DG Ana Geraldes Sheku Kamara Amir Al Musawi

Made To Work Like An Elephant

The struggles that young people go through in London. It is unspeakable how even the most developed countries in the world cannot prevent their young from suffering from the harshness of the earth.

Mutual Afrikwest: Look Up From Anti-social Social Network

Mutual Afrikwest: Look Up From Anti-social Social Network

Gen TV College NW London Worldskills 2015

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Join in and stop it!

Look Up From Anti-social Social Network

Networking is a necessity, but blinding us from being our real self is unrealistic, demeaning and irrelevant. We need to embrace our World with the people around us. Give a moment looking up and see what is happening around you before you miss out on that special thing. Avoid being locked in the sub-concious and live a concious life.

The Call to Change

Oh Africa! The land that is described as milk and honey, endowed with riches from natural resources, created to be united and established during the Pre-Colonial era to be the home for the fortunate and unfortunate blacks who suffered the torture of slavery in Europe and America. During those moments of unfortunate circumstances, Africans must have learnt from the cruelty they faced, the brutality meted to them and the circumcision of Africa. The land was raped, abused and ripped off its prosperity, its people suffered in misery, plunged with an ill-fated disease that condemned the people to damnation. During the course of time, experience has been a good teacher, poverty a misfortune and hatred a lesson, but the hundred million question is 'Did Africans really learnt from their mistake'?

Over the course of time the answers to that question has been daunting, self-provoked and malicious. The people of Africa have been submissive to leadership, protected by beliefs they trusted in but however, they have been betrayed, mislead and maltreated by the same belief and people they choose to lead them. The political battle in Africa has been a clash  of the Titans, a reproach to indignity and a torch of cruelty.

Series of political struggle, military interventions and torment of the people of Africa has caused the world to debate the root of civilisation because the attitude of top class Africans does not define Africa as the root of civilisation. As of late, the continent has been plagued with unfortunate circumstances like the break of Ebola, which has taken the lives of over 10,000 people across the West African region.

Quite recently, Sierra Leone has fallen prey to political misjudgement and unconstitutional misconduct, all of which is as result to negligence, greed and hatred for one another. From the days of Colonialism, Africans have been discriminative and discontent which are the more reasons that led to slavery and poverty. When people speak of discrimination, there is none that is as deadly as Africans discriminating each other especially in Europe and America.

All hope has not been lost, we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel, Africans have started using their hands to determine their future positively. Nigeria the highest populated Country in Africa has manifested their desire for change, with all the tormenting and brutality of voters around the Country the people still believe in the potential a change can create. It was shocking as to how the incumbent Good-luck Jonathan described the just concluded electoral process on social media. However, with all the torture of civilians, change is an inevitable situation no matter how people try to oppress it, the will to move forward always shines like the sun.

The hands were moved and the decision for change was made by the people and for the people. Nigeria has elected General Mohamed Buhari as the new man to take them forward. The people of Nigeria now anticipate the hope promised by the newly elected Head of State. Our hope is on the high of a new beginning for the people of Nigeria.

Political Misjudgement

The political agenda in Sierra Leone has taken a new turn, the crocodile has left the water and the chameleon has shown its true colour. A political misjudgement has led to the constitutional breakdown of once a unified Country, a nation built around tolerance and the dispensation of our human rights. For once, I question the political livelihood of the beloved Sierra Leone. First it was the attempt of a constitutional amendment which was interrupted by the outbreak of the deadly Ebola disease that has taken thousands of lives in the West African region of which Sierra Leone still suffer from. Still within the unrest of Ebola, the constitutional Vice President unfortunately went under quarantine after one of his security personnel died as a result of the disease. Just at the early stages of his lockdown the ruling All People's Congress, the party through which the President and Vice President were elected constitutionally announced the expulsion of Alhaji Samuel Sam Sumana the Vice President of the nation from the party based on accusations of religious fraud, educational merit and party damnation. According to the accusations, the Vice President does not hold the said degree he acclaimed to have acquired from the Metropolitan University in Minnesota. In addition to that, they equally stated that the Vice President deceive the nation about his religion, "he is not a Muslim" they said. They also accused him of harbouring an attempt to create another political party at a time when he is still in the APC.

All those accusations and the reason that they were brought up at this time of the VP's political career have been brought to light according to a few from the Capital Freetown and Kono his place of birth. On the 17th March 2015 the Vice President was unconstitutionally removed from office at a time he is still under quarantine. From an article published by Dr Abdulai Conteh one of the backbone to the 1991 constitution we are governed by, he stated these facts in a letter to the President which shows how illegitimate the actions of the President and his body of corrupt individuals is.

"Your Excellency,

Please permit me to write on a matter of grave national constitutional, legal and political concern that has come to engage the attention of our compatriots both at home and abroad. I have accordingly taken the liberty to make the format of this letter an open one, as its contents address matters of public national interest.

This relates to the position of the Vice President of the country.

Your Excellency, up until 1991 when the current national Constitution was, after a nation-wide consultation and referendum, adopted as the Supreme Law of the land, the position of the vice president was an appointed one. This was the position after the inauguration of the republican form of government in 1971, and the introduction of a one-party form of government in 1978.

The record shows that we even had the positions of First and Second Vice Presidents. But both offices were appointive and in the gift of the President as it were.

The then national Constitutions (1971 and 1978) designated the Vice President to be the successor to the presidency in the event of a vacancy in the latter office.

The record will also show that in 1985, just prior to the then President, the late President Siaka Stevens, demitting office, there were moves to change the constitutional and legal position regarding the succession to the presidency by the vice President.

But these moves were debated and adopted in Parliament and the necessary legislation enacted. Mercifully, the country was spared any political rumpus that could have resulted from these changes so late in the day and the ill-fated Presidential Council literally proved still-born.

Therefore, in order to put matters beyond conjecture, surmise and any chicanery and to make the whole process regarding the position of the vice presidency transparent, the 1991 national Constitution, for the first time, clearly made the office of the Vice Presidency, not appointive any more, but rather, an elective one.

Thus, after 1st October, 1991, when the national Constitution became operational, the people of Sierra Leone stipulated and granted to themselves the right to have a say as to who shall be their vice president.

The position is now covered in clear provisions of the national Constitution, namely, section 54(1), (2) and (3) of the Constitution.

These provisions require that a candidate for the office of president must have a running mate designated as vice president. Together, if the slate containing the candidate for the presidency and his running mate are successful in the presidential elections; they are declared elected President and Vice President respectively.

Thus, gone are the days when a President can appoint a vice President. The two offices are now conjointly elected at the same time by the will of the people at the time of electing the presidential candidate with his running mate as the vice presidential candidate.

Furthermore, by the constitutional provisions, either the President or the Vice President is removable from office, but not at the will or instance or fiat of one or the other, but rather, by a Parliamentary process colloquially referred to as impeachment

The constitutional provisions on removal from office of either office holder, are, I dare say, clearly stated in section 51 of the national Constitution.

It is no doubt instructive to note that there are no separate and particular provisions for the removal of the vice President, but rather, in the event there is a need to remove, the same provisions applicable in the case of the President himself will come into play.

Your Excellency, I note with particular care the reasons given in a Release from your office dated 17th March, 2015, for removing the current holder of the office of Vice President.

I hope I fairly summarize these as: i) the expulsion of the vice President from the All Peoples Congress (APC) by a decision dated 6th March, 2015, of the National Advisory Committee of the APC; and ii) your taking note of the fact that on Saturday, March 14, 2015, the vice President sought asylum from a foreign embassy, which the Release states is indicative of “a willingness to abandon his duties and office as Vice President…”

"A simple, plain and teleological reading of these provisions would readily show that they vests or grant no such power in you or anyonelse for that matter for the following reasons.

First, section 40 (1) proclaims you as the President of the Republic to be the Head of State, the supreme executive authority of the Republic and Commander-in Chief of the Armed Forces.

It may be noted that this section vests or grants no power, it is merely declaratory of the attributes or incidence of the office of the President.

However, Part II of the Constitution on Executive Powers, in section 56(1) vests executive power in the country in you as the President. This power may be exercised by you directly or through members of the Cabinet, Ministers, Deputy Ministers or public officers subordinate to you.

But importantly, the exercise of executive power is expressly subject to the provisions of the Constitution".

"Section 54 of the Constitution establishes the office of Vice President. Sub –section (8) provides for the removal from office of the Vice President in terms as follows:
“(8) The provisions of sections 50 and 51 of this Constitution, relating to the removal from office of the President, shall apply to the removal from office of the Vice President.”

In short, Your Excellency, neither you nor the Vice President can lawfully be removed from office except as provided for in sections 50 and 51 of the Constitution".

"It is when section 54 of the Constitution on the Vice Presidency is read along with section 41 (b) that membership of a political party becomes an important qualification for an election to (a) the office of the President and (b) to be a candidate for the office of Vice President.

Needless to say since 2007 and certainly since 2012, neither you nor the Vice President is running for election or is a candidate for election to your respective offices. Your successive election to your respective offices is now a mater of history".

"Both sections 41 and 54 address the situation of candidates for the respective offices of President and vice President. Neither section requires continuing membership of a political party as a qualification for continuing or remaining in either the office of the President or that of Vice President".

"Therefore, reliance on the expulsion of the Vice President from the APC as a warrant for his removal from office can find no justification in the textual provisions of the Constitution. Membership of a political party is a qualification for election to the office, but nowhere is it stated in the Constitution that membership or continuing membership is a necessary qualification for or coterminous with continuing or remaining in office".

"I end by saying that this is not the time for political diversions or brinkmanship. In the midst of fighting the devastating scourge of the Ebola virus which is set to bring our dear country and our neighbours to ruination, we should all strive as Team Sierra Leone, to beat back this scourge and not dissipate scarce human and other resources and goodwill on avoidable and needless diversions".

I am dismay at the actions of the President a man whom once seems like the saviour of our nation, he has totally been manipulated and diffused to an element of destruction and dissatisfaction to the people of Sierra Leone. We have been too quiet for some time now and this attitude calls for a robust action, not particularly violence but a move that will condem the political stupidity of the APC. My take is not in the vein of defending the Vice President's action based on tribe because I am not a Kono but Temne, rather I choose to speak against the continued recklessness our political leaders are engaged in. Have they for ones thought about the danger demostrations and public gatherings will create at a time when we are still not sure of safety from Ebola? I pity our nation, but at the same time I am calling on patriots to come as one and fight against the global scandal and disrepute we have found ourselves in.