October 14, 2021
Albert Baron Ansu
The Concord Times Summit has been wrapped up and the memory of it is fresh in the minds of Sierra Leoneans. Whether by uncanny scheme or some sleight of hand the Mayor is said to have stolen the show after the event. I am going to explain this in simple terms.
Now, let us look back at the past event. One grand dimension of the momentous event was the presence of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Her presence was the icing on the cake. We at A-Z Newspaper found the newsworthiness of the former Liberian President to craft a headline Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Jets In…
After the fact the way the Mayor of Freetown has zoomed in to redirect the itinerary of Madam Sirleaf has created jarring reactions in some quarters. We have gathered that the Mayor has been moving around with the former President of Liberia not only at some tree planting site and even driving her in the interior, precisely to Makeni to see former President Ernest Bai Koroma.
Mayor Aki Sawyer is APC and whatever her intent has been to persuade the former President to make an extended stay is calculated towards securing a political advantage. If this theory is not plausible then consider the fact that it is an embarrassment to the ruling government. For if anything once the former President is in the jurisdiction of Sierra Leone, her physical protection is ought to be in the hands of the government.
Concord Times has not made a public pronouncement about how their keynote speaker has been commandeered and running the risk of traveling to the northern provincial town of Makeni to meet former President Koroma. Was there some conversation between Concord Times and the Mayor to hand over the former President of Liberia to the opposition leadership? This is a question begging for answer.
Certainly President Sirleaf did not see it any undertone to the invite of the opposition Mayor and her consent cannot be misread.
The ruling Sierra Leone Peoples Party government has not come out to take position on the issue and this can be understandable in the diplomatic niceties of doing things not to embarrass the former President of Liberia. Morally speaking it is the government that should have played host to former President Sirleaf for an extended stay after Concord Times Summit.
Those who have issue with this incident are asking: But what if something untoward could have happened to former President Sirleaf as she was been moved around? Then the government would have been condemned for allowing the unfortunate thing to happen without being pre-emptive.
This is why the incident cannot pass without a comment; it would serve as food for thought about the overzealous of the opposition to score points whether it means creating potentially rancorous misguided decision.