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HomeLocalAs He Preaches Tribalism In A Bid To Divide Sierra Leone …Maada Bio Disappoints UNIMAK Again – Deputy Information Minister Says Bio Is Not Worth His Salt

As He Preaches Tribalism In A Bid To Divide Sierra Leone …Maada Bio Disappoints UNIMAK Again – Deputy Information Minister Says Bio Is Not Worth His Salt

As He Preaches Tribalism In A Bid To Divide Sierra Leone …Maada Bio Disappoints UNIMAK Again – Deputy Information Minister Says Bio Is Not Worth His Salt

The university authorities and students of the University of Makeni (UNIMAK) are currently very angry with the flag-bearer of the opposition Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), Julius Maada Bio, for having treated them with contempt in failing to honour his promise to deliver a public lecture at their campus for a second time.  (Photo: SLPP Flag bearer, Brigadier (Ret.) Julius Maada Bio)

When he failed to turn up for the first invitation in June, and after cries of disappointment from the organisers, Bio wrote to the UNIMAK authorities on 4th July 2012 expressing regret for not being able to attend because of “prior commitments with the people of Koinadugu…” He stated that “We have given serious thought to how we can honour this invitation and hope a new timing can be agreed.” He further wrote that “I would like to propose that we reschedule this event for sometime [sic] in October 2012 when I understand the next session of the university would have started.”

It was this proposal that caused the university authorities to slate 27th October 2012 for the lecture, to which Bio himself gave his consent. So on October 27th the stage was all set and over two million leones spent in catering. Professors, foreign and local dignitaries, and students were all invited. Though the lecture was scheduled for 5pm, Maada Bio called to say it should be shifted to 8:30 pm. The authorities again acquiesced.

The Abbatti Hall (Fatima Campus) was full to capacity from 4:30pm, and people waited till around 9pm, only to get a call from Bio saying he would not be able to attend the lecture. “The disappointment on the faces of everybody was unimaginable. We think the flag-bearer of the SLPP treated us with contempt, and that’s not the way a leader should behave, especially when dealing with the university,” said Unisa P. Kamara (UPK), one of the lecturers/organisers of the event, while speaking to Radio Maria in Makeni. “They are begging for another opportunity, but we are not going to allow that again. You don’t just treat the university any how. We have an academic timetable to go by, and Maada Bio should not think he will just dictate to us what to do,” he lambasted.

Deputy Minister of Information and Communications, Sheka Tarawalie, who was also a studio guest at Radio Maria last Monday said he was not surprised that Maada Bio could not honour the invitation. “As far as I am concerned, Bio was even given a third chance when he shifted the time from 5pm to 8:30 pm. That should be enough. He preferred to honour an invitation to Njala University which came late instead of coming to UNIMAK. This man is going to some parts of the south-east preaching tribalism; it is obvious that he does not regard UNIMAK highly for the same reasons. With such an attitude, it is clear that the man is not fit to be a leader of our country” he blasted.

Many students and lecturers interviewed by The Torchlight also condemned the action of Maada Bio. “I was someone sitting on the fence in these elections, but Bio’s attitude towards our university is repugnant to say the least, and I am now convinced that he is not the right leader for this country,” Mustapha Lahai, a student from Kenema district, said. All others interviewed shared similar sentiments.

Bio was to have spoken on his so-called ‘New Direction’.

Courtesy Torchlight Communications, Sierra Leone

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