October 24, 2023
By Kabs Kanu
The three-day All People’s Congress (APC) USA District Summit ended with a bang on Sunday October 23 in Springfield, Virginia, with guests, participants and supporters of the party energized and motivated for the huge tasks ahead of the party. A strongly-worded Communiqué, with robust resolutions that are expected to map out desired and overdue changes that should help propel the party back to power, is expected to be submitted to the APC vanguard in Sierra Leone.
Among many things, the APC USA District resolved at this all-important summit to no longer be passive observers of the political drama unfolding in Sierra Leone, but to be more dynamic and more vibrant and to be hands-on participants in every decision-making process designed to move the party forward. Every member of the APC who graced the summit with their presence resolved that the time was over for leaving the destiny of the party in the hands of a few people who decided to make decisions.
One of the most delightful things about the Summit how the meetings were structured. Apart from powerful speeches by leaders of the party to boost flagging spirits and to encourage partisans that all was not lost, the organizers of the summit made it more interactive and more productive by seeking to elicit the inputs of all members present through various panel discussions to examine daunting issues facing the party and the nation and each panel discussion was followed by a questions -and -answers session that gave animated partisans the opportunity to blow their minds and proffer suggestions about bringing the APC back to power and saving the country from the tyrannical and destructive governance of Julius Maada Bio and the SLPP Government .
Those detractors behind the SLPP gibberish that the APC does not have men and women of sound academic pedigree and the intellect needed to redeem our country should be ashamed of themselves and should have been at the summit to see and hear from the impressive parade of intellectuals (Many of them university professors in the U.S , men and women of fascinating letters and professions, or former lecturers of Fourah Bay College ) who held the summit spellbound with their well-reasoned, objective analyses of the problems of Sierra Leone and solutions needed to bring the nation back to sanity– Illustrious men and women like Professor Mohamed S. Kanu, from Tennessee; Human Rights Lawyer Dr. Vinod Fullah from the United Kingdom , Professor Dycy Bull from North Carolina; Professor Michael Dilo Sesay; Dr. Yaya Kalokoh from Virginia , Dr. Nana Turay , Mr. A.B. Bangura, former boss of the Sierra Leone Ports Authority ; Mr. Genewa Juana , Engineer Mr. Patrick Beckley ; Lawyer Ady Macauley, who traveled all the way from Freetown ; Dr. Michelle Sho-Sawyer ; In addition to them , there were experienced and seasoned politicians blessed with the institutional knowledge and political savvy to save a drowning nation. All of them put their minds together for a memorable summit.
The program was also graced by the distinguished presence of many former government officials , including ex- Spokesmen in the APC Government of President Ernest Koroma—Mr. Abdulai Bayraytay and Mr. Agibu Tejan Jalloh, men of succinct oratorial powers , and former Member of Parliament, Mrs. Rosaline Smith and one-time cabinet minister, Madam Marie Jalloh. Mr. Gibril Koroma also came from Canada, while Zainabu Sesay Harrel traveled from New York to attend.
The New Jersey delegation consisted of Rev. Leeroy Wilfred Kabs-Kanu , Messrs Alimamy Turay, Abdulai Sesay, Bai Kamara, Francis Sieh Kanu, Ibrahim Coleson Mansaray and Madams Sana Taal Smith, Salamatu Bangura and Zainab Nabe.
In the past, contentious meetings like this in the APC America Branch, especially coming after a very traumatic moment for the party, with anger and recriminations everywhere from party members who feel betrayed by the outcome of last week’s three-day interparty dialogue between the SLPP and the APC, would have been marred by bitter attacks by participants on one another and rivals in a branch once torn asunder by factional conflicts, rivalries, suspicions and bad blood. But the weekend continued showcasing in the new spirit within APC-USA–Tremendous maturity, tolerance, mutual respect for the views of others and importantly, a desirable focus on the issues –A testament to the calibre of the people running the branch today and the commitment of followers to concentrate more on the things that bound members together, like the destinies of our nation and the party, than the things that divide them .
For this, credit should be bestowed on the distinguished personalities now running the party in America, like the Chairman, Lawyer Suffian Kalokoh, his Deputy Chairman, Mr. Kebbie Turay ; the Secretary General , an FBC graduate Mr. Alimamy Turay, his assistant Prince Chukuma Johnson; the organizing secretary, Mr. Abubakarr Bundu and his assistant, Madam Sana Taal Smith ; the Diaspora Chairman, former FBC Mathematics Lecturer, Mr. Alfred Kebbie Sesay, the financial Secretary, Mr. Aloysius Max-Kanu; the women holding various leading positions like Madams Beatrice Conteh, Mariama Fofana, Namina Saffie Kossay ( Who was unavoidably absent ), Dorishatu Kargbo , Fadima Jalloh and other top officials Messrs Sallu Bangura, the veteran’s leader Mr. Sallieu Conteh; Abubakarr Kanu, Victor Conteh , the Public Relations Officer Samuel Kargbo , his able deputy Sanpha Sesay etc.etc.
We will not forget the Chapter Presidents —Ibrahim Coleson Mansaray ( New Jersey); Abass Koroma (Ohio), Abass Wurie ( Minnesota / North Dakota }; Abdul Sesay (Boston ), Madam Abie Kanu( California ), Abubakarr Koroma of the Washington DC Metropolitan Chapter, Abu Ballyaiye Sesay of the Pennsylvania/ Delaware/ South Jersey Chapter; Africanus Bamie Parkes of the New York Chapter; Edward S. Kargbo of the Houston Texas Chapter; Idrissa Sangarie of the Arizona Chapter ; Madam Jenneh Juana Koroma of the Dallas Texas Chapter; Mahmoud Mansaray of the Carolina Chapter ; Moses Bangura of the New England Chapter and Madam Zainab Pearce of the Georgia Chapter.
The Summit was not jampacked to capacity, as initially expected, having been affected by the frustration and anger generated by the outcome of the interparty dialogue, with many APC members canceling their plans to attend, but still the crowd was appreciable and the great thing was that it constituted a cross-section of the party polity across the Continental USA and from Sierra Leone, the UK and Canada. Important people were still in attendance. The program was also shown live by Cocorioko, the APC USA PRO, Samuel Kargbo, his deputy Mr. Sanpha Sesay and some other attendees and a good number of absentees watched it live.
Certain important messages from panelists and members resonated throughout the summit; Diasporans should now arise and take over their rightful roles in the APC in Sierra Leone. Hitherto, they had only been sponsors. This should change if the APC must return to power. The other theme is that the APC needs to change at the top. In the words of Mr. Yira Kargbo, “The APC cannot have the same losing team twice and think we can keep winning with the same team “.
APC-USA Chairman, Lawyer Suffian Kalokoh challenged the audience that “our people desperately want us to unite and fight for them.” He called for forgiveness from one another or the party will be doomed. He challenged everybody to keep their faith and not give up . Lawyer Kalokoh went on to state that the APC in opposition depends heavily on the diaspora. He stressed the importance of APC-USA and emphasized that he was very proud to be their leader and he called on everybody to rise up to the occasion.
