By KABS KANU :
Mr. Umaru Fofana , the President of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists ( SLAJ) , is known for many things but none of them is for promoting the cause of the All People’s Congress ( APC ) . I have never met Umaru Fofana and I do not know his political leanings but one thing I know is that he is not a sympathizer of the APC . He could be a good man and he is certainly a worthy son of the soil, entitled to his own political beliefs and loyalties in a democratic society. He is a free man of the realm and he is free to align himself with any political party of his choice. It does not matter therefore if he is SLPP, APC or PMDC. But again, it is common knowledge that he has never been APC and he is not APC.
EVEN BABOONS HAVE SHAME -FACE
Therefore, for a man like him to come out openly to chastise the SLPP Presidential candidate , Julius Maada Bio, for being a liar and that he lied to the BBC clearly shows the seriousness of the personality and credibility deficits that accompany the SLPP Flag-bearer. From the British-born presenter of the BBC Focus on Africa program , who also disagreed with Bio and was at odds with his democratic credentials and credibility during the program , to the Leader of the opposition United Democratic Movement ( UDM ) Mr. Mohamed Bangura, who went on the air and verbally belittled the former junta leader for his lies , to all right-thinking Sierra Leoneans who were outraged by Bio’s lies at Bush House and now to Umaru Fofana , of all people , who has boldly come out to flay Bio for not speaking the truth, the walls of self-respect , public regard and credibility have really been caving in on the SLPP Presidential candidate . Now, it is an undisputed fact that the Grand Old Party’s flagbearer is not only a confessed extrajudicial killer and a passport thief, but a pathological liar, whose word is not worth the air in which it is breathed. And is this the man who wants to be President ? He is not even fit to be a leader down Susan’s Bay or Government Wharf .
Umaru Fofana, the SLAJ President, who is a non-sympathizer of the APC , delivered a telling indictment on Mr. Bio when he told the POLITICO Newspaper : “The point I want to make here and the parallel I am drawing is the value of the value of truth in especially politics. Sadly in Sierra Leone, truth-telling is the exception rather than the rule. Lies galore!…In public relations, one of the cardinal principles is to not tell a lie…Otherwise when it is discovered that what you had said was a lie, …your credibility is dented. This brings me to the BBC interview on Focus on Africa with Julius Maada Bio, presidential challenger of the opposition Sierra Leone People’s Party… One good thing about the stewardship of the current [APC] administration that no one should try to take away is the very impressive road projects, which have seen roads built or being built throughout the country. From Freetown to Kono to Kambia to Kailahun. So for Mr. Bio to have reduced the significance of the current road projects to something of ‘3 kilometers’ value and to amplify that carried out by the former government led by his SLPP party can at the very least be described as disingenuous… Politics is not about lying against each other…So Mr. Bio you got it wrong on this… and you blew it in the blue.” Umaru Fofana’s words are like a ruthless shredding machine tearing away ever veneer and every remaining layer of respect , credibility and integrity around the so-called Presidential candidate. If only some people have shame in their mantra ! ! !
If politics in Sierra Leone had been a game of integrity, self-respect and credibility, the shamed Maada Bio would have packed his bundle and quit the presidential race. But shame-face, self-respect, credibility and integrity are not part of the armoury of the SLPP Presidential candidate and his supporters. Even in the face of all the shame, disgrace, embarrassment and dishonour Bio suffered in the UK, you have his shameless and unprincipled supporters and propagandists still trying to promote his ill-fated European tour, misrepresent its gains and lie that he is making a lot of grounds. Gaining a lot of grounds where ? By meeting like-minded and insignificant supporters across the British channel ? Since Bio started his tour, he has not met anybody of note capable of changing the dynamics on the ground in Sierra Leone. He has only met glib-talking Sierra Leoneans who have no influence on what is going on in Sierra Leone. Some of them have been marooned and unattached from their country for so long it will be a surprise if the have any more links left. Bio must also be a real fool if he is carried away by the vain babbling of some of the unimportant people he has met so far. He should have been spending his time wisely on the ground in Sierra Leone meeting genuine supporters who will vote for him than people who no longer know where the Congo Cross Bridge is situated.
Bio is the Father of the culture of impunity in Sierra Leone and it is no surprise that his unprincipled and shameless supporters and propagandists are perfecting this spirit in the run-up to the Presidential elections. The Father of ‘PAOPA’ ( I must be President at all costs ) politics in Sierra Leone has his supporters and propagandists in the same mode. One can see that they are a bunch of pretenders and political 419ers trying to impose a disliked confessed extrajudicial killer and thief (Who relies on lies and exaggeration to put across his case ) on our beloved nation.
If Umaru Fofana, of all people, could not stomach Bio’s lies and shameless exaggeration , how much integrity is left for the SLPP Presidential candidate ?
SHAME.
SHAME ON HIM.
