By KABS KANU
The first angle that the opposition SLPP took to approach the presidential candidature of Dr. Samura Kamara, which is to feign that nobody knows the APC flagbearer , is the height of immaturity, naivety, and CHILDISHNESS and an exposure once again of the jaded mentality of Sierra Leone’s main opposition.
What matters in any candidate are his character, qualifications, commitment and proven abilities to deliver. Politics is about nothing but the ability to deliver— the ability to deliver goods and services, national development, peace and stability ; the ability to deliver on your promises to the people .
Politics is not so much a popularity contest, because what feeds the people is not popularity. Does somebody have to be previously known to be a good manager, director, leader of any organization or President ? Was Jesus Christ previously known when he took the world by storm with his teachings, evangelism and ministry and became the Lord and Savior of mankind ?
When the SLPP thinks with such abject immaturity , it makes us wonder their mental equipment and qualities and what their priorities are for the nation. Are they looking for popularity only or for a President who will transform the nation for the better ? Are they looking for a mere rock star with nothing to his credentials and no serious inclination but mere name recognition ? What do the SLPP want for the nation ? Who do they want to bear the mantle of leadership, a notorious character or a proven performer ?
How tamely we start is not important. It is what we achieve later that matters. Even in other areas of life like soccer, players initially considered as unknown quantities ended up stunning and conquering the world. George Oppong Weah, Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Didier Drogba, Ruud Van Nistelroiy, Thierry Henry and even Pele, the greatest footballer to have ever lived, were unknown when they hit the world soccer stage. Yet, they ended up transforming the game and moving it to a higher level.
But we need not be surprised at the SLPP ploy to make the APC flagbearer look like an inconsequential character. . In choosing Dr. Samura Kamara and Mr. Chernor Bah, the APC has handed the SLPP a massive dilemma. SLPP POLITICS is built around smear campaigns, vile propaganda and impugning the good name and character of opponents. SLPP strategy is to spread false and misleading information about opponents. The APC have taken the winds out of the SLPP’s sails.
In Samura Kamara and Chericoco, the SLPP have nothing negative to say. Both men are As clean As a whistle.
As Minister of State, Foreign Affairs, Dr. Mohamed Gibril Sesay ,rightly describes Dr. Samura Kamara, he is the epitome of stainless, humble and competent service . It is the likes of Dr. Samura Kamara and Chericoco, working quietly , seamlessly, diligently and competently in their corners who can change the world. It is not idle, incompetent and noisy individuals like Maada Bio, whose only credit is being a benefactor of tribal hegemony.
But even then, our recommendation of Dr. Samura Kamara’s sterling qualities to challenge SLPP perfidy that he is unknown should stop right there. Who in his right mind would say they do not know the name Samura Kamara in Sierra Leone — a name that is synonymous with proven outstanding service at the country’s leading financial institutions and foreign service, as well ad credible international organizations ?
Dr. Samura Kamara is not an unknown quantity . Locally and internationally, he is a famous man who delivered magnificent services to international organizations, the Bank of Sierra Leone, the Ministry of Finance and the Foreign Ministry. Only the ignorant or those not following politics will claim not to have heard about him
But again, this aptly strips the veneer off another favourite SLPP campaign strategy—DENIAL. The SLPP will deny anything as long as it does not further their narcissistic, egoistic , clannish and tribalistic politics. This is a party in denial that it had not delivered any development project of note in our country. This is a party in denial that it is no match for the APC when it comes to national development and the commitment to make Sierra Leone a better place. This is a party in denial that it’s PAOPA leader is up to no good in our nation. If it denies knowing Dr. Samura Kamara, should anybody be surprised ? It is not surprising. It is their arsenal. DENIAL .
Let the SLPP bury its head in the sand and claim not to know Dr. Samura Kamara. Right-thinking Sierra Leone think otherwise. They know Dr. Samura Kamara and they know that he is the well known national icon who has proved his mettle for the nation working in international organizations, and key sectors of national governance , the Bank of Sierra Leone, the Finance and Foreign ministries.
He might be a quiet, introverted, unassuming and noiseless performer and thankfulky, he may not have gained notoriety ( Which I suspect the SLPP is mistaking for popularity ), but he is the hope of our nation. He is the machine destined to continue where President Ernest Koroma will stop —Pursuing the Agenda for Prosperity and striving to make Sierra Leone a bigger and greater nation that is the envy of other African countries.
Chericoco is one of the most popular young men of the nation. The youths know him and love him. The adults know him as the Deputy Speaker of the House of Parliament.
If the SLPP do not know their Foreign Minister who is the face of their country ‘s international diplomacy and international politics ,, what does that show ? It speaks more about their lack of serious, conscious involvement in national affairs, their absent-mindedness, their total lack of commitment to be up to speed with knowledge of the people working hard to make their nation and world a better place and indeed their apparent lack of concern for the good of the nation.
Even though that is not important, let it even be said here and now that Samura Kamara is known in the nation and the world far better than Madman Bio and that the SLPP flagbearer cannot prosper in any popularity contest with Dr. Samura Kamara, unless of course the SLPP has given the word POPULARITY a new meaning , as is their wont.
Both Dr. Samura Kamara and Mr. Chernor Maju Bah are icons and household names in Sierra Leone
