{"id":31488,"date":"2011-10-25T13:26:48","date_gmt":"2011-10-25T13:26:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sierraexpressmedia.com\/?p=31488"},"modified":"2011-10-25T13:26:48","modified_gmt":"2011-10-25T13:26:48","slug":"sam-sumana-and-his-critics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/?p=31488","title":{"rendered":"Sam Sumana and his critics"},"content":{"rendered":"

Politics, it is often said, ‘is a dirty game\u2026\u2019 really? I can\u2019t tell, for I am not a politician. Granted that it is indeed a game that is \u2018dirty\u2019, it implies, therefore that it is not for a saint. If it is not for a saint, I could also argue that we should not expect the features or qualities of a saint from the current Vice President, Chief Sam Sumana. Simple – the Bible tells us that we were, as human beings, created in the image and likeness of God (ask your pastor ) as human beings, we are bound\u00a0 to\u00a0 be committing sins each and every other day and for Christians, the Bible tell us that because we are sinners, Jesus was sent by\u00a0 His Father, God, to die for us.\u00a0 He died indeed, but that has not still stopped us from sinning, thus the thought that there is no saint on planet earth.<\/span><\/p>\n

From a religious standpoint, a “saint” refers to any believer who is “holy” and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth. In politics, just as in any other profession you may be thinking of, we need to completely forget about the possibility of one becoming a saint, for one cannot be more Catholic than the Pope. No way!!! I have read few political commentaries on the political leadership of Vice President Samuel Sam Sumana from the viewpoint of whether or not he will stand the test of time, come the 2012 elections. The commentaries are all centered on the chances of Sumana retaining his current position. <\/span><\/p>\n

I will not for now discuss that issue again even as we\u00a0 get closer to the 2012 general elections for it is clear, very clear\u00a0 and constitutionally stated that IT IS THE PREROGATIVE OF HIS EXCELLECNY THE PRESIDENT TO EITHER RETAIN OR CHANGE HIS RUNNING MATE. So that should be left with the number one gentleman to decide. The decision is completely that of His Excellency the President. <\/span><\/p>\n

But I know one thing for sure; the President, just as the party he is leading the APC, is a grateful gentleman.\u00a0 The point should also be made clear that President Koroma\u2019s trust and confidence over \u00a0his able Vice President cannot be shaken by whatever propaganda, not even by propagandists wanting to associate the Vice President to been \u00a0a woman beater. Generally, it is utter foolish for anyone to associate the Vice President to violence for even his gentle face, in terms of appearance and looks, tells more than we can imagine.<\/span><\/p>\n

From a journalistic perspective, efforts have been made to present Sam Sumana as a \u2018saint\u2019 on planet earth.\u00a0 Several theories have been propounded by political commentators in terms of how Sam Sumana has been serving his boss, HE President Koroma and also from the perspective of how he has not been a good public relations material for his very self, an argument I have often ignored for obvious reason. \u00a0For some, the fact that the man (VP) has been enjoying media support from critical newspapers down town means, there is something underneath the carpet on Sam Sumana that those critical newspapers may be using to gain the attention of the Vice President. There is also, recently the \u2018Savisman\u2019 theory as propounded by\u00a0 a friend and brother, who thinks, the Vice President\u00a0 has not been\u00a0 showing the tendencies of a real \u2018bra\u2019 and as such, this has accounted for the alleged PR wahala, if any that the Vice President is faced with. A particular friend and brother, has even gone to the extent of comparing the SI Koroma type of Vice Presidency that we once witnessed under the \u2018old APC, to that of the current Vice President, in the person of Sam Sumana, of the new APC, led by President Koroma. <\/span><\/p>\n

In the first place, the type of politics that was been played at the local level by people like S I Korma cannot be played to our present day political make-up and so, it will be out of place for anyone to say, Sam Sumana\u2019s Vice Presidency features are \u00a0not the ones we need for now. In so far as serving the\u00a0 country and the Presidency has gone, we have seen how\u00a0 Sam has gone the extra\u00a0 mile in not only representing His Excellency the President well, but also, he has demonstrated that with his presence around the Presidency, President Koroma is definitely sure of winning the 2012 elections. Or do we want to see a Voice President that sees himself more powerful than his Boss? Definitely no! Indeed, Sam Sumana is a \u2018bra\u2019 but his type of \u2018bra should not be seen overshadowing the \u2018bra-ism\u2019 of his Boss. The Chief-Servant, we all know is President Koroma and NOT SAM SUMANA.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A good & loyal servant, but not the saint \u2018some\u2019 people are looking for <\/em><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

When the \u00a0typical African politics is taken into serious perspective, the current VP may not be the type of \u2018bra\u2019 some\u00a0 may be looking out for but this should not \u00a0be the yardstick \u00a0to be sued in \u00a0evaluating the performance of the man since his stay in power as Vice President for the last four years. There is also the aspect of Sam Sumana enjoying the support of newspapers, believed to be closely linked with the opposition party. For me, the argument should have been on how these newspapers have been contributing to national development. If any newspaper down town has something fishy on the Vice President, there could be no way of suppressing such. I recently wrote about the role of the independent and critical press as inspector general\u00a0 to a given political system, which is provide the necessary public criticism to ensure some degree of political integrity among the power holder.<\/span><\/p>\n

From a personal point of view, it is an interesting and effective public relation job for newspapers, seen as been critical of government\u2019s policies or \u2018aligned to the opposition\u2026\u2019 to be taking\/writing about the positives of the Presidency or the Vice Presidency. President Koroma., for sure, is a friend of the media and his friendship cuts across; be it pro or otherwise. As a result, he has continued to enjoy the type of media support that a politician needs. Sam Sumana may have a problem in this direction-not too media friendly, but fair enough, he still enjoys some level of support.\u00a0 Vice President Sam Sumana definitely has his human errors just as is the case with every other human being.<\/span><\/p>\n

President Koroma\u2019s successes within the last four years cannot just be spoken ill of, except for a selected few who are of the view, that except power is placed on their door step, nothing developmental will ever take place in the country. President Koroma has indeed succeeded today because of the able team of helpers-Ministers, Heads of MDAs etc he has around him, coupled with what Sam Sumana has done. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sam Sumana is liked and loved Sierra Leoneans, he is trusted and he has been a performer.\u00a0 During a recent family visit to Kono city, the few discussions I had with people showed that, Kono is not as divided as being portrayed and that Sam Sumana\u2019s effort in terms of developing the district are appreciated by his people. One Councilor Kai Gbongbor, representing ward 84 in the Kono District Council shared his view with me on Sam Sumana by saying the man \u201chas demonstrated to be a loyal Vice President that has always worked in line with the agenda of his Boss\u2026\u201d Councilor Safea Paul Kanda, of SLPP, representing Sie Chiefdom, even agreed, that the ruling party has done some goodies in his chiefdom by saying \u201c\u2026I am grateful to them (APC) because they have fixed my road\u2026Lei chiefdom is now connected in terms of communication\u2026\u201d Politics, I once argued, is all about loyalty and so far the Vice President has demonstrated that he is loyal to President Koroma. We are yet to be told of a situation where he had wanted to be more power than his boss as we have seen in some cases in our political system. <\/span><\/p>\n

Come on, the President already has a winning team and none of his players at present is injured to be removed from the pitch of play. You can\u2019t change a winning team like that. Yes, there are many other Konos, but with the training and apprenticeship that Sam Sumana has gone through, it means a lot. Trying to discredit him therefore won\u2019t serve us well as a people and country. But if we are still in search of the \u2018saint\u2019 we need, then Sam Sumana is not the choice, for we have no saint on planet earth. But so far, he has shown that he is a good and loyal servant but not the saint that some people are looking out for.<\/span><\/p>\n

Stay with Sierra Express Media, for your trusted place in news!<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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