President Julius Bio of Sierra Leone has resumed his love of flying.
On 7 December 2020 , a press release from his press secretary announced that the president would travel to Gabon, during which he would strengthen bilateral relations between his host country and Sierra Leone
This is the second time president Bio has travelled overseas since the COVID 19 pandemic obstructed his penchant for costly and non essential overseas trips.
The president has been dubbed as the” flying president “as within 2 years of him becoming president, he has travelled abroad, to more than 50 different countries, which no other president before him ever did a fraction in the same period, thus costing taxpayers huge sum of money that could be used to build social amenities for the country.
His latest trip to Gabon followed an obscured trip he made to Lebanon over three months ago.
Prior to his trip to Lebanon, his press secretary said the president would stay in Lebanon for a week during which he would conduct a bilateral relation.
The country was left pontificating as to why the president was in Lebanon in the first place, during COVID 19 pandemic but rather questionable was the secrecy surrounding his visit to a country rocked by significant instability and conflict.
A trip we were told would be for a week stretched out to nearly a month without any news or statement from either the president himself or his press secretary, who did not travel with the president, until at the tail end of their sojourn when for the first time, the first lady, Mrs Fatima Jabbi Bio, published a statement on Facebook that they were “enjoying their honeymoon”
Up to this day, the people of Sierra Leone who elected him in 2018 were not told, with clarity, why the president had travelled to Lebanon, what was the purpose ,what did he achieved of benefits to Sierra Leone but why was such trip essential , when Sierra leone, like the rest of the world, are in COVID 19 lockdown.
It is against this opaque background that further questions must be raised on his trip to Gabon and more importantly because a potentially serious breakdown in diplomatic relation between
Sierra leone and her next-door neighbour of Guinea is brewing.
Just a month or so away to this year’s general and presidential election in Guinea, the Guinean President Alpha conde closed his country’s border with Sierra Leone after he accused the vice president of Sierra Leone of recruiting mercenaries to invade his country’s election without providing evidence.
In recent days, the Guinean president has raised the temperature by imposing a trade blockade.
Gabon is a central African country – farther away from Sierra Leone. It’s 2,787 km from Sierra Leone whereas Guinea ,which is across the road from Sierra Leone is 282 km.
I would have expected president Bio to take president Alpha Conde seriously and treat the situation as a matter of utmost urgency– by travelling with a high level delegation to sit down with his Guinean counterpart and iron out any differences and misunderstanding.
S
ierra Leone stand to lose greatly if president Bio do not show leadership but rely on ECOWAS and AU to intervene on his behalf.
Most traders, especially from Sierra Leone travelled to Guinea to buy goods and brought them for sale in Sierra Leone.
This is an informal business sector that provide income for significant households without formal employment. It’s also a source of revenue for Sierra Leone.
Any delay on the part of president Bio to resolve the situation and work with president Conde to restore trust and confidence between their two governments will further damage the already seriously damaged economy, bringing more sufferings and poverty for the business community in Sierra Leone, especially the women.
Yankuba Kai -Samba
