No More Diplomacy of Champagne & Laughter Ha – Ha!

During the Cold war era, Political Leadership of particularly the Third World countries took pleasure in travelling to conferences organized by their bilateral and multi lateral partners, regardless of the economic consequences of their respective countries.

In some cases, even if the President of a country is not chanced, their hangers-around will rally round them, get them convinced to attend, with a very big delegation for two reasons: to attend dinner where they will drink Champagne and Laugh-ha ha!, and later, collect their Out-Door Post allowances.

Their attendance in most cases was never to the betterment of their countries, but to themselves. In most cases they don’t bother to report back to their people, regarding what actually transpired at these meetings, because they normally use such medium to renew their loyalties to their Eastern or Western Ally/ies and thrive in conflict and hypocrisy. They will tell abominable lies about themselves and paint their countries with horrible pictures, just to gain undeserved sympathy.

Again, some past Presidents and Government officials use such venues to paint a very dirty and none existing – ugly picture about their countries, just to beg. They will even beg what they can afford. When they are given hand outs, they will keep it in secret.

But today, the Government of Sierra Leone: I mean the Government of President Ernest Bai Koroma is led by example. Meetings are not  attended for attendance sake, the President does not believe in lip service, but always makes sure, attendance  to meetings are purposeful, thereby changing the concept of his predecessors from that of sycophancy and begging, to meaningful participation coupled with accountability.

For example, the last ECOWAS meeting began 9:00 a.m and retired for closed door talks by midday. The closed door session never ended until after 10:00 p.m. (22hrs) in the night, the Heads of States came back to the Conference Hall, made speeches:  out-going ECOWAS Commission President Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas read an agreed communiqué before the meeting came to a close, about midnight.

The following morning President Koroma and his team left Nigeria for Sierra Leone. Will there be any time for Champagne and Laugh Ha! Ha!?

Almost three weeks ago, President Ernest Bai Koroma led an eight man delegation to sympathise with the Nigerian Government and people for the loss of their President Umar Musa Yar Adua: he also used the same moment to congratulate the new Nigerian President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan on his new job. He never slept: he returned the very day, and continued with his work in Sierra Leone.  No time for Champagne and Laugh Ha! Ha!

What used to be the order of the day wherein Sierra Leonean Diplomats, especially Heads of Missions transforms their respective Chancery’s to clearing and forwarding headquarters, thereby misusing the Geneva Convention to embark on endless duty free concession activities at the instance of the country is considerably minimized to its lowest ebb.

Again, the autocratic and utopian character of some heads of Diplomatic missions and Diplomatic staff are being gradually refined to enable them know that Government institutions are not run like private properties.

At the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission in Abuja, attendance to meetings has changed.  Meetings are no more attended by people who have no business with the subject or theme. The permanent seat of ECOWAS is ably represented and qualitatively too.

Unlike before, appropriate coordination between Government officials and that of respective foreign Missions are visible.

Meaningful attendance to meetings, backed by active participation is now a prerequisite, and on the return of participants, they are bound to present their respective reports to their principal; so, a lot of changes have taken place.

On assuming duties in Abuja  it was observed that Sierra Leone was considered a passive participant at different ECOWAS fronts, except at the Parliamentary level: previous Governments failed woefully to pay their  annual contributions, these, coupled with wrong representation at different fronts  resulted to poor showing at ECOWAS level.

Today, the Government of President Ernest Bai Koroma has fulfilled all its financial obligations to ECOWAS: that was why it came as no surprise to me during the two days 64th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers, to hear Sierra Leone’s Deputy Finance Minister Dr. Richard K Konteh robustly advocating for Sierra Leone’s representation at the bench of the ECOWAS Community Courts, and the position of a commissioner in  ECOWAS during a meeting which started at 9: 00 a.m.and ended at 03:45 a.m.

Again, it was no surprise to see the Deputy High Commissioner Major General rtd Edwin Sam Mbomah and Sierra Leone’s Director of Reintegration Ministry of Foreign Affairs John Borbor Laggah, at the ECOWAS mediation and security council meeting demanding an immediate action from the regional body on the Yenga issue in a meeting which started at 9:00 a.m. and ended at a little after midnight.

Over again, it was no shock for the High Commissioner H.E. Henry O. Macauley to deliver a paper at a business forum in Lagos, the Commercial City of Nigeria, at the same time Information Attaché Pasco Gerald Temple was defending Sierra Leone’s enviable lead in West and some parts of East and Southern Africa, in the area of a Youth Commission at a pre conference held in Abuja.          

To make mention of the busy schedule of the acting Head of Chancery Rakie Macarthy to facilitate the appropriate representation of the country need not be overemphasized.

Sierra Leone is represented by the Foreign Minister Hon Zainab Hawa Bangura in the Committee of five in charge of Niger Crisis. ECOWAS considers President Koroma a very vital key in the Guinea crisis. He is also an essential factor to ECOWAS single currency, ECOWAS Central Bank, West African Peace Keeping Force, ECOWAS Program for Food Self-Sufficiency, Control of Small Arms in ECOWAS countries. To make mention of President Koroma’s contribution in pursuance of synchronizing border trade tariffs at regional level need not be over emphasized.

In the Federal Republic of Nigeria, rebranding Sierra Leone is on course, because the perception about Sierra Leone is now changed. This is evident in the fact that hardly a month passes by, without one of the Nigerian press writing about achievements of the Ernest Bai Koroma Government.

It is important to note that the recent telecommunications pack (Africa Coast to Europe (ACE)) Submarine Cable programmed to  provide telecommunication services between and among Africa and Western Europe by means of submarine cable and satellite facilities: a recent achievement by the Ernest Bai Koroma Government through Information and Communication Minister Alhaji I.B. Kargbo, was part of  two television stations international news bulletin.

As the Press Attaché to the High Commission in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, covering the Central African Countries and ECOWAS, I can confirm that Sierra Leone is now a role model, because of the qualitative representations that are being made at different summits. At these fronts, there are no visible conflicting ideas:  contributions by Government representatives in these environments are purely based on Government policies, devoid of compromise, which are always in consonance with international standards. 

Sierra Leoneans who have been residing in different parts of the Federal Republic of Nigeria can now feel the warmth of President Ernest Bai Koroma’s Government, change in access to the Chancery, and to make mention of different interventions by the High Commission need not be over emphasized.

These developments are not secret; they are published worldwide in different media units.

Pasco Gerald Temple, Nigeria

Pasco Temple is the Information Attaché to the Sierra Leone High Commission in Nigeria

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