By Dadson A. Musa

Lower-level elections in the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) have progressed across the country albeit with pockets of violence. Most district chairmen had wanted to avoid these skirmishes at all costs but they happened anyway. It was why in the first place they encouraged compromise so that it doesn’t get out of hands like it is threatening now. It is a sign that the security forces must brace up as there is work for them to do. There have been incidents of motherly invectives, assaults, wounding and in some cases arson. It is a legacy that president Bio would not want to leave behind, given his reputation as a man who initiated the peace process in this country by taking the stubborn rebel leader, Foday Saybana Sankoh. Under his watch the first democratic elections were held and power was handed over smoothly. Accepted that succession battles are always hard- fought battles as they can get acrimonious, but citizens should know that we have come from a dark history of bloody rebel war. We don’t want to return to those dark days. If you love your party and country, you should not display savagery of the kind that we have seen for the past month. Although no death occurred, but we have evidence of party members threatening the lives of others. “We are stretched by these lower-level elections and therefore, I will not let any of my men skip duty or be swayed by any other activity”, one AIG revealed. Former chairman, Bo District Council, Joseph Munda Bindi has been tasked with making sure discrepancies which have led to petty grievances are addressed in the south. And there are many cases of police reports and pending court actions. The SLPP party wants to shy away from this and attempts are being made ” to mend fences” or even sweep it under the carpet which is unacceptable. In other instances, they want to sweep them under the carpet to make the party look good in the eyes of the public.

Political party whips, going forward have a lot of work to do and should not be biased if the peace must hold. The sacking of two ministers and a manager of a government agency connected to these violence shows how grave these skirmishes have been. And the president in my opinion should not only stop there but to ensure those who have been perpetrating the rudeness, unruliness and savagery be punished heavily. Sierra Leone is still struggling with so many developmental issues and still needs to attract foreign investment so acts like these are not going to make that possible. Politics should never be about life and death. If you don’t succeed in it, find other lucrative things to do instead of making life unbearable for others. A lot of the youths that they are using now to carry out these dastardly acts were abandoned for the past seven years. Some have been given opportunities to better their lives but blew their chances at decent and good lives. So, the sacking of these big men should not only stop there, those who are carrying out the acts must be brought to book for the peace, security and development of our country. And there should be no hiding place and nobody should provide cover for indiscipline youths. Our country’s survival is at stake and it is nothing about just political parties. Our image as a country where limbs were cut off, women raped, houses burnt and development taken about is not something president Bio must take lightly. Our children and great grandchildren deserve a better future. For some selfish hoodlums to think that if they do not get power then there is no Sierra Leone, a very strong action must be taken against them like the president has started. And we must as citizens join hands to make sure the elections coming in 2028 is largely free from violence.

The issue of drugs and alcohol also needs to be seriously looked into going into these elections. Those who produce and sell drugs and alcohol need to be put into serious check. As these are where the unruliness is bred and perpetrated. The media should declare war on violent party members and make sure their wicked plots are unearthed and stopped in their tracks before they are carried out. The writing is clearly on the wall about the early warning signs. And government owes it to the people of this country to maintain the peace that people laid their lives for and so much money was spent to achieve this.