*From PI-CREF to Pick-Ress: The Shrinking of Dr. KKY*
By Alan Luke*
Alhaji Dr. Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella, the man who once bragged of holding five ministries in one pocket now finds himself parked quietly at the back, like an uninvited guest sneaking into his own party.
Once upon a time, he styled himself as Sierra Leone’s Mandela.
Today, he looks more like Mandela’s distant cousin, stranded at the wrong conference table, waiting for someone to remember his name tag.
At international meetings, while President Bio and team take the high table, Dr. KKY sits in the shadows, fidgeting, watching his supposed protégés shine. For a man whose life story is a constant monologue of “me, myself and I,” this must feel like swallowing bitter leaves without water.
Once the loudest voice in the room, he is now reduced to background noise nodding, sighing and perhaps drafting another speech in his head about how he used to matter. From PI-CREF to “Pick-Ress,” indeed, not building climate resilience, just picking crumbs of attention.
And the irony on this issue?
The man who wanted to be the driver of the nation is now struggling to even catch a ride on the delegation bus.
And yet, if you ask him tomorrow, he’ll remind you with that trademark flourish “Ladies and gentlemen, let me make it abundantly clear: I was once in charge of five ministries!”
From Rankanomics to Cloutonomics, the critic has become the clown.
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