May 20, 2021
Albert Baron Ansu
The President exuded miasma and exuberance reading a well packaged speech in the Fourth Session of the Fifth Parliament of the Second Republic of Sierra Leone. How best can you sense confidence in a performing president?
The speech was loaded- what has been delivered and things that are underway. It is not the usual boring promises and intentions. Therefore the clapping of hands of applause punctuated the fast paced delivery. It was as though every line was winning stroke.
And there was very little sound of hecklers from the red side donning berets reminiscent of the people’s army, if the not the Malema Economic Freedom Fighters of South Africa… Their dress code could have sent an impression of prepared militancy, but in the face of the General of the Republic driving home positive vibes, our bereted honorables were somewhat placed in a chiller. They were as cold as the nose of a dog, if you like.
President Bio prayed for them in his sense of father of the nation that cannot turn his back on even the wayward child. He concluded his speech by saying God Bless Us All and point in the direction of the bereted lawmakers, he said “especially you on that side…”
That line of the prayer was a jester of sort and it stirred laughter on the other side that was relishing the moment of presidential reel out of progressive literature. But the prayer had a different effect on the other side; they found their voice chanting the old song:
“There is victory for us…in the struggles of the APC….” The song ended on a drab note. And somebody by my side monitoring the television screening said: “this na dry yai coba shame…” I gave him a non-committal glance, “no comment,” I said.
My mind was fixated on the man speaking into the microphone, opposition lawmaker from the Coalition for Change, Emerson Lamina. He was stating that the President speech was full of hope for the country. He was visibly elated.
In contrast, APC leader in House Chernor Maju Bah was downbeat and even pessimistic, claiming that most of the achievements the president spoke about were inherited from the past government now in opposition. This could be dishonest; until the debates of the speech -laid before parliament proves otherwise… We are going to monitor it all.