Yes, we’ve done it again
They say that “It ain’t over until it is over.” While that may be true, yet we in the SLPP have every reason to assume that it is over, finished and done with. I would like some of the editors and commentators who had written about the difficulties and decisions we had to face, to revisit their opinions about the fate of the country’s oldest, largest and most democratic political party, the Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP). (Photo: Dr. Sama Banya)
The amateur author of the Peep column in the for-di-people newspaper took great delight in publishing my photograph with my constant natural smile with the caption, “Sama Banya weeping at the disintegration of the SLPP,” our party.
Other pessimistic headlines appeared in the African Champion, in the Exclusive and in Peep magazine even after the demise of Olu Gordon; incidentally Christopher Koker has never written anything complimentary about us in his column.
To the others who were merely interested in catching President Koroma’s attention than in making an impartial and credible assessment of our situation. To them we were finished. Party officials in the ruling APC were gloating quietly with triumph that they were now set for a walkover in 2012 without even having to campaign. Even as we triumphed in bye-elections they could not envisage any strong challenge from an allegedly battered SLPP which was already on the road to self-annihilation.
I could still hear the shrill voice of the late Sir Milton Margai on the BBC at the conclusion of the 1960 Lancaster House Talks on Sierra Leone’s expected independence. He poured scorn on Siaka Stevens refusal to endorse the Independent Agreement and described him as a man without a constituency. Well, didn’t Siaka Stevens form a political party based on tribal fears and sentiment and eventually rule this country for almost 18 years most of it a one party state?
And here we were with one of our members, a paid-up patron taking us to court, not for the first time either and our detractors were making great play of it. They chose to completely ignore the fact that the APC found themselves in a similar situation prior to the 2007 Parliamentary and Presidential elections, the runoff of which Christiana Thorpe with the aid of Victor Angelo and his colleagues of ‘regime change by any means.”
Alhajie U N S Jah at every opportunity has reminded those misguided critics of the history of the SLPP and of the wisdom and resilience of the founding fathers. As the national chairman and leader of our party John Benjamin has reminded all, it was even as the court case was on that we won vital bye-elections in Kailahun district, much to the discomfiture of the APC leadership. J O B has also boasted and with justification too, that since the 2007 elections only the SLPP had increased its number of seats in Parliament.
The PMDC which is the juniour partner of the APC in their coalition has lost two seats so it now has eight seats from its original ten. The ruling party themselves have had their overall seats reduced. But then most of the self-made and so-called political analysts are either ignorant of these facts or are aware of them but find it too embarrassing to either to mention those facts or comment on them as of public interest. They were mainly interested in what they perceived to be the death nail of our party and ironically driven in by a top member. It’s now almost over and we plan to put the past behind us as we prepare to reorganize and take on the APC which continues to ignore the suffering of its people by implementing policies which only add to our woes.
The people were hoodwinked by the announcement of a reduction of five hundred Leones in the pump price of fuel. The details will be revealed in the next edition of this column. No journalist, including my own editors whom I hold in high esteem, has taken the time to do a proper analysis of the figures; rather they’ve all hailed EBK as a listening, caring and compassionate President.
To go back to the case between Dr. Bu-Boakei Jabbie and the SLPP of which he is a patron and a flag bearer aspirant, as is already known both parties have agreed to the terms of a “Consent Judgment” which will now be presented to the honourable Supreme Court. The experts say that the court will review the matter in chambers and then deliver it as a court order and KAPUT. FINITE and it would be ALL FINISHED.
And that’s when it will be over. Three cheers.
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