The U.S Secret Service provides watertight security for heads of state and they do everything it takes to ensure that not even a fly settles on the brow of visiting heads of state.
The plan yesterday was for President Ernest Bai Koroma to appear at the massive demonstration going on in his behalf at the Dag Hammarskjold Plaza at the UN, just for him to see how much he is loved and appreciated by the Sierra Leonean people.
The Secret Service , COCORIOKO learnt, did not support the plan (Nobody expects them to, considering the security risks involved in a public gathering ) , but at least they allowed the President to just drive by after his meetings at the UN and boy, when President Koroma’s motorcade popped up, with security sirens flashing and horns hooting, the President got a taste of the love of the Sierra Leonean people. The whole plaza exploded and crowds holding banners screamed in delight and surged at the motorcade; President Koroma’s car window came down briefly for him to wave his appreciation back and the bullet-proof window quickly went up again , before the motorcade breezed away, amidst cheers from the crowd. He left the mammoth crowd in jubilant mood , rejoicing that they had had that brief moment for the President to see with his own eyes how much he is appreciated.
Back at his hotel, President Koroma was very thrilled and could hardly conceal his excitement at what he saw at the plaza. He thanked Ambassador Bockarie Stevens profusely and asked him to pass on his appreciation to everybody who worked hard and contributed to organize such a massive demonstration on his behalf. Throughout the rest of the evening, the President was beaming ear to ear , in joy.
Those who thought they could embarrass a popular, loved and appreciated President like ERNESTO are really not serious.
We have to reliably inform our readers that the Concerned Sierra Leoneans’ demonstration was a big flop. They had no more than 30 people, including 6 Guinean dissidents and opponents of President Alpha Conde, whom we had not allowed to set up stall at our own spot .
We have to inform you too that one of the key members of the Confused Sierra Leoneans , as people have nicknamed the Concerned Sierra Leoneans, Mr. Jesmed Suma, resigned from the group yesterday. In order that the young man is not unnecessarily vilified by these confused Sierra Leoneans who will definitely put a distorted spin on Jesmed’s resignation, COCORIOKO will bring you a full report of the circumstances leading to Mr. Suma’s resignation. Do not believe everything the Concerned Sierra Leoneans tell you.
To demonstrate to you, our dear readers that the Group cannot be trusted, The Concerned Sierra Leoneans have put out a false report already that government officials went to their demonstration to save President Koroma from embarrassment. This was further from the truth. The government officials who included Information Minister, Hon. Alpha Kanu ; Education Minister, Hon. Minkailu Bah , Social Welfare Minister Hon. Moijueh Kai-Kai, Deputy Government Spokesman, Mr. Ajibu Jalloh and journalist Sylvia Blyden went there as a gesture of peace. The Government in power cannot handle every national issue from a belligerent and hostile stance. These demonstrators are Sierra Leoneans , though many people do not like what they are engaged in , and so government officials saw nothing strange in going to see what they were doing.
President Koroma has returned to Sierra Leoneans with head blown out of proportion with pride, joy and victory because this was one of his most successful visits ever in the U.S . The UN International Post-Ebola Recovery Conference he attended was a huge success , with international stakeholders and donor partners demonstrating their confidence in his leadership by pledging millions of dollars into Sierra Leone’s Post-Ebola recovery plan. Secondly, the demonstration at the UN by Sierra Leoneans For Peace was massive and the President saw it for himself.
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