BY KABS KANU :
They were written off as dead and buried .They were castigated as the one party that no Sierra Leonean will take seriously any more.The opportunistic, thieving old brigade which destroyed the party’s name deserted it like rats fleeing a sinking ship.
ERNEST KOROMA
But give Ernest Koroma, Osman Yansaneh and members of the young brigade all the kudos this morning as the APC has resurrected from the dead , actualizing the nightmares that its traditional rivals , the SLPP, had struggled with since it too came back from the dead in 1995.
The APC may not win the local elections , but what their already stunning showing has clearly demonstrated is that Sierra Leoneans are on the go once again. Some allegiances and support are shifting from the SLPP back to the very party whose name many of them never wanted to hear years ago. The reasons for the change of mind are rooted in the cruel disappointment the SLPP turned out to be in power, though many people say that the APC itself does not need to be trusted.
Since their return in 1996, the SLPP has been a colossal disaster. Its leadership is one of the most porous this nation has seen, though he is ironically one of the most democratic leaders we have had. . The nation has a leader only in name. President Kabbah is a promising person , but his hands-off policy and lackadaisical attitude to issues like the suffering of the masses, corruption, the ravages of his cronies and other discredited and recycled politicians and his deaf ears to the clamours of the Hinga Norman supporters have come back to haunt him and the party. The SLPP will suffer a more regrettable fate in the 2007 Elections , except party they buck up and begin to address the problems of the people.
We hope the young blood in the APC will waste no time to convince the world that they are far, far better than the corrupt old guards who damaged the name of the party. We hope they will justify the confidence the nation has reposed in them. They have a huge homework, to overturn the bad reputation given to the party by the old brigade.
The one good reward the nation will harvest from the local elections, whoever wins, is that now Sierra Leone is back again as a country having two powerful political parties contesting for power. And it is hoped that this will make the ruling party sit up and attend to the problems of the people. Power indeed belongs to the people and a politician neglects them at his own peril.
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