By Sorie Fofana.
A Politician friend of mine once made me laugh. He recalled, with fond memory, how the late President Siaka Stevens held Russian education in low esteem. He said that Siaka Stevens had several nieces and nephews. One of his nephews had dropped out of school at Saint Edwards Secondary School. He actually wanted to become a Medical Doctor. The nephew of President Stevens kept on reminding the Pa that all he wanted from him was to help him secure a scholarship to study Medicine.
One day, according to my Politician friend, President Stevens invited the Russian Ambassador accredited to Sierra Leone to see him at his State House residence. The Russian Ambassador was very curious to know why the President had invited him to his official residence.
The Ambassador arrived and met the President in a very unwinding mood. The President called his nephew and introduced him to the Ambassador. He informed the Ambassador that his nephew was very curious to train as a Medical Doctor. The Ambassador agreed to help secure a Russian scholarship for the President’s nephew to pursue his dream of becoming a Medical Doctor.
The President’s nephew travelled to Russia and studied tropical Medicine. After graduating from Medical School, the President’s nephew returned from Russia to practice his Medical profession in Sierra Leone.
It was very difficult to even accredit the newly-arrived Medical Doctor to practice in Sierra Leone. The President’s intervention landed him a job in one of the hospitals in Freetown.
One day, the President fell ill and needed to be treated at home.
His personal Physician had travelled out of the country on vacation. The lot to treat the President fell on his nephew. The Pa was informed that he was to be treated by his nephew who had studied Medicine in Russia and had graduated as a Medical Doctor. The Pa hesitated but allowed his nephew to treat him. The treatment given to the Pa worsened his condition.
The President had to turn to a senior Medical Doctor for help. When he felt better, the Pa sent for the Russian Ambassador and reported his encounter with the Russia-trained Medical Doctor.
The Ambassador was bemused. He told the President, “You gave me a rotten student and I gave you a rotten doctor”.
Auditor General Suspended
News about the suspension of the Auditor General and her right-hand man, Tamba Momoh generated a lot of legal arguments. Some of our well-known Lawyers argued openly that the President does not have the authority to suspend the Auditor General.
Others argued that the President did not follow the laid down procedure in suspending the Auditor General from office.
Some of our senior Lawyers argued that the letter written to the Chairman of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission should not have been signed by the erudite Deputy Minister of Justice who is also a Lawyer. They argued that, the letter should have been signed by the Attorney General and not the Deputy Minister of Justice.
The AYV television was very kind enough to invite a senior and experienced lawyer, Francis Gabbidon to proffer his views on the issue of the suspension of the Auditor General.
I listened very carefully to Mr. Gabbidon’s views on the issue of the suspension of the Auditor General. According to Mr. Gabbidon, the President acted within his powers and he followed the laid down procedure in suspending the Auditor General.
After Mr. Gabbidon’s intervention, the dust has settled. The Cambridge-trained lawyer’s views appear to have dominated the arguments. With utmost respect, I doff my hat to Mr. Gabbidon.
The rabble- rousing Lawyers have retreated to their private chambers and have left their client (the Auditor General) in the dock without any legal representation.
The poor lady appears to be on her own now. She has been abandoned! The prosecuting counsel is having a field day.
I hope the embattled Auditor General gets a fair trial before the tribunal.
The Audit Itself
Rumours are circulating that the Auditor General was out to embarrass the Presidency, by raising concerns over the President’s trip to Lebanon in particular.
It is believed that the Auditor General’s conduct in the discharge of her responsibility was questionable. She is believed to be doing the bidding of the opposition. No doubt, opposition lawyers jumped to her defense when news broke out that she had been suspended from office.
Some people need to understand that whenever the President travels out of this country, it is the state’s responsibility to look after his welfare.
The SCOP (State Chief of Protocol) signs for and collects all expendable monies on behalf of the President. He pays for the President’s accommodation, and takes care of other welfare expenditures. The President hardly knows how much money is collected for a trip he undertakes.
The SCOP accounts for all monies received and expended at the end of any official Presidential trip.
The Modest President Bio
President Dr. Julius Maada Bio has a very modest taste. He is not a flamboyant man. He is just naturally charismatic. Those who know President Bio very well, know that, he does not get closer to state funds. He is a very careful man. In fact, in trying to protect the meager resources of the state, the President has fallen out with a good number of his friends and political allies.
President Bio is the most scrutinized President in post-Independence Sierra Leone. His bank accounts were monitored when he was in the opposition. Everything about him was under the spotlight of public scrutiny.
On the issue of the Auditor General, I wish to conclude that, no one, I mean no one, is chasing her. She is being chased by her shadow even at night. Let the overrated Auditor General go through the tribunal and see whether she comes out smelling roses.
Thank God, we still have good Lawyers in Sierra Leone! Some of them just need to replace their political wig
with the
legal one. Just that!
