The SLPP: The road to victory in 2012
Unless the APC live up to their innate habit of winning elections free or foul, not even collusion with Christiana Thorpe will help them to win the race in 2012. Â Thuggery would have to be on a massive scale before they could get away with it, if ever. After the few hundred former PMDC members led by Dauda Tombo Bangura crossing over to the APC party trickles to a stop, the majority of those left with Charles Margai and Mohamed Bangura would have had their eyes opened by the failure of the party’s marriage to the APC and revert to the SLPP before the end of 2011.
When the mortal remains of ‘Maada’ Salia, (Jusu-Sheriff) were laid at the SLPP headquarters following the state ceremony in Parliament, tributes to the late man were paid by the party leadership as the man who led the party with honour and dignity during its turbulent years in opposition to the APC government of Siaka Stevens. In a poignant but polite response, his daughter Yasmin Fofana expressed gratitude and made reference to her father’s commitment to the SLPP; she also expressed disappointment over a matter in which the party in government had failed the family.
Although her father was a leading politician and her husband Dr. Alusine Fofana is a leading member of the SLPP, Yasmin herself as far I know, has never shown any inclination to party politics. She appears to take delight in her job on the National Commission for Human Rights. But Yasmin sounded a note of warning, if the SLPP is to win in 2012, then the preparations must begin in 2011. It was an excellent statement and some people even began to read into it. Now how do we go about the task? Already there are a large number of very eligible aspirants out there and their number may grow as the days go past. It is the opinion of most people who have spoken to me on the subject that the leader must emerge in accordance with the wishes of the vast majority of our membership. In short, the people must decide who there next leader would be. How we go about that is the subject matter of this essay.
Under the SLPP government the Ministry of Development and Planning under Kadi Sesey produced a document labeled, VISION 2025. It contains the views of people, right across the country as to what Sierra Leone should be by that time. Nobody took the proposals to them; it was what they envisaged for our country. I am sure that document is gathering the usual official dust of abandonment in the ministry. Someday, as is their habit, the APC will present it as their blue print vision of Sierra Leone it won’t surprise me at all,. We could organize a similar exercise as a party. At the national, district, constituency and ward level, as well as organizations and individuals at home and abroad members would list THOSE QUALITIES FOR WHICH THEY WISH TO SEE IN THEIR FUTURE LEADER, not necessarily in order of priority because most of our membership is illiterate. There are bound to be repetitions of certain qualities which may range from age, youthfulness, charisma, contribution to party activities, material wealth, popularity education etc. the list may finally whittle down to no more than six or eight core values and could well result in some aspirants voluntarily stepping down before the national convention of 2011. A panel of volunteers, members with proven party loyalty and integrity would gather and collate the results on condition that they themselves have no leadership aspirations, nor a leaning towards any individual aspirant. If the response to this proposal is favourable a group of likeminded members could meet with the approval of the national executive to brainstorm on it before coming out with recommendations. I must repeat that it will be an indispensable condition that only individuals without leadership aspirations or leaning towards aspirants would qualify to be on the panel.
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