backbone of our nation; empower them and the country will stand firm.
Our teachers are another forgotten class. They are the builders of our minds, yet they live like beggars. Salaries are delayed, school infrastructure is dilapidated, and teaching materials are scarce. A nation that neglects its teachers has already failed its future. Please, Your Excellency, revisit the conditions of service for teachers. Ensure timely payment, fair incentives, and a clear career path. Education cannot flourish when the educators themselves are hungry and humiliated.
The judicial imbalance in our nation also cries for attention. Justice has become a luxury reserved for the wealthy and powerful. Many innocent citizens languish in prison for years without trial, while those with influence buy their way out. The perception of selective justice is killing faith in the rule of law. The judiciary must be cleansed of corruption and political influence. Judges must serve the Constitution, not political interests. Let the law protect the poor as fiercely as it protects the powerful. When justice is fair, peace follows naturally.
Your Excellency, our police force must also be reformed. The police are meant to protect, not to brutalise. Too often we hear stories of young men beaten, arrested without cause, or even killed in the name of maintaining order. This culture of brutality breeds resentment and widens the gap between the people and the state. I urge you to initiate a serious retraining of our police officers, focusing on community policing, ethics, and human rights. Let them be seen as protectors again, not predators in uniform.
I also urge you to pay attention to the growing violence being perpetuated by political stakeholders, especially within your own party, the SLPP. The tone of our politics has become toxic, driven by fear and vengeance. There are those within the party who see power not as a duty to serve but as a weapon to silence. This must stop. You are the leader of the SLPP, but more importantly, you are the President of Sierra Leone. You have the authority and moral duty to call both the SLPP and APC to the table, to remind them that Sierra Leone belongs to all of us.
We must learn from the wisdom of the late President Ahmed Tejan Kabba, who once said, “I cannot run a country without an opposition.” That statement was not weakness; it was statesmanship. It was the recognition that democracy is a conversation, not a conquest. You, too, can be remembered for such wisdom. Bring both parties together under one national dialogue for peace and reconciliation. Heal the divisions that have crippled our politics for decades. Let no Sierra Leonean feel like a stranger in their own country because of their political belief.
Your Excellency, I also wish to draw your attention to the state of our children. Many are out of school, working in the streets, or begging for food. Child labour and early marriage continue to haunt our rural communities. If the next generation is to thrive, we must protect them today. Strengthen child welfare institutions, enforce laws against child exploitation, and ensure that every child, regardless of background, can go to school and dream without fear.
Finally, I call on you to lead by example and stop the endless foreign travels that continue to drain the national purse. Your frequent trips, as well as those of your ministers and senior government officials, have placed a heavy financial burden on the country. The time has come to delegate international engagements to our ambassadors and high commissioners. They are appointed and paid to represent Sierra Leone in foreign missions; let them do their jobs. Use the money saved from these travels to build hospitals, equip schools, and create opportunities for the youth.
Mr President, it sends the wrong message when leaders are constantly abroad while the nation struggles. Sierra Leone needs your full attention at home. The people want to see you among them, visiting markets, hospitals, and schools, not constantly boarding planes. Let the world come to know you by your actions at home, not by the number of conferences you attend abroad. History remembers leaders who build nations, not those who travel in search of applause.
Your Excellency, leadership is not about perfection but about sincerity of purpose. You have shown flashes of that sincerity before, such as your unannounced visits to government offices early in your tenure. Revive that spirit again. Walk among your people. Feel their pain firsthand. Visit the border towns, the classrooms, the market stalls, and the drug rehabilitation centres without prior notice. Let the system see you not through television, but through presence.
I may have been harsh in my writings, but I write because I care deeply about Sierra Leone. My pen carries no malice, only hope. I dream of a nation where justice is equal, leaders are accountable, and every child believes their future is worth fighting for.
Please accept this letter, Your Excellency, not as criticism but as a call to action, a plea for renewed compassion and courage. You still have time to reshape history, to be remembered not merely as a president, but as the leader who healed Sierra Leone’s wounds and gave her children hope again.
With utmost respect and sincerity,
Yours faithfully,
Alpha Amadu Jalloh
Author, Monopoly of Happiness: Unveiling Sierra Leone’s Social Imbalance
Writer, Mr. President, Can We Talk? Series
Youth Advocate, Human Rights Activist, Social Justice Campaigner, and Peace Builder
