In every nation’s history, there comes a time when a leader must confront the truth of his legacy — not the glorified version sung by praise-singers, but the one engraved in the lives of the suffering people. President Julius Maada Bio may, for now, bask in the illusion of power, shielded by state machinery and the privileges of incumbency, but he must remember this: immunity is temporary, but accountability is eternal.
These metaphorical expressions that state: “One good turn deserves the other” and, “what is good for the goose is good for gander” are very telling, as history keeps repeating itself because human activities have mostly become inconsiderate especially with power and sometimes, wealth. No president, no matter how powerful, is forever immune from the consequences of his actions. The corridors of power may feel impenetrable, the thrones may seem eternal, but time has taught us that no dictator, no corrupt leader, no abuser of office walks freely forever. One day, the law catches up. History calls. And the judgment of the people becomes inescapable.
The Illusion of Immunity:
President Bio today walks with the arrogance of un checked power. He flies in luxury while hospitals rot. He celebrates vanity projects while children starve. He silences dissent while the truth gets buried in state media propaganda. Under his leadership, Sierra Leone has become a land of staged progress, where poverty is polished with slogans and hunger is wrapped in statistics.
Power, like seasons, changes:
Today, he may dine with the elites. Tomorrow, he may stand before the very laws he once trampled upon. The history of Africa is littered with once-untouchable leaders who fell from grace. From Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir to South Africa’s Jacob Zuma, and even our West African neighbors, the pattern is consistent: once the drums of power stop beating, the echoes of justice grow louder.
Enriching the Few, Abandoning the Many:
President Bio’s regime has been defined by the blatant enrichment of his inner circle at the expense of the ordinary Sierra Leonean. Government contracts are awarded not on merit, but on allegiance. Public funds disappear into the abyss of unaccountability. His friends are empowered, his family is protected, and the national cake is shared only among the connected.
Meanwhile, inflation surges. Youth unemployment is at crisis level. The price of rice, transportation, electricity, and basic survival keeps rising. The country bleeds while the First Family and its loyalists dance. Civil servants remain unpaid, teachers protest in silence, hospitals lack gloves and medication, yet the ruling class thrives.
This betrayal is not just a policy failure — it is a moral crime against a nation.
Governance by Fear, Silence, and Deception:
Critics have been silenced. Journalists intimidated. Opposition voices harassed. President Bio has created a system where truth is an enemy, and loyalty to him is more important than loyalty to the constitution.
But no matter how hard he tries, he cannot forever silence the cries of the poor. He cannot erase the memories of the betrayed. And he cannot bribe time. When the books are opened, and justice begins to speak, even the loudest propaganda will lose its voice.
The Law Is Patient —But Never Forgets:
President Bio must realize that the immunity he enjoys today is not infinite. One day, a new government will come. A new auditor will revisit old files. A new court will examine the footprints of looting, contracts, killings, and state abuse. When that day comes, there will be no hiding place. The law sleeps, but it does not die.
The same offices he now uses to shield himself could be used to summon him. The same public funds he misused could be the subject of forensic investigation. The same judiciary he manipulated may rise, unchained, to do its work without fear or favor.
Let him study the fall of Yahya Jammeh, Gaddafi, Mobutu, and others who once believed they were untouchable. Let him remember that time is not on his side.
History Cannot Be Kind Some Times:
Long after Bio leaves office—whether voluntarily or by force of the ballot box, he will not be judged by his speeches or his slogans. He will be judged by what he did when the people trusted him with power.
He will be remembered for a Feed Salone project that fed no one, a Free Quality Education scheme that grew more symbolic than functional, a tribalized and polarized government, and an economy that slipped into darkness under his watch.
History is brutal to those who pretend to be saviors but rule like tyrants. Posterity will ask: What did he do with the trust of the people? Certainly, the answer will be damning.
A Word to the Wise:
Those cheering President Bio today must remember: power is not protection. Every minister, every official, every aide who participates in this looting and silencing must know that the day of reckoning is not a myth — it is a certainty.
The evil men do no longer lives after them. It now lives with them — on social media, in files, in international databases, and in the hearts of angry citizens waiting for justice.
One day, when Bio is no longer in office, his name may echo through courtrooms. His deeds may be debated in commissions. And his legacy — once painted in bright green — may fade into shame.
The Fall Always Follows the Pride:
President Bio must ask himself a simple question: What happens when the music stops?
When the sirens fall silent, the motorcade is no more, and the immunity expires — what will he face? What will the people say? What will justice demand?
Let him not be fooled by the cheers of those who eat today. Let him not be misled by the lies they whisper in his ear. Let him not think that power lasts forever.
For in the end, every man must face his record. And President Bio’s record, stained with deception, greed, and disregard for the suffering masses, will not be forgotten.
The evil he does shall live — not after him — but with him. Let justice find its way. Let truth rise again. And let no man ever believe he is immune from the law.
COURTESY OF NIGHTWATCH NEWSPAPER
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