The Bible says that ‘God has set eternity in the hearts of men’. Nowhere is this saying more apt than in what is currently taking place in the main opposition All People’s Congress (APC) where certain men from the old executive are not willing to step aside in the spirit of continuity and allow younger and fresher partisans to take the reins of leadership in the party.
That it is not easy to let go of a good thing is clearly the case in the APC party.
The APC’s current leadership crisis has reached fever pitch with the knowledge that the term limit of the current executive according to the new APC 2022 Constitution will expire in December 2023. This fact has caused a mad scramble for positions as many of this executive including recently defeated presidential candidate Dr Samura Mathew Wilson Kamara who has tried twice and failed to defeat Julius Maada Bio in open competition, no matter if those wins came about as a matter of hook or crook.
The party’s young guns are not comfortable with the idea that the old guards are busying themselves for the leadership elections that will ensue after the expiration of the term limit of the present executive headed by Dr Samura Kamara, Minkailu Mansaray, Alhaji Ambassador Osman Foday Yansanneh among others.
However, supporters of Dr Samura Kamara, who many are now referring to as the man who has let the presidency slipped twice from his hands, have stated that they will petition the party’s National Advisory Committee – NAC to extend the executive’s tenure to an indefinite period until the current presidential elections impasse is settled.
The logic is that the current executive should be given the wider berth to focus all their time, effort and energy on getting the party’s demands met without having to worry about dealing with an expired mandate hanging over their heads.
After two poor showings at the polls since 2018, the grassroots members of the party say they need a new executive, one that is built or suitable for purpose. They say that the old executive was embroiled in too many legal tussles that took up too much of their attention and focus while the incumbent was busy making headways in the opposition strongholds that they claim made all the difference in the elections result.
Younger and hopeful members of the current executive have called out members of the old guard of wanting to hijack the party and make their positions for life. They accused the men of not developing and training younger and more agile partisans in the spirit of continuity in government and there being no vacuum in every aspect of the democratic or political process.
The party’s executive they say should reflect the makeup of the party’s rank and file and must not exclude whole districts and region in what will appear as a capturing of the executive by members from a certain location, tribe or party faction, which they are afraid Dr Samura Kamara is not far from in his pursuit of a Kamalo empire, in the vein of how Bai Koroma has left Makeni.
They expect for there to be a shakeup in the party’s leadership structure and make up every five years or after every general election cycle. This, they hope will make the party suitable and relevant to the times; they don’t want an executive that is out of touch with reality for having passed a certain age limit to understand contemporary issues and trends.
At present they say the shift in the party’s power base should follow its current trajectory. After the Ernest Bai Koroma era, the base for the executive shifted from Bombali to Kamalo, where the current flag bearer and party leader, Dr Samura Kamara hails from. As the term limit for this executive draws to a close the expectation is that power will shift to the next flag bearer’s home town, village or district.
According to sources in the party, the next centre of party power is the east of the country, for which they expect the current executive, who they expect to be in touch with all that is trending in the party especially with where the people’s heart and focus has shifted, to be making plans to shift to at warp speed.
There is an obvious leaning to Kono of late that the current executive would be remiss for not identifying and shifting the party’s armada in this direction.
For this to be a regular event in the APC leadership cycle would require the party’s stalwarts to set aside all their personal issues and select the duo with the greatest chance and opportunity to hopefully take the party back to State House come 2028.
The country is looking to the APC for direction and leadership at a time when the nation is like a rudderless ship. The appalling economic, political and social conditions the nation finds itself in that does not discriminate along part or tribal or regional lines requires a collective effort by the electorate to elect someone that will solve our national, not political or tribal party problems.
The grassroots supporters and members of the APC have put the word out to the current national executive to be making plans to graciously exit the stage to make room for others in the party blessed by the same God with skills befitting the times.
However, their knowledge, expertise, advice and connections are still needed, for which they will be routinely contacted to give.
The APC grassroots members are calling for a new look executive with a new flag bearer, not a repeat of the executive that has failed to come together and unite against the Sierra Leone Peoples Party – SLPP government twice.
