๐๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ง๐.
When Ahmad Tejan Kabbah was sworn-in as President of the Republic of Sierra Leone on 29th March, 1996 he promised to achieve โlasting peace, stability and socio-economic progress in our countryโ. Throughout his Presidency (1996 to 2007), Kabbah spent every ounce of his energy to achieve lasting peace in Sierra Leone. He was even prepared to give up his Presidency if that would bring lasting peace and stability to Sierra Leone.
Against the advice of his own Cabinet, Kabbah agreed (some people say he was forced by the United States) to sign the Lome Peace Accord with the RUF of Foday Sankoh which led to a temporal cessation of hostilities in the country. The RUF was brought into the government and its leadership returned to and settled in Freetown.
Sankohโs failure or refusal to cooperate with the government in the implementation of the Lome Peace Accord was a great embarrassment to Kabbah personally and to the guarantors of the Lome Peace Accord in general.
Kabbah had a turbulent tenure of office between 1996 and 2002. He was overthrown in May 1997 and reinstated in March 1998. In January 1999, the RUF rebels nearly succeeded in removing Kabbah from power with support from some renegade members of the national Army, the RSLAF. Between 2002 and 2007, Kabbah got a grip of the country with support from the Federal Republic of Nigeria and later the United Kingdom government of Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Kabbah spent his entire time as President, fighting to restore lasting peace and stability to Sierra Leone. In 2002, Kabbah declared the civil war over and in 2007, after presiding over the Presidential and general elections of that year he retired from active party politics and became an elderly statesman.
On 13th March, 2014 Sierra Leoneโs ex-President and war-time leader Ahmad Tejan Kabbah died at the Choithram Memorial Hospital in Freetown at the age of 82 after a protracted illness.
๐๐ฟ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ถ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ๐ฎ
Ernest Bai Koroma was sworn-in as President of Sierra Leone on 17th September, 2007. He retired from office on 4th April, 2018 after serving as President for two uninterrupted and consecutive terms.
In his inaugural speech, Koroma called for a change of attitude. โWe must all be ready now to embrace changeโฆ change in our attitude towards one anotherโฆchange in our attitude to work and change in our attitude towards our nationโ.
Between 2007 and 2012, Koroma embarked on massive infrastructure development. Road construction and electricity supply got a significant boost during Koromaโs first term in office. His Agenda for Change was a watershed moment in the country.
Koroma got distracted during his second term in office (2012 to 2018) when he started entertaining the call for him to amend the 1991 Constitution to enable him to run for a third term. His third term ambition overshadowed the implementation of the Agenda for Prosperity. Koroma left office in April 2018 on a low. His legacy was overshadowed and damaged by the chaos he left behind in his APC party. His decision to continue to be Chairman and Leader of the APC party after he had left office also made him strongly detested by some people across the country.
Koromaโs Agenda for Prosperity was completely unsuccessful because of his selfish desire to surround himself with some disloyal and incompetent yes-men at State House.
๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ถ๐ผ’s ๐ข๐ฝ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ถ๐๐๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
Brig. (Rtd) Julius Maada Bio was sworn-in as President of the Republic of Sierra Leone on 4th April, 2018 after defeating his only challenger in the run-off elections, Dr. Samura Kamara.
In his inaugural speech, President Bio said, โMy New Direction administration has prioritized Free Quality Education as the flagship policy programme of my government. We have made education the bedrock and foundation for development in Sierra Leone and the main strategy to create a ladder of opportunity for all Sierra Leoneans to climb and achieve their greatest potentialsโ.
Since he took the reins, President Bio has consistently pursued his flagship policy of Free Quality Education. 22% of the national budget is allocated to education. This shows the seriousness the Bio administration attaches to education.
President Bio has an optimistic vision for Sierra Leone. He believes that only an enlightened population can transform and develop a nation. Since the introduction of the Free Quality Education, enrollment in schools (especially in primary schools) has increased exponentially.
With four years in office, people now see the direction that President Bio is taking the country. He is putting the country on a stronger footing by increasing access to electricity, building more health centres in remote areas of the country, protecting and promoting civil liberties, bringing more women into government, making the country attractive to foreign direct investment and restoring Sierra Leoneโs image on the global stage.
Sierra Leoneans always appreciate good leaders. Show appreciation to President Bio by voting to reelect him in June 2023 without a runoff!
President Bioโs vision for a better and fairer society is embedded in his social justice policy of human capital development and Free Quality Education for all children.
A good leader has personality, courage, clear vision with ambition to succeed. President Bio is a good leader
