Dr Samura Wilson Mathew Kamara is someone who could be best described as an affable man. He is one of those rare public figures who would find pleasure in some of the simpler things in life. The fact that he is a Freemason came up for scrutiny but this is a man who had never made his concern for friends, family and his community any secret.
He has taken the time to apprise many with his lifestyle but most refuse to take notice. For example, when the Wusum Lodge was built at Makeni, he invited the state hierarchy to the event and many within the State and beyond were entreated to a splendor never before witnessed in that part of the Country. The fact that some would now attempt to use Dr Samura Kamara’s link with Freemasonry to ridicule him is very unpardonable. The attention that many would wish to cast on Freemasonry may serve to undermine their nuanced views of a society of men who hold out nothing but good for their fellow men and for their community. Many would wish to know that Freemasonry is not a secret society but albeit a society whose dealings are held secret and highly protected.
The reason for the sometimes contrary attitudes towards Freemasons in this part of the World stem unfairly from the depictions in Nigerian movies most of which are designed to take advantage of ignorance and a lack of knowledge even from the most active protagonists. The reality is very far from what these warped movies display but the degree of ignorance creates the added mysticism that creates an amount of fear and trepidation in some, at the mention of the word, Freemasonry. In other more enlightened parts of the World, Freemasons are revered and held in high esteem. Many would confirm that the attraction to Freemasonry is not limited to ordinary folks but Kings and Monarchs have over the centuries been known to have been active in the Craft. This validation of Freemasonry is not without the very fact that this is an institution that portends to make good men better.
To put it mildly, the fascination with Dr Samura Kamara and Freemasonry may be well directed to encouraging those who want to know the truth to ask the right people about Freemasonry and for a few, they may actually find the Freemason’s Lodge a place where they may very well improve themselves. It is for this reason that all the hitherto unfounded and unwarranted noise about degrees and deceit does not sit well with the persona of Dr Samura Wilson Mathew Kamara.
The attention that has also been drawn towards the academic qualification of the APC flag bearer has started to dwindle as many realize it is merely contrived as a campaign of calumny. What is most disheartening is the fact that Dr Sanmura Kamara has never been a loud man nor is he the type who would open himself to be drawn into such unsubstantiated feuds and character assassination. Ironically, the tome of his thesis dealt with monetary unification in West Africa and delved inordinately into the realms of monetary and fiscal policies and the Keynesian theories of monetary expansionism and economic paradigms of transactional fluidity in mixed but synchronized markets. For many, this would be jargon but for Dr Samura Kamara, these concepts have been the basis of his public life and his practical experiences and viewpoints must have added considerably to the body of knowledge in this area. One observer quipped that even with the entire hullabaloo about University degrees, the best leaders have always been those with more practical empathy and experience for the issues facing their peoples than those with high sounding accolades and attachments. Dr Samura Mathew Kamara is one such person with a very acute sense of the suffering and detail of need that the ordinary man would face. In his high profile positions and offices of State, he is very well known to be more easily at ease with people of low standing and average means to be around him in a spirit of jovial sociality.
The jury would always be out on the credentials of men and their abilities to garner the public mood towards their personal advantages. Dr Sanmura Kamara did not do wrong in being selected as flag bearer, and for that reason, most who do know him are now pledged to work with him to see that the APC wins the coming elections. It is now widely agreed that Dr Samura Kamara presents a viable candidacy in the next elections and given the truly wide appeal of his running mate, the potential backing of the outgoing President, Chairman and Leader of the Party, the APC has in its sight a formidable winning team and a worthy force to take the country forwards after 2018. The greater challenge of winning the hearts and minds of the APC disaffected or disgruntled would signal the fightback and the first formidable litmus test for the Samura Kamara / Chernoh Bah ticket. It is reported already that the mending of the fences have already begun and the shuttle diplomacy is being held in earnest by Chericoco, as Chernoh Bah is fondly called. The battle for the coming elections is understandably being fought internally in the first instance before the fight goes out to the opponents. What is certain is that the APC has shown itself to be one family, a party and a political movement bigger in its sum than any one individual part.
The mistakes of the past would always open themselves up for review in the future and for that reason, many within the Party have sworn massive support to Dr Samura Kamara to win the elections in March 2018. The noise will abate and the matter of serious business entered upon in due time and season.
When all the hubris is cleared and the flotsam separated from the jetsam, the result of a united APC party going into the next general elections becomes an unstoppable political machine. The good deeds of the current government must not be allowed to wilt away but protected under the commitment of an enduring legacy and a call to restructuring the Party to reflect these implacable achievements of our times. President Ernest Bai Koroma has struggled through a barrage of local and international crises to raise the prospect of the APC as a formidable political force and the challenge for the Party at this time is to consolidate the gains of the past ten years.
