Imagine President Barak Obama 's convoy coming with all his flotilla of security officers and public officials and somebody driving towards the direction of the President refuses Police instruction to halt and yield right of way to the President–especially if that somebody has a terrible and internationally known record of human rights abuses and extrajudicial killings and is driving around with dangerous and bloodthirsty former rebel fighters
If that person insists to continue driving petulantly with his own convoy towards the direction of the President , in complete defiance of the Police, AND obstructs the presidential convoy , the very police officers , not even the U.S.Secret Service and the President's security, will be hard put to it to act , because it is a dangerous and lawless act. In all jurisdictions and situations, the President of the country has the right of way . Secondly, the safety and security of the President is paramount and must be assured at all times . In the circumstances , the police has the right to take out that individual if he is found to be a threat to the lives of the President and others around.
PRESIDENT KOROMA IS THE CONSTITUTIONAL SOVEREIGN AND FOUNTAIN OF HONOUR OF SIERRA LEONE AND ALL PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES ARE SUBORDINATE TO HIM
The defiant individual refusing to stop and allow the President's convoy to pass will certain bless his stars if he lives to tell the story, and no law in the land would ever question the right of Police to protect and defend the President from such hostile situations. The Police know that If harm befalls the President, it will be a national disaster and could provoke a deadly eruption of chaos. The Police will therefore act , not only to protect the President but to ensure the safety and security of the nation. Americans will never behave like that, anyway, in this day and age because respect for the law and constituted authority are embedded in the psyche of citizens of this land .What is more, the Police and the law do not play to punish violators and lawbreakers. This is one of the secrets of the greatness of America–The law works.
You can play out the same scenerio above in any other country or continent and the result will be the same. Anybody who defies Police and deliberately obstructs the President 's freedom of movement or drives towards the President's convoy in a belligerent and hostile manner could get shot or arrested. It is not dictatorship or high-handedness. It is the law and the convention of the land. The President always has the right of way. The President must be protected at all costs. The President's right to enjoy his statutory and conventional protocol and privileges must be defended and protected at all times.
It is therefore very baffling to understand why the Sierra Leone People's Party Presidential candidate , Maada Bio, defied Police and refused to yield right of way to the President of the sovereign Republic of Sierra Leone, the Fountain of Honour and Commander-In-Chief of the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces, His Excellency President Ernest Bai Koroma , Friday in the nation's capital, Freetown–an incident that nearly provoked chaos. The Police complained that Bio refused to give the President right of way. What is Bio telling our people ? Does Bio refuse to accept and respect the authority and supremacy of the President of the land ? If so, why ? Is he equating himself with the power and authority of the constitutionally-elected President of the land ? If the answer to these questions is YES, then Maada Bio is certain very rebellious, lawless and sick in his magalomanic mind and is a true danger to society.
We are sure that Maada Bio understood the full import of his action. He has been Head of State before and he understands the full meaning of Presidential prerogative and presidential rights and privileges. Our frank opinion is that Maada Bio did not act out of ignorance , but out of a depraved desire to unlawfully challenge the authority of the President and in the process incite bedlam and chaos–The very reason that he was handed the SLPP flagbearership. We believe that it was a deliberate attempt to spark turmoil in the country.
We and other newspapers and some concerned citizens have warned over and over that Maada Bio and his supporters mean no good for this nation and emerged through the cracks to return Sierra Leone to chaos , if he does not win the Presidential Elections on November 17. This is the game plan of the SLPP. They know that they will not win the elections and thus their sick desire is to plunge the nation into chaos .
The international community , stakeholders , representatives of the UN and other international organizations need to have a private discussion with Mr. Bio and his supporters . They have to BE TOLD to respect the President, his authority , rights and prerogatives.
What is obvious from Bio's action is also that he has no respect for himself. Any presidential candidate that does not respect the incumbent President does not have an iota of respect for himself because presidential candidates and people aspiring for governance of their country should be men and women of high moral character and they must lead the way in obeying the laws of the land. What example is Maada Bio setting for his supporters , the youths and the people of this nation ? If he ever wins an election in the country, is that the reckless and wanton manner he will rule the nation ? Without respect for constituted authority ? The disturbing incident happened a week after Bio went to Kailahun and humiliated, mouth-washed and disgraced the chiefs and traditional leaders . Why does he have no respect for authority ? If he cannot respect constituted and traditional authority, what moral right has he to demand respect from others ? That the SLPP is not ashamed to have such a lawless and disrespectful rogue as their presidential candidate speaks volumes about the integrity and character of the party.
It is also now obvious that Bio does not love Sierra Leone and all he is seeking is power for power's sake. His power-at-all-costs ( Pa-O-Pa ) agenda is becoming manifest every day. If Bio really loves Sierra Leone, he will not undermine the peace and security of the nation, after all we have suffered –war that killed half-a-million of our precious people and foreigners in our midst and totally destroyed the country's infrastructure. Bio knows fully well that Sierra Leone is still a fragile country busy consolidating peace . He should know or have cause to know that his lawless antics are undermining the peace and stability of the land.
We call on President Ernest Bai Koroma to renew his call to the International Criminal Court ( ICC ) to send representatives to Sierra Leone to join other organizations to monitor the elections. It is imperative for the ICC to be in Sierra Leone during the elections so that those who provoke and carry out chaos during the polls will be indicted if they cause needless loss of lives and property damage. Let the ICC come in and catch Maada Bio and his disciples in the act.
We also call very strongly to do whayever it takes to defend and protect the President. While caution and restraint are mostly advised , the Police must do their job with dispatch and certainty . We cannot be held to ransom by lawless individuals. Maada Bio is getting away with everything in the land and this is not setting a good example at all to citizens at all. The man is not above the law and he must start being sanctioned for his lawless acts. We do not want to see him take our nation back to chaos . We want total peace and stability in the nation.
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THE SIERRA LEONE POLICE STATEMENT ON SLPP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE MAADA BIO'S LAWLESS CONDUCT IN PUBLIC
The attention of Police Headquarters has been drawn to an incident at the intersection of Sackville Street and Goderich Street at about 3pm on Friday 12th October,2012 in which the convoy of Retired Brigadier Julius Maada Bio is reported to have obstructed the convoy of His Excellency the President.Prior to this incident,the Police at the Upgun Roundabout and Eastend Police had stopped the Retired Brigadier and informed him that his Excellency the President was about to pass through and that he should wait until the President has passed.
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