Politics is often a numbers game, and garnering the support of influential figures can be crucial in winning elections.
The recent return of Kandeh Yumkella (KKY) to the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) has been met with widespread celebration and acceptance within the party.
SAMUEL SAM SUMANA
However, the same cannot be said for Sam Sumana, whose return to the All People’s Congress (APC) has been met with resistance and exclusion by some members of the party.
Despite the potential importance of Sumana’s support, his treatment within the APC has left many concerned about the party’s ability to win over key areas, especially Kono.
In particular, Sumana’s influence in the Kono region could be a critical factor in the upcoming election. The APC leadership should have provided Sumana with the necessary space to effectively engage with his supporters and make a meaningful contribution to the party’s efforts.
Failure to do so could have serious consequences for the APC’s electoral prospects.
Ultimately, the success of a political party is dependent on its ability to build and maintain a strong coalition of supporters.
This requires not only the recruitment of influential figures but also the willingness to work together and respect the contributions of all members.
KANDEH YUMKELLA
By excluding Sumana and his supporters, the APC risks further fragmenting its base and weakening its chances of success in the upcoming election.
The party leadership must take steps to address these issues and ensure that all members are given the space and support needed to make a meaningful contribution to the party’s efforts
Culled from Tombo Media Engagement Blog
HERE IS ANOTHER ARTICLE ON THE ISSUE BY TITUS BOYE-THOMPSON
*THE APC IS APPROACHING DEEP PARALYSIS*
Titus Boye-Thompson, London
It is like watching a race, a long distance race and as the runners get to approach final furlong, we see them faltering but worst of all, the front runner is seen to be running backwards and the wild card comes in to clinch it. This is what is happening to the All Peoples Congress at the moment. It is surreal as we watch a once glorious party being reduced by an inglorious mob to a state of paralysis.
Many would wonder why now? Why has this suddenly become a concern when reasonable people had sounded this alarm a long while back? At the same time. There are those who are in the throes of the very destruction that would engulf them but they are not aware of this, or that in the drunken stupor of power disenchantment, fail to recognize that their very actions are destroying this Party?
Nor many would feign ignorance to the devastation that is facing the APC but those who ought to build a strong defence are busy pulling down the fences.
Somebody needs to say this. The APC would not win the coming elections not because they do not have the support if the people but because they do not have the backbone to take this fight to the SLPP. In a worsening situation, we see parry stalwarts behaving as if they are untouchable yet their prowess is leveraged against their own support base not towards the adversary.
This coming elections have been won or lost a while back. It is only a matter of validation that the government is banking on to unleash a system of crooked was so far unseen in this country. The end product would not be palatable to many but the bloodshed may be deemed to be necessary in the interest of saving a tribal hegemony against a viligant call of the people for better leadership. The sad part is that the APC is not stepping up to provide the leadership necessary to overturn such a bloody and vengeful government.
It would be a shame but the situation is getting worse from day to day and we are witnessing the unbundling of the aspirations of the grassroots. The elections would be marked by violence because at the onset, it is already being played out as a them vs US political demagoguery. There is an eerie silence on the mention of the actual mechanics of what is going to play itself out.
*Furling of the flag*
The APC has allowed its flag to be laid furled, reduced the potency of its most treasured asset by hanging a noose around the neck of its flag bearer. Surprisingly, for a man who was barely known in the political landscape prior to the last sections in 2018, the APC flag bearer Dr Samura Mathew Wilson Kamara has been so successful at turning round the failure of his first bid that he success is now his greatest defeat. In a dangerous personal greed for power, we see the imposition of a running mate upon the flag bearer as the first step in silencing him. The next shep is the noose around his throat by a running mate who is openly opposed to the leadership of the flag bearer. It is now open secret that there is a very big divide within the APC and this divide was created and feathered by a very combative former party Chairman and Leader who pushed his way on the elected flag bearer. My issue is how did this happen, when at the cusp of bringing sanity and unity to the party after such a successful flag bearer elections, the success of the event caused the backs of a few in the party to rise against the current Leader. Samura Kamara’s problems as flag bearer became more real after that massive crowd that accompanied him on a victorious re-entry back to Freetown. The welcome throng not only sent shivers down the spines of the government but also raised eyebrows within the old ranks of the APC. Simply put, the outpouring of love that the people showered on Samura Kamara caused his haters in the APC to rally round to silence him. In that event, his main discordant supporter, Ernest Bai Koroma stood ground to thwart the Samura Kamara campaign by imposing Chernoh Maju Bah as running mate. It is widely being floated amongst those who watch APC politics that this imposition was done outnif malice and those who pioneered it did so to very simply deny Samura Kamara the control he needed to have over the party in order to be an effective leader.
*Ernest Koroma. Is responsible*
The loss of the elections should be on the head of Ernest Bai Koroma and in him alone because he hs turned out to be an uncanny controlling hand in all the dastardly acts against the current dispensation. The creation of a Team A is an attempt to align a group of influence peddlers against the wishes of the people. It is significant that the death of the APC will now be caused by the one group that had traditionally secured its mercurial appeal – the youths. The APC is now cursed with a crowd of young people that have become a liability to its progress. The ascendancy of Team A is to further an agenda that is diametrically opposed to the success of Samura Kamara at the coming polls. This being said, the emotions that augment Team A represent the sentiments of a pro EBK support network. In the event, Samura Kamara is slowly beginning to be seen as anathema to the Ernest Koroma mystic.
Party Unity against individual interests
It seemed at some point that the context of securing the proper framework for party unity was being established by the resounding victory is Samura Kamara at the flag bearer polls. Now we are beginning to see the master plan unfold, it does not seem to favor the flag bearer. How can the flag bearer operate effectively when he is being castigated as a wounded lion, a man in the throws of a major fall and the potential that the will of the people would be thwarted by a coalition of the wicked?
*The people would decide*
There is one saving grace to this morass. The people in the end will have to decide. The manifestations of the egregious violence of this government would revolt against their wicked plans. The threat of violence would not be one sided and if the exuberance of the youths to rise up against tyranny is actualized, then there is hope yet. As a nation that believes in divine providence, there is still hope that the APC, beaten and broken as it looks now would rise as a phoenix from these ashes of broken promises, violence and unwarranted bloodletting. Our people would be spurred on to resist the continuation of such provocation and the wretched wickedness of the vocal few will be dwarfed by the rational many across this land. The chants of “Maada must go” must nomlonger be a death penalty on our unarmed youths! Vote him out now, the APC you will fix later!
