By Kabs Kanu, New Jersey US
A bona fide U.S citizen or even an illegal immigrant does not sit down for even one moment and think that his host country will hand him over to Sierra Leone for his ceaseless social media attacks on the SLPP government. Only educated fools supporting President Bio in Sierra Leone and the diaspora do not know that it is an absolute impossibility, under the First Amendment, for anybody to be arrested here because his social media activism is affecting politics back home.
It is a shame to hear that the U.S Government has rebuffed President Bio’s attempt to have some social media activists born in Sierra Leone arrested and sent back on allegations that they helped incite the last demonstrations. The U.S has told President Bio that social media activism is protected under the First Amendment and as such nobody will be arrested in America and extradited to Sierra Leone.
Sidique Wai, the Sierra Leone ambassador in the U.S. should have advised his president not to make such a ridiculous request to the U.S government, having lived in this country all his life and fully understanding how the system works here.
But as the late President Doe of Liberia used to say, our biggest problems in Africa are not our politicians, but our so-called BOOK PEOPLE. Doe believed that he could have been the best president ever in Liberia if he had not been misled by what he used to call the BOOK PEOPLE. Doe admitted that he was an ordinary army master-sergeant who only knew how to use his gun or fight. He said in recognition of this, he invited the BOOK PEOPLE to join his government and help guide him and govern the country. But Doe said he will never forgive them for misleading him. Until his death, Doe was blaming BOOK PEOPLE for putting him in the crisis he found himself.
This is what is happening in Sierra Leone today. We have a daft, misguided former soldier as president who had surrounded himself with educated people. Do you want to tell me that these people are not advising this President about fundamental things about how the national and international system work? IT IS VERY SHAMEFUL TO SEE THE THINGS THIS GOVERNMENT IS DOING UNDER THE WATCH OF VERY EDUCATED CITIZENS
FIRSTLY, there is absolutely nothing criminal about street demonstrations and protests.
The constitution and the law grant citizens the rights to assemble, protest against their government and even march on the streets. It is very shameful for this government to keep equating demonstrations with terrorist attacks and coup attempts. We are making a mockery of ourselves to the international world. Any democratic government that has no nebulous designs or somethings sinister to hide will allow citizens to assemble and protest because it is all part of governance.
People sadly died during the last demonstrations and we continue to extend our deepest condolences to their families, but it was the Police, by their overreaction, high-handedness, excessive force and repressive methods who provoked the violence. People died because the police shot and killed them and there are even reports that some of police killed died from friendly fire or were attacked for killing civilians. Whichever way you look at it, the police should be blamed for the violence. Demonstrations are not illegal and the police should have allowed the people to demonstrate.
SECONDLY, no government in the West will arrest anybody and extradite them to Sierra Leone for their social media activism. It is shameful to hear well-educated SLPP supporters making ludicrous claims that Adebayor and other Sierra Leoneans will be arrested across Europe and sent to Sierra Leone for using social media to fight the government. Do the president’s advisers not know that free speech is protected by the constitution and the law, even in Sierra Leone, not to mention the advanced democracies in the world?
It is very disgraceful to read the posts or listen to the audios of our intellectuals supporting this government. President Doe was right. Africa’s problems are not so much the politicians but the BOOK PEOPLE who support or advise them.
Disclaimer Note: views and opinions expressed herein this articles do not represent the editorial stand or policy of FORUM. They are purely the personal opinions and views of the author.
