By Kabs Kanu
What serious opposition leader will deliver the keynote address at his party’s National Delegates convention without even mentioning the SLPP and condemning the terrible things presently being perpetrated in Sierra Leone by the ruling party, which happens to be Yumkella’s late father’s party, the SLPP?
Because he is deliberately refusing to untie himself from the umbilical cord of the SLPP, Dr. Kandeh Yumkella is not yet an opposition leader. He is a puppet of the SLPP and President Maada Bio, who is perceived as a man who has set himself up to be the eternal foil to the opposition APC , to steal the party’s votes in his native Kambia District to always give his party, the SLPP, the edge during elections. He may have had genuine intentions forming the NGC after the diabolical Maada Bio chased him out of the SLPP. But Yumkella has shown no inclination to really upend his first love , the SLPP.
It would not be far-fetched at all to describe the NGC as it is presently constituted as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. This is because there are two distinct NGCs–The real vibrant opposition force commandeered by the very eloquent, genuine and phenomenal opposition politician, Dr. Dennis Bright , who has won tremendous respect for keeping the SLPP’s feet under the fire, and the SLPP satellite and puppet NGC controlled by Dr. Kandeh Yumkella, who is operating under the shadow of President Maada Bio.
One wonders whether Dr. Bright and genuine NGC members are aware of speculations being fueled by SLPP supporters that it is just a matter of time before Kandeh Yumkella is declared the presidential SLPP running mate of Maada Bio for the 2023 Presidential Elections.
Kandeh Yumkella’ has a big dilemma , but his problem is never the ability , capacity and qualification to be President of Sierra Leone. I have always emphasized that after you take out Dr. Samura Kamara from the equation, the only other man I would consider as very fit to be President of Sierra Leone is Dr. Kandeh Yumkella.
He has the academic acumen, the international experience and clout and the pleasant , liberal and possibly democratic disposition to be a serious president of Sierra Leone. And I am very confident that Yumkella will do an outstanding job as President.
Kandeh Yumkella’s problem has always been his lack of commitment to be his own man. He has to operate under the shadows of the SLPP and now Maada Bio out of slavish loyalty to the political party of his late father. If Yumkella would do justice to himself by severing all ties with the SLPP and Maada Bio, he will be a very serious contender for the presidential crown.
Kandeh Yumkella must realize that with the present paopa and tribalistic configuration of the SLPP, he will never be elected flagbearer of the party because of his Northern origins. Extremist SLPP die-hard supporters have emphasized in the social media that after what the late President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah did to them by “betraying the party” and “causing” their defeat in 2007, they will never allow a Northerner to lead them. Kandeh would only be used as running mate to help siphon votes from the APC in their Northern strongholds. He will ultimately be Vice-President , which will not be of much use to him, because he wants to be President.
I am very disappointed with the NGC convention speech by Dr. Yumkella because it shows that he is still not ready yet to be his own man. He did not launch any serious attacks on the SLPP, the ruling party that has committed grave and egregious crimes and human rights abuses in power. The speech is feather weight and where he spoke about problems in the country, he failed to even mention the SLPP as the prime cause and hold the party accountable. Not to have mentioned the SLPP at all anywhere in his speech is very suspicious. As a matter of fact, he seemed to be blaming the global economic order, even though the SLPP is largely responsible for the hardship in the country.
The ambivalent speech is clear sign that Dr. Kandeh Yumkella is protective of the SLPP and has not made up his mind yet to paddle his own canoe.
