By Kabs Kanu
Since the SLPP came to power in March, they have been trying to antagonize President Ernest Koroma. Tis is a very bad and costly mistake.
Any wise nation and government will use a former President with such international respect and goodwill as President Koroma to establish new grounds and accolades for themselves internationally.
This is the secret of the success of past American governments before Trump ( And you have seen how Trump is struggling because of his attitude to his predecessor, Obama ). Past U.S. presidents tapped on the wisdom and legacies of their predecessors to continue to make America greater and they and their nations have been the better for it.
Government is continuity. Failure to heed this will doom the Bio government. If they think they will make a headway by bringing boto bata lies against President Koroma and demonizing him , they are mistaken. They are antagonizing the former President to their own doom.
President Koroma established himself soundly in the international community . His wisdom, diplomatic acumen as Chairman of the Committee of 10 in the UN Security Council Reform negotiations and his visibly seen contribution to socioeconomic and political developments within the prisms of a globalized world have not vanished like a mirage in the minds of the international community just because his term of office has expired.
SLPP will learn that the the ties that bind leaders in international diplomacy and foreign relations transcend many barriers and could be eternal.
World leaders do not just dump former colleagues because they have lost power, especially outstanding ones like President Koroma. They look after each others’ interests and it does affect them when a former colleague is badly treated by an incoming government . You therefore mistreat your former President at your own peril. Most real reasons that international aid, support and goodwill are withheld are never expressed at the international podium.
Also, ask the late Liberian President Samuel Doe when you die the international cost and repercussions for assassinating President Tolbert and son, A.B. Tolbert. Do you remember the name Houpheout Boigny ? Find out the role he played in the Doe downfall and why.
There is also a tendency today in international geopolitics to utilize former leaders in the continuum of world governance. They have left power but they are continually used to help further the cause of human development in this universe. Former leaders like President Koroma are gems that do not just lose their luster because they are no longer in power. The international community knows this.
Who are we to think that we can be different ?
