Maada Bio Is Key To SLPP Victory...Says Dr. Kadi Sesay Though well known for her oratory prowess, Dr. Kadi Sesay, the 2012 running mate of the opposition SLPP is understandably media shy. She has reckoned that the field of politics is dominated by men some of whom are always out for the jugular on matters which can otherwise be handled peacefully. “I only speak out when it is absolutely necessary”; the former university don said. And even when she does, she carefully chooses her words to avoid being caught up in the quagmire of deep seated grudge within the body politics. Before this interview, she reiterated the point that she was not out to pick up a fight with anybody but to set the records straight especially around the issues raised by the former Chairman, John Benjamin whose interview in Metro Newspaper of Tuesday angered lot of people. The SLPP Crisis Dr. Sesay lamented the current state of affairs within the SLPP and noted that the main opposition which is considered a government has to live up to the expectations of those who elected them. She traced the genesis of the SLPP crisis to the 2010 party Delegate Conference in Bo. She explained that it was only during that conference that the seed of discord was sown. At that conference, delegates realized that Mr. Benjamin wanted to transform himself from Chairman to a flagbearer. The former running mate recalled that when that did not happen, Mr. Benjamin insisted that the title Chairman and Leader be approved by delegates as a compromise; and the SLPP not wanting to end the conference in a deadlock yielded to the pressure. Thus the title National Chairman and Leader was bestowed on Mr. Benjamin by that August body, Dr. Sesay explains. But has Mr. Benjamin proved worthy of such honour? Dr. Sesay smiled and said: “I am not in the position to say. But as you can see, it has all been about personality conflicts and egos since. Unfortunately, the party is beset with court cases borne out of deep seated divisions arising from those personality conflicts. Fast forward to the 2013 Delegates Conference in Bo, Dr. Sesay recalled the events leading to the conference. She said the former Chairman stood firmly behind Ambassador Alie Bangura for the chairmanship election and even manipulated elections results in Kenema, Port Loko and Bombali districts as well as in the Western Area to mobilize delegates for him. “In all those areas where delegates were changed or replaced, there are problems now as we speak. How can you unilaterally change delegates who have been voted for on the eve of the convention?” she queried. Besides the change of delegates, state security operatives were used to intimidate and coerce people like Maada Bio for supporting Chief Somanon Kapen allegedly on the expressed approval of some senior national executive members. But despite all of those supports, internal or external and intimidations which followed, she said, Mr. Bangura lost the election anyway, adding that Mr. Benjamin under whose watch the elections were conducted openly congratulated the winner, Chief Kapen. “What is baffling me is that Mr. John Benjamin though congratulated Chief Kapen after his victory in Bo is now seen working with Alie Bangura to contest the outcome of the very election. This is strange, isn’t it?” Her Thought On The Current Executive She emphasized that there is no doubt about the legitimacy of the current executive as they were voted for in a properly constituted convention that was conducted by those who never wanted any of them to win. All what they should bother themselves with is not the question of legitimacy, we have past that stage. They need to keep the party alive despite the court cases. I am not saying they should be overly political especially during this crisis period, but they must always think themselves as government in waiting and challenge government on things that are not being done correctly” Her Views About Maada Bio Dr. Sesay said she has no iota of doubt on her mind that Maada Bio is the ‘most singular popular politician within the SLPP’. “This fact has been attested to by even those opposed to him,” she said. The former university lecturer said the former flagbearer has proved detractors wrong in so many ways. “Initially they claimed Maada was a violent man. Unfortunately, that propaganda cannot hold any longer because, Maada Bio has by his action proved he is a great statesman who wants peace and development for his country” Dr. Sesay said Maada Bio manifested his popularity within the SLPP at the 2013 delegates’ conference. She said within one week after his arrival in the country from overseas, Maada Bio was able to galvanize support and changed the political tide around in favour of Chief Kapen as against his ‘very powerful’ opponent then, Ambassador Bangura who had the support of the National Executive and other powerful players outside the SLPP circles. “No doubt, Ambassador Bangura campaigned well, but lost the election because he ignored advice to seek the support of the most popular SLPP politician, Maada Bio”. She said considering all those factors and coupled with other factors unknown Maada Bio stands a better chance more than any other person to win election for the SLPP, come 2017. Dr. Sesay said the 38% of votes the SLPP flagbearer polled in the last Presidential election did not reflect the outcome of the vote cast in his favour. “We did far better than that and it is a well known fact that we won the election but lost the result” The Way Forward “Thankfully we have had some recommendations from the PPRC, Dr. Peter Tucker and Dr. Alpha Wurie. All what we need to do as a party is to bring those recommendations on the table at a NEC meeting and discuss them sincerely,” Dr. Sesay suggested. She said the recommendations could serve as working documents that would chart the way forward for the party. On personal note, Dr. Sesay did not mint her words when she said that Maada Bio is key to SLPP victory in the next election. “With Maada Bio, the party has less work to do in terms of campaigning. Forget about the propaganda that he is not electable, time will tell.” According to her, Maada Bio has since the 2012 elections got lots of sympathy and respect among non-SLPP supporters across the country for the way and manner he has conducted himself so far. “To me the way forward to the SLPP victory in 2017 is that the party must unite behind Maada Bio. He has got the crowd, he has got the sympathy and most importantly he has got the trust of the people” She however emphasized that she is not against other people contesting for the flagbearship, but warned that the contestants have to be full blooded SLPP who are willing to stay when they lose the contest. “This is crucial because the same people who supported Usu Boie and lost are now dragging other candidates in to the contest. We only hope they will stay and fight for the overall victory of the party when they lose the flagbearer contest,” Dr. Sesay concluded
Posted on: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 14:36:48 +0000
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