*The Hollow Crown: President Bio’s ECOWAS Chairmanship Amidst Sierra Leone’s Collapse*
By: Mohamed Pope Kamara
Deputy National Publicity Secretary (APC)
Freetown, 22-Jun-2025
Sierra Leoneans’ obligatory congratulations for President Julius Maada Bio’s ascension to the ECOWAS Chairmanship ring tragically hollow. This regional accolade arrives not as a testament to national stability or prosperity, but as a stark symbol of disconnect between a distant political elite and a populace drowning in despair. While President Bio dons the ceremonial mantle of regional leadership, the nation he ostensibly leads is in a state of accelerating, multi-faceted crisis.
The chairmanship demands immense diplomatic energy, travel, and resources, precious commodities utterly squandered in this context. What tangible benefit does this position bring to the ordinary Sierra Leonean battling daily for survival? Does it fill the empty stomachs of children? Does it dismantle the predatory networks flooding communities with the devastating Kush drug, crippling a generation? Does it magically inject capital into suffocating businesses or pay the long-overdue school subsidies leaving mothers destitute? The answer is a resounding, crushing “*NO*.”
The timing is grotesque. President Bio’s own party seethes with internal chaos, reflecting a fractured political landscape. Meanwhile, the foundations of the nation crumble:
*Economic Freefall:* Businesses shutter under unbearable pressure, jobs vanish, and hyperinflation eviscerates purchasing power. The “Economy” is a source of terror, not sustenance.
*Humanitarian Emergency:* Hunger is not a metaphor but a widespread reality. Malnutrition worsens as access to affordable food plummets.
*Youth Annihilation:* The Kush epidemic is a national security and public health catastrophe, destroying minds and bodies with terrifying efficiency, while prospects for a dignified future evaporate.
*Social Services Collapse*: Mothers weep not just for lack of school materials, but for the crumbling education system itself. Healthcare remains inaccessible for many, a luxury in a land of deprivation.
This ECOWAS chairmanship is not an asset leveraged for Sierra Leone’s benefit; it is a distraction, a vanity project consuming resources desperately needed at home. It offers photo opportunities and diplomatic platitudes while Sierra Leoneans plead for basic governance: “Light nor dae”, a literal and metaphorical cry for the most fundamental infrastructure and hope. Celebrating this regional title while the nation implodes is not patriotism; it is a collective delusion forced upon a suffering people. True leadership demands confronting the inferno at home, not accepting laurels while the house burns. Until President Bio addresses the existential crises consuming Sierra Leoneans, this prestigious chair remains a hollow crown atop a failing state, a cruel reminder of priorities grotesquely misplaced. The chairmanship signifies regional recognition of the office, not validation of the performance leading Sierra Leone. *The suffering masses gain nothing but the bitter spectacle of their leader’s distraction.*
Leave a Reply