Peripatetic Puawui
The week has been an interesting one so far. But let me begin by duffing my hat to honourable Emmanuel Tommy the minority SLPP leader in Parliament, first and most importantly for not swallowing the government’s bait to use him for cheap propaganda at the consultative conference in London. Secondly for the astute and strong leadership that he demonstrated in Parliament when the APC mineral bill was being rushed through the house that is the kind of stuff leaders are made of. The week itself began with the national chairman of the opposition SLPP John Oponjo Benjamin addressing a “conc” letter to his Excellency the President raising a number of issues on governance and rumours about which had been circulating not so quietly, but which many people pretended not to have heard or even helped to spread. The reason is obvious; the issues concerned the head of state and some close members of his family. Typical of Salone, they were considered taboo. There has been no official reaction, most probably because of the absence from the country of the President. But we have a press secretary who has always been ready to draw daggers with anyone who broached such a subject and who could at least have issued or sent a preliminary missile at John. It may be that Sheka Tarawalie, or Shekito, or Septimus A M Saffa is out there with the Presidential delegation. But then, how could he be in London when he had been refused a visa to the United Kingdom, but maybe it was not him but another personality parading the corridors of State House. However his Excellency’s sister was having none of that. She began by being aggressive and even insulting John Benjamin without disclaiming connection with any of the other groups mentioned in John’s letter except Anjelique. As for government  catering services, she did not deny but said that it was a shared out contract; whether it went through procurement procedures or advertised tender she did not elaborate.
Interestingly quite a few newspapers which would normally have splashed banner headlines across their front pages if the scandal involved some other people have remained silent. One need not stretch one’s imagination to infer that they are only waiting for the first hint of the government’s response because that would be news, but not otherwise. But I like the layout of the story in the Standard Times newspaper, a publication that is never short of sensational headlines, sometimes true, but quite often a product of the fertile imagination of the editorial team. The Standard Times put Admires’s retort juxtaposed to John Benjamin’s letter. While one could read the former because of its bold headline and letters, “The President’s sister fires back,” one needs a magnifying glass to be able to read John Benjamin’s. The printing is so small as to be hardly legible, but then that is how journalists sometimes play it out. I recall the managing editor of the newspaper alleging on one occasion that I was not a journalist and therefore did not understand those things. How right he was, I do not really understand, let alone appreciate how they operate sometimes. I cannot help but recall an interesting incident concerning the self-righteous Awoko newspaper and myself. My young friend and versatile President of SLAJ Umaru Fofana had made a statement in his regular column in the newspaper with which I disagreed and sent a rejoinder to the editor. To my utter amusement, Umaru reacted to my article even when the newspaper had yet to publish my article; it hasn’t done so to this day tomorrow. Again, “dat nar Salone journalism for we”
John Benjamin in his letter has also requested the President to clarify the published rumour about our honourable Vice President having been indicted in a high court action in the state of Arkansas in the United States. The Awareness Times which most often is factual and reliable has along with another newspaper published NOT a denial of the indictment having been made, but that the plaintiffs’ lawyers had in an affidavit withdrawn the said indictment. One doesn’t have to have the fertile mind of the African Champion newspaper for lies, slander and fabrication to conclude that the story is a little untidy. The formal settlement of the Vice President’s law firm of Yarda Williams and Associates has thrown no light on WHY litigants in the United States had dragged the name of the Vice President in the sordid affair in the first place. For now we can only say that the damage has been done and for goodness don’t involve the opposition SLPP.
Ah yes, the chairman of the tilting and nearly sinking ship named PMDC is spitting fire and venom at mainly their senior ally the APC, accusing the latter of bribing their membership away from them. What is Mr. Bangura mourning about when it is remembered that his leader Charles Margai had declared in Kenema that the then runoff Presidential candidate Ernest Bai Koroma now our dynamic and revered President had bought them over with the scandalous sum of ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY FIVE THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS SO THAT THE PMDC WOULD BACK THE APC. What is he baby crying about, is it because the APC has shown them their true colour? By the way chief Suwu had publicly declared for the APC a long time ago in Kailahun. On the same platform Lamin Vonjo Ngobeh when asked why he had not followed suit as he had promised, replied that Charles Margai was handling his case in court and that if he were to declare before the verdict Charles would abandon him. Mohamed Bangura should brace himself up for another defection to the APC, in the near future. After all they not the PMDC are in power.
Well dear members of the Red Sun party, the rice saga shoe is now on the other foot. Soon the starving people of this capital will begin chanting “Wey wi res?” as they chanted in the false propaganda surrounding the Libya rice. It’s a small but round world!
Stay with Sierra Express Media, for your trusted place in news!
© 2009, https:. All rights reserved.
