The detractors of Sierra Leone’s President Ernest Bai Koroma, who had miseducated themselves to consider the Presidential media team as  praise-singers  and sycophants  have been proved wrong once again and the media professionals  who have been highlighting the President’s outstanding performance in democratic governance and respect for the rule of law and fundamental human rights have been proved right. And how have we been rejoicing ! !

President Ernest Koroma is heading for the White House (along with  President Macky Sall of Senegal, President Joyce Banda of Malawi, and Prime Minister José Maria Pereira Neves of Cape Verde)  at the invitation of   the Leader of the Free World, U.S. President Barak Obama,  to strategize  ”strengthening democratic institutions across sub-Saharan Africa, and building on Africa’s democratic progress to generate increased economic opportunities and expanded trade and investment.”

 

The invitation is an enviable international recognition of the brilliant role President Koroma has played since he came to power in 2007 to turn Sierra Leone into a model for democratic governance in the world. What is more amazing than the fact that only 10 years back, Sierra Leone was a nation making the news for all the wrong reasons–The bloodiest internecine war imaginable, amputation of limbs of innocent people, blood diamonds , state failure, child soldiers, murder of journalists, merciless rapes and ravishment of women , you name it.

 

PRESIDENT KOROMA: ONE OF THE BLUE-EYED MEN OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICS

 

Today, thanks to President Koroma’s unquestionable commitment to democratic rule and gallant efforts to make post-war Sierra Leone the success story of the United Nations and the model for peace consolidation and democracy in Africa, the Sierra Leonean Leader is being invited to the White House to become a valuable member of global efforts by U.S. President Obama to strengthen democracy in the world. According to the White House Press release on the event , “The visit of these four leaders underscores the strategic importance the President ( Obama ) places on building partnerships and substantive engagement with sub-Saharan Africa, and our commitment to working with strong and emerging African democracies.”  How amazing! ! !  From a failed state, Sierra Leone is now one of the strong and emerging African democracies deserving a place in the U.S. President’s plan to build partnerships and substantive engagement with sub-Saharan Africa on democratic and economic issues.

 

What an achievement  ! ! ! ! This time , not even President Koroma’s  most ardent critics can say anything negative, unless they want to be booed off the stage.  President Koroma has brought home the golden fleece. The Government of Sierra Leone should declare a public holiday to give the nation the opportunity to celebrate this wonderful achievement.

President Ernest Koroma

It must also be borne in mind that President Koroma is coming to America to also receive  the coveted Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact Award worth millions of dollars which he won at the end of last year . “The Award, announced on December 19, 2012, was given in recognition of President Dr Ernest Bai Koroma’s Government’s record of good governance, economic freedom and investments in people,”  according to the U.S. Ambassador then, Mr. Michael Owens and a press release from the Office of the President . At the time of breaking the good news to President Koroma at State House, Ambassador Owen announced that  ”The MCC board has unanimously agreed that Sierra Leone has qualified for the Compact due to the extraordinary achievements by the government of Sierra Leone in the last few years.” ( State House Media Team ) . There is no doubt about it. The President has done and  is doing something in Sierra Leone that has caught the attention of the world and next week, he is coming to the White House, the seat of power of the only world superpower,  to receive his just rewards —an indescribable achievement for himself and the nation  ! ! ! 

 

While congratulating President Koroma for this remarkable achievement, let us pat ourselves on our backs, Sierra Leoneans , for this victory. This is a national honour and achievement that should make all of us proud. It is not an APC Vs. SLPP  issue. It is not a regional issue. It is a Sierra Leonean achievement and we all should be proud of youselves, our President and our nation. This is clear and convincing evidence that when we unite as a people, the sky is always the limit for us, the Athens of West Africa and the Beacon of Light of Africa. We may still have lingering  socio-economic and political challenges , like all nations of the world, but we are going somewhere progressive and the future is bright for our nation.

 

Within the short time that the war ended, we have staged three democratic elections that are the envy of other nations. We have one of the most democratic governments ; our press freedom is second to none in Africa; the participation of civil society organizations, women’s groups and political parties in our fertile democratic environment has won us accolades at the UN and today we have one of the safest countries in the world. Our economy is growing at an unprecedented pace and mining activities and international investments and commerce are transforming our socio-economic landscape.

 

It is time to get rid of our partisan political obsessions and throw our weight behind President Koroma, who has proved that he is the right man for the job. With five more years of President Koroma’s progressive and productive rule, Sierra Leone will recapture her old glory if we all cooperate and work with the Head of State.