WHEN TRIBE REPLACES COUNTRY: MAADA BIO’S POLITICS OF DIVISION IS PUTTING SIERRA LEONE’S FUTURE AT RISK
By Gibril Bangura
08:19:2026
Sierra Leone is standing at a dangerous crossroads.
The greatest threat to our national cohesion is not simply poverty, unemployment, corruption, or political disagreement. It is the growing willingness of citizens to defend almost anything their political camp does, even when those actions threaten the very democratic institutions that protect everyone.
Under President Julius Maada Bio, the politics of identity and tribal loyalty has become an increasingly disturbing feature of our national conversation. Too many people appear prepared to defend actions not because those actions are right, constitutional, democratic, or beneficial to Sierra Leone, but because the people taking them belong to their political or tribal camp.
That is not patriotism. That is political tribalism, and it is a dangerous road for a fragile democracy.
WHEN POLITICS BECOMES TRIBAL WARFARE
There is nothing wrong with being proud of one’s ethnic heritage. Sierra Leone belongs to every tribe: Temne, Mende, Limba, Loko, Kono, Kuranko, Fula, Mandingo, Sherbro, Kissi, Krio, Susu, Vai and every other community that makes up our nation.
The problem begins when tribal identity becomes more important than the Constitution, justice, accountability, and the national interest.
When a government does something questionable, the question should not be:
“Which tribe is doing it?”
The question should be:
“Is it lawful? Is it constitutional? Is it fair? Is it good for Sierra Leone?”
Unfortunately, our political culture increasingly encourages people to ask the first question instead of the second.
That mentality is dangerous because governments change, presidents leave office, political parties lose elections and yesterday’s rulers become tomorrow’s opposition.
THE LAWS BEING MADE TODAY WILL NOT BELONG TO SLPP FOREVER
This is the part that many supporters appear unwilling to understand.
A law created today does not come with an SLPP ownership certificate.
Once enacted, a law becomes part of the legal machinery of the Republic. Tomorrow, another government can inherit that machinery and use it.
That is why political supporters must stop cheering every controversial law simply because their preferred party is currently in power.
Ask yourself a simple question:
If the APC were in State House tomorrow, would you still want this same law on the books?
If the answer is no, then you should be questioning it today.
Because the law you applaud when it is used against your political opponents can eventually be used against you.
The political weapon you help sharpen today may be the weapon pointed at your own supporters tomorrow.
POWER IS TEMPORARY. PRECEDENT IS PERMANENT.
President Bio will not remain president forever.
The SLPP will not remain in government forever.
The APC will not remain in opposition forever.
That is the nature of democratic politics.
But constitutional precedents, institutional practices and dangerous laws can survive individual presidents and political parties for generations.
That is why responsible citizens must think beyond the next election.
A government should never be given a blank cheque simply because its supporters believe their party represents their tribe, region or political interests.
And the opposition should not automatically oppose everything merely because it comes from government.
The standard must be the same regardless of who holds power.
If something is unconstitutional when the APC proposes it, it should be unconstitutional when the SLPP proposes it.
If something is abusive when the APC does it, it should be abusive when the SLPP does it.
If something threatens democracy under one government, it threatens democracy under another.
That is what principle looks like.
THE MOST DANGEROUS CITIZEN IS NOT ALWAYS THE ONE WHO BREAKS THE RULES
Sometimes the greater danger comes from the citizen who knows something is wrong but refuses to condemn it because the wrongdoer belongs to his political camp.
That person helps normalize wrongdoing.
He tells politicians:
“Do whatever you want. As long as you are our people, we will defend you.”
That is how institutions become weakened.
That is how constitutional safeguards become meaningless.
That is how political loyalty becomes more important than national loyalty.
And eventually, everyone pays the price.
SIERRA LEONE MUST REJECT THE “OUR TRIBE, RIGHT OR WRONG” MENTALITY
The future of Sierra Leone cannot be built on the principle of “our tribe right or wrong.”
It must be built on:
Sierra Leone first.
The Mende child in Bo deserves the same constitutional protection as the Temne child in Makeni.
The Limba farmer in Port Loko deserves the same justice as the Kono businessman in Koidu.
The Fula trader in Freetown deserves the same rights as the Sherbro fisherman in Bonthe.
And an APC supporter deserves the same protection under the law as an SLPP supporter.
That is what citizenship means.
If we allow politicians to convince us that our first responsibility is to defend “our people” rather than defend the Republic, then we are destroying the very country we claim to love.
TO THE SUPPORTERS: THINK BEFORE YOU CHEER
Political supporters need to understand something uncomfortable:
You are not helping your party by defending every questionable decision it makes.
You are actually making your party weaker.
A healthy political movement needs members who can say:
“This is wrong, even though my party did it.”
It needs citizens courageous enough to tell their own leaders:
“We support you, but we will not support this.”
That is not betrayal.
That is patriotism.
Blind loyalty is not political strength. It is political slavery.
TODAY’S VICTIM COULD BE TOMORROW’S GOVERNMENT
The supporters celebrating the expansion of government power today should remember that governments change.
The activists cheering when opponents are silenced should remember that political winds change.
Those celebrating controversial legislation because it benefits their side should remember that legislation can outlive their political heroes.
And those defending political tribalism should remember that tribal politics has no permanent beneficiary.
Once the principle is established that government can bend institutions for political purposes, nobody can guarantee who will be the next victim.
SIERRA LEONE NEEDS CITIZENS, NOT TRIBAL SOLDIERS
This country does not need citizens who blindly defend politicians.
It needs citizens who defend the Constitution.
It does not need tribal soldiers.
It needs Sierra Leoneans.
It does not need people asking, “Who benefits?”
It needs people asking, “Is this right?”
Because when politics becomes more important than country, democracy becomes vulnerable.
When tribe becomes more important than justice, national unity becomes fragile.
And when political loyalty becomes more important than constitutional principle, every Sierra Leonean becomes less secure.
President Bio and the SLPP will eventually leave power. The APC will eventually have its own opportunity to govern again. Another generation of politicians will eventually take their place.
But the question we must answer now is whether we will leave behind a stronger democratic republic, or a country where every government simply inherits the tools created by the previous government and turns them against yesterday’s rulers.
Sierra Leone cannot afford that cycle.
Let us disagree politically without becoming enemies.
Let us criticize governments without hating communities.
Let us defend our tribes culturally without turning tribal identity into a political weapon.
And above all, let us stop defending wrong simply because the person doing it belongs to our political camp.
Because when the law becomes a weapon for one side, eventually everyone discovers that weapons have no permanent owner.
Sierra Leone belongs to all of us, not to the SLPP, not to the APC, not to any tribe, and certainly not to any individual president.
COUNTRY FIRST. CONSTITUTION FIRST. SIERRA LEONE FIRST.
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