Noise, noise, just noise from empty barrels : SLPP certainly had their chance, but they blew it

  While still in the vicinity, the son began demonstrating his newfound ability to be a whistleblower and blew the whistle.  He used his new toy, to disturb the peace of everyone at home and in the neighborhood.  He blew, and blew, and blew until all the screeching was gone.  Eventually, he got tired of his bristle whistle as everybody viewed him as a nuisance with a nuance.  Once again, he approached the father asking for another gift.  The father categorically told him “No”.  The son could not believe that his father was at this time rejecting him.  He asked the father “Why” and got this reply; “You had your chance and you blew it”.  

  The SLPP had their chance and they blew it.  Their ability to be whistleblowers did not just evolve overnight; it spans the history of Sierra Leone.  They are of the mindset that they can balance their inabilities to lead with the ability to waft and shriek at others.  When they had the chance to coordinate the nation’s manifold tasks, they failed.  They were inactive blowing whistles at the All People’s Congress, thinking the APC is down for the count.  When Sierra Leoneans gave them the chance to direct germane developments in the nation, they blew it.  They failed to inspire Sierra Leoneans to achieve superior altitudes.  They blew the chance to change the socio-economic fate of Sierra Leoneans.  They failed to take seriously the issue of unbridled corruption and scions in Sierra Leone.  They had an artificial sense of power and need for power, without the fitness to pull off major aspirations for Sierra Leone.  

  According to SLPP, the history of Sierra Leone spans the late President Siaka Probyn Stevens administration from 1967 to 1985.  In addition to the reigns of President Stevens, the SLPP will situate the Joseph Saidu Momoh administration from 1985 to 1992.  Their recital of Sierra Leone’s history focuses heavily within this twenty-five years of political leadership under the All People’s Congress.  In 1992, Sierra Leone was at the bottom of the United Nations GDP.  In 1992, corruption, grafting, high infant mortality, poverty, underdevelopment, tribalism, nepotism, despotism, poor medical facilities, poor sanitation, starvation, social disintegration, economic fragmentation, breakdown of individual and institutional accountability, responsibility and nationalism, were used as the reasons to overthrow President Joseph Saidu Momoh. 

  John Oponjo Benjamin, who is now chairman of the SLPP, was the Chairman for the Council of State Secretaries, for the National Provisional Ruling Council (NPRC).  Valentine Strasser, Maada Bio, John Benjamin, Komba Kambo, SAJ Musa, Tom Nyuma, and several others, played well-known and high-flying roles in the regime that replaced the All People’s Congress.  Even Ahmed Tejan Kabbah before becoming President served as an adviser in their regime.  This cluster fooled citizens that they will stamp out corruption in government and improve the lives of Sierra Leoneans.  They were herald as the ‘saviors’ of the nation and the citizens of Sierra Leone were convinced that the nation was then cleansed of her woes.   Sending the All People’s Congress to political oblivion in 1992 was their cure for the nation.  The whistleblowers were hard at it, sounding the soiled practices of the APC while engaging in worse practices themselves.  They were shoddier, appalling, lacked credibility, and integrity to address the keystone issues of Sierra Leone.  They had the chance but blew it.

  The SLPP would like to skip the fact that Sierra Leoneans gave them the official chance beginning in 1996 through 2007 to change the trend in the nation.  For eleven years, they blew every opportunity given to them, and failed hideously.  Eleven years of official rule, in addition to four previous years of unsanctioned leadership, amounting to 15 years, could not transform the Sierra Leonean plight.  The international community spent billions of dollars in Sierra Leone under the SLPP.  However, the nation remained the poorest, and most underdeveloped.  In 2007, by the time President Ernest Bai Koroma replaced Ex-President Kabbah, his (Kabbah’s) administration was tagged one of the most corrupt in sub-Saharan Africa.  

  The truth is that the history of Sierra Leone also blanket and covers the fifteen years in-between the All People’s Congress administrations.  This includes 11 years of SLPP widespread corruption, bribery, sleaze, splices, together with all the accusations made by the SLPP beginning in 1992.  From 1992 to 2007, nothing changed except that the war ended in Sierra Leone.  In the process, Sierra Leone became a failed state, and the SLPP failed dreadfully to lead the nation to the Utopia they had promised Sierra Leoneans.  The SLPP forgot to put in place policies that will improve the lives of Sierra Leoneans.  What were they doing?  Being whistleblowers as the nation continued to languish in a deteriorating state.  The Sierra Leone People’s Problem (SLPP) had the chance, but they blew it.

Perhaps, they have ancient memories about the several chances Sierra Leoneans gave them to chances to make positive changes in the lives of the people.  They only enriched themselves and squandered the resources of the nation.  They were out of touch with the realities of Sierra Leone.  Now Sierra Leone has a leader in President Ernest Bai Koroma, who is motivational.  President Koroma is determined to change the stance and performance of the nation.  SLPP are at it again; whistle blowing, making noise, blowing steam, and having selective amnesia.

  The successes of President Koroma who has a robust approach to meet the existing needs of the nation, is overwhelming to the SLPP.  Where they failed, President Koroma and the new All People’s Congress have made obvious their intentions to succeed.  Therefore, what is mind-blowing to the SLPP, are the achievements of the invigorated All People’s Congress.  The SLPP seems to be behaving as a group of people willing to forgive anything but the successes of President Ernest Bai Koroma and the New All People’s Congress on behalf of Sierra Leone.  President Koroma and the All People Congress should never apologize for intentionally developing Sierra Leone. They are performing the duties for which they were elected.  The failures of the SLPP do not warrant whistle blowing at the successes of the APC.  

  The SLPP seems to be suffering memory loss, about their blown up chances to redirect and develop Sierra Leone.  They are going completely blank of their civil service dysfunctions in institutionalizing corruption in Sierra Leone.  They are exhibiting signs of forgetfulness regarding their failures to feed the people of Sierra Leone.  They would like Sierra Leoneans to put out of their minds that President Koroma has already done within three years what they could not do in all their eleven to fifteen years leading Sierra Leone.  Sierra Leoneans like that father should say to John Benjamin, his failure-driven and his disruptive SLPP that they had their chance but they blew it.  “SLPP: You had the chance, but you blew it”.

  Sierra Leoneans will not forget who failed them, and who is currently doing something about the poor conditions in the nation; John Benjamin, Maada Bio, and the SLPP failed Sierra Leone.  President Ernest Bai Koroma, Vice President Sam Sumana, and the New All People’s Congress, are succeeding where they failed.  SLPP are being whistleblowers and hell raisers.  John Oponjo Benjamin and other SLPP members will wake up one day to a Sierra Leone that has completely changed.  Sierra Leoneans changed and walked away from SLPP because of their unpatriotic political tactics; they had the chance, but they blew it.        

     Blessings and Peace

Rev. Kemoh Sulimani Jr.