By Abu Shaw
The SLPP govt of President Bio failed because they came to power with a propaganda agenda and spent millions of dollars on foreign media & PROs.
Political propaganda and short-sightedness by the corrupt SLPP government that plunged Sierra Leone into the deepest parts of hell, was reiterated by the former Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma over the weekend during his historic address to the APC Grassroots supporters and Media Party Activists in Makeni City. The former Head of States made this provocative statement by telling President Julius Maada Bio and his inept SLPP government caboodle the hard truth i.e. public relations propaganda does neither run a government nor does propaganda run an economy. Most Sierra Leoneans who are feeling the pinch today due to SLPP’s unnecessary propaganda rather than concentrate on bread and butter issues agree with the conclusion of their former leader Ernest Koroma, whom they believe was a far better President than the current President at State House. (Photo: Ernest Koroma addresses the APC party supporters in Makeni on Friday).
“We do not eat propaganda stuff. We benefit from a vibrant economy and political tolerance. We do not enjoy intimidation and harassment. Bread and butter issues are the ingredients that we want from our public servants in Sierra Leone,” a keen political observer intimated in Makeni City, the headquarters of the north, where Ernest Koroma welcomed over 51 Grassroots Groups and APC Media Forums. The groups went to Makeni on Friday, April 1, 2022, to take messages of plea to appeal to Ernest Koroma to reconsider his imminent decision to retire from active politics before the crucial 2023 general and presidential elections. It was historic as hundreds of APC supporters stormed Makeni, a meeting that was widely considered successful because Ernest Koroma gave the nation hope that he may reconsider hanging up his political boot after the 2023 elections. In response to the messages from the APC Grassroots supporters and the social media party activists, Ernest Koroma welcomes the audience amid applauses and singing of the party song. (Photos: Ernest in Makeni with APC supporters).
Shortly before the former Head of State started his speech, the delighted APC crowd repeated the chants “A–P–C”, “Back-to-Power”. Then Ernest Koroma rose to give his motivating speech on Friday, April 1, 2022: “God bless us all. We thank you all for gathering yourself and coming here. You sponsored yourself and came today to deliver the message or messages that you brought to me. Before I react, I want to tell all of you lots of thanks, you the Affiliate Groups, you the Grassroots for the support you have provided for this party. If you see the party in existence today, if you see the party has sustained itself up to this time, it is because you have decided to be committed to the party. (Applause) The party is owned by the Grassroots. It is the commitment and determination of the Grassroots that is why the party is able to withstand any kind of offence they put on the party. You have come along to show your commitment. But most importantly, because the party left power in 2018. From 2018 to this time, when it was challenging, difficult, and almost impossible, you came out and defended the party. (Applause) You came out in your various groups defending here, attacking there, to show what the party has done here.
“Because, the way the government came, they came to wipe out everything the party had made. (Applause) They came and gave the impression that before 2018, nothing happened in the country. They came to give the impression that the party did not work in this country. But you see, I am sure by now everybody has learned. (Applause) Even the government has learned that you cannot run a government; you cannot run the economy by propaganda. You cannot run a government and the economy by merely paying public relations firms overseas for them to write good things about you. You cannot run a country by merely going out and talking to the Civil Society Organisations CSOs for them to send good reports about you. Sooner or later, reality would catch up with you. (Applause) That reality has now caught up with us in this country. We have talked and talked and talked. We have been given a bad name, bad mouth, the APC, a corrupt regime by a group of criminals, who ran the country, gave us a bad name all over the world about this country. That’s why we have to travel every day to go and make the bad name go away. (Applause) That’s why we removed them from power because the rice was Le 200,000 Leones, it was expensive we have to remove them from power; we removed them from power because fuel was Le 6,500 Leones. (Photo: President Bio has mishandled state affairs).
“We removed them from power because the public debt was even less than 100 million US dollars. You have to go. We removed them from power because electricity supply was not available; you did not make the roads, you have to go. You have to go!! (More Applause) Tolongbo, you will not sit here. The propaganda worked. And we are happy it worked. From 2018 to now, we know how things have happened in the country. We now know; how the fuel is fairing. We now know how the rice is doing; we now know how many new roads, I am not talking about the roads we left, I am not talking about the bridges we left, I am not talking about the Ambulances we left, but the ones when you came and put on paper and found money for and start them – they are not plenty. So, I have always said propaganda does not work. We should focus on developing this country. The country is for all of us. But when the propaganda came, you were talking about the roads we constructed, you talked about electricity we provided, you talked about the Free Healthcare, you were talking about the Free Education we provided.
“You talked about so many things, salaries, and other things. When the rice went Le 250,000 Leones, the ordinary man’s salary would survive on it. At least you would buy a bag of rice and still have something to take home. Anyway, I am a retired President now. I did not come to do a campaign. When the time for the campaign is here, even though I am a retired President, like any retired President anywhere in the world, I have the right to campaign for my party (Deafening Applause) So, yes, I am a Statesman, I will continue to be a Statesman. But I also have a party that I belong to. Just like how the campaign was getting hard for Joe Biden, then Obama said if I sit down and do nothing, it would be difficult for us. It has happened everywhere. In fact, inside Ghana, Jerry Rawlings formed a different party even in retirement. But we are not going to go to that extent. I have other things on my mind. But we know the efforts you have made, the commitment and determination, you have shown. For the people of this country, this is a very serious moment for them. So, the message that I want to say is that the APC has plenty of people, strong people, and dynamic young people. So if Ernest Koroma went as Chairman, we will get someone to serve us. (Audience went wild and started chanting repetitively NO, NO, NO. We want you there. We want you there).
“I have heard that. But we also know that the party has gone through lots of difficulties. Now, we thank God, we have the Constitution. The Constitution has matured on the 25 of last month. The election – it is you, not my stay here, it is your work, your determination that would make us win elections. We have to make sure that we register. Everybody must register. Everybody will vote. We have to make sure that we protect our votes. (Applause) Once you commit yourself to that, believe me, we will win the election. So the determination you have started with, the commitment you have shown, believe you me, there is no way come 2023 why APC should not come back to power. (Applause) The challenge we would get come 2023 is how we would take this country from the hole where it is today and bring it back to normalcy. That is the challenge of the APC government after 2023. (Applause) When we reach that bridge, APC always has the capacity to cross it in record time and set new standards. So, I will assure you that once you show commitment, and determination because from now the campaign has not started officially yet, but we should be engaging ourselves. We should know what will happen. The next step is the campaign. (Photos: APC supporters in Makeni. And Ernest Koroma).
“If you spent a better part of five years fighting people, disgracing people, by the time you realise that the five years is up, you have not done anything. It would be difficult. Unless you want to rig now! And for rigging, it is between you and me. They often say if a blind man reaches the community, it is those with eyes that had escorted him. We will not allow any rigging to take place. The party Constitution has said that everything is an election. Not so? But what you are doing here is selection. (Audience laughs). What you are doing here is selection. And that is an anti-party activity. We should all be ready to go for the election. Very soon when the court gives word, as soon as we finish the race, we will begin the Convention. We will begin Convention from the Ward to the Constituency, to the Districts to the Regions, to the National. We will get the Women’s Congress. If the court gives its decision tomorrow by June we would have leadership, the flagbearer, everything (Applause) By then after we have armed ourselves with the new leadership, it would be politics all the way. We should all work towards that. The issue about me, ‘I go hold word’; I will continue to consult with you. Right now whatever thing I say, people would say it is selection. This is a new Constitution we have to honour it and respect it. Because we will win the 2023 elections! (Applause).
“As I have said, I will continue to consult with the leaders, because we have over 50 groups here. And all these groups here, the moment this problem ends in court, we will move forward. And I am sure the consultations will go on. But as I said, what will make us win the election is your commitment and determination. The work you have done alone has taken us far. And if you continue to press no way we would not win the election. No intimidation would stop us. Even if they take all the money in the whole world and give everybody, we know that we will receive the money and vote APC. (Applause) I am thanking you again for coming,” Ernest Koroma concludes his historic address in Makeni. Meanwhile, Adebayor, the most popular social media activist of Love Salone Lef Bad Heart fame, who started the whole campaign for the APC supporters to visit and beg Ernest Koroma to stay until after the 2023 elections, has been thrilled by the visits and is even more delighted for the outcome of the Makeni meeting. Adebayor has therefore thanked all those who made the Makeni visit possible and reassured them that the groups have made the right decision to meet and appeal to the former President to stay for now.
