The New People Online

I estimate that the current executive of the union is not engaging gimmicky and distortive tricks to pacify us the “fighters for liberty” (FFL) and all disgruntled members of the union into believing that it is determined to take concrete steps towards deviating from business-as-usual by announcing a commission of inquiry to investigate the embezzlements committed by the out-gone 2010/2011 executive.

Such irresponsible and criminal representation of an elitist organization like ours is not only damaging, but also questionable of the sustainability the union and the future of Sierra Leone we all call home. I have raised this issue before and would continue to do so regarding especially the integrity of Mohamed Sow (the then Secretary General of the union) and his likes. I had even advised my fellow students to stay vigilant on the financial activities of the past executive, which instead was overshadowed by APC-attire dressed students posing in every form of falsehood, bigotry and intimidation to protect their comrades in crime. This again brings us to the important question of undisputable link between the ex-executive and the APC mentor government in Sierra Leone.

It is needless to begin to reanalyze all over again the tribal, provincial, regional and national demography of Sierra Leone and how this has always played out in educational institutions and every other works of life in the country. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties with China in 1971, students who have studied here in China can bear witness that the student composition in China has always fairly reflected the demography of Sierra Leone. Since the neo-APC, however, took power in Sierra Leone in 2007, this composition has been deliberately skewed in favor of the northern region (the support base of the APC party); to the extent that over 80% of the current student population is from the north. Also the now defunct Deputy Ambassador Mr. I. M. Funnah (who assumed office in China in 2008) relentlessly worked to politicize the heavily northern-biased student population towards the neo-APC regime. During the celebrations of the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Freetown and Beijing here in China, Mr. Funnah (who was then in the process of cracking the AAB ideology) challenged all his northern students with $17/00 reward for anyone who dressed in red (the APC signature color) to attend the celebrations. Because of the attached financial reward, Mr. Funnah eventually succeeded in hijacking what was supposed to be a proud celebration of mutual commitments to the national (and not party) courses of our two countries and turned it into a neo-APC celebration with the northern-based students overwhelmingly and faithfully dressing in red to attend that occasion. With that initial first success, Mr. Funnah went on to draw support from his regional clan brothers and sisters in the student community to set up the AAB; which is also by membership over 95% students (of course from the north). In fact, while the vice president (Hamza I. Bangura) of the out-gone corrupt student union executive is the Secretary General of ABB, over 95% of the other  executive members are registered with AAB. If these and several such connections are not sufficient links among the student executive, its corrupt practices, AAB and the APC mentor government back home, then we can as well say that nothing is at all related to anything in this world; not even would one qualify to say that husbands and wives or parents and children are related.

In fact, my piece is not always so much about national politics; although so many in their ranks and files (like the Desmond Conteh type of people) always relentlessly paint it as such. All I try to do is to defend my liberty and the liberty of all the weak by firmly opposing any acts of infringements on the rights of the commoners in societies by such means as corruption, embezzlement of public funds and other misuses of public offices at home and abroad. Under no circumstance will I ever letup such a noble human mission, for posterity will bitterly judge me, my character and my worth of life. Criminalizing the student union here in China is the worst precedence for the larger Sierra Leone community and so we will relentlessly work to expose all characters behind every student criminality before such students graduate and melt into civilized societies of the world, including that of Sierra Leone. We are damn too sickened by the continued corrupt activities and the discriminative governance that all perpetually prevails in the current EBK-led APC government in Sierra Leone.

The recent press release by the current union secretariat in response to my last article on “Corruption Resurfaces in China with APC Asian Branch (AAB) Embezzlement of S/L Student Funds” is a desperate misrepresentation of the records. As Hitler once said that “the bigger the lie is the more people believe it”, we will no longer idly sit-by and let false propagandas go unchallenged. We are naturally called to duty to put out what is right to fight against all desperate falsehoods of notoriously corrupt and secular bad governments. The true story is that the founding members of the Sierra Leone students union in China (SLSUC) saw the need for student unionism and collaboration to address the social concerns of Sierra Leone students in China with the highest integrity and transparency. So about one and a half decades ago, the union was established as a democratic non-profit, non-political organization. These virtues were upheld in the union until the mass infiltration of the power-hungry APC-disciple students to executive posts in 2010.

All indications are that the out-gone 2011 executive operated on a philosophy reminiscent of the APC-mentor government; with thieving, corruption and intimidation here, there and everywhere. Violence, bigotry, dictatorship, tribalism, nepotism, you just name it, have not only been exposed by the Auditor General and civil society groups in Freetown, but also by local and international organizations and patriotic citizenries. There is, for instance, the timber-gate and cocaine-gate scandals associated with the APC vice president, the corruptions and embezzlements of city council funds by the APC-appointed City Mayor (which was so severe that the Freetown City council workers have not been paid for the past seven months now), the Guinea/India rice scandals, the NRA corruption scandals, the NASSIT ferry corruption scandals, and the list goes on and on. In fact, deep-sited corruption permeates every activity of the EBK-led APC government in Sierra Leone. Back here in China, the student union ex-executive (some of whom are also executive members of the so-called AAB) set the worst financial records in the history of the union. Their activities are marred by embezzlements and shameless thieving of student funds. As if the embezzlements were not enough, the ex-executive secretively unconstitutionally tied against the general student membership not to honor even the obligatory $17/00 fees paid by all convention attendees.

The press release by the current union secretariat denied any intimidations and that the union funds were kept by the Treasurer and records of all financial transactions kept by the Financial Secretary of the union. This was actually supposed to be the proper order of business in the union as spelt out in the union constitution. However, the constitutional order and provisions were intentionally manipulated by the out-gone 2010/2011 executive; some of whom also have executive positions in AAB in China. Their grab of power witnessed strong indecency in union matters and mass corruption. Besides usually lengthy explanations (calculated attempts to deprive others the chance to talk in the convention), shortsightedness, falsehood, gross disregard for human integrity and anti-development ideologies borrowed from their father’s (the APC-mentor party) political whitepapers, the manner the union affairs were managed before and during the 2011 convention was just a complete mess. Not at any time in history have a even heard that a nominee for a presidential post busted into anger against the person that did the nomination. This was exactly what happened when the out-gone executive realized that the election on verge of become 100% unopposed. As desperate as they were to legitimize the elections, Mohamed Sow (the criminal) nominated Mrs. T. Dick without any prior consent of that decent lady. But we hope Mr. Sow was taught a lesson he will never-ever forget. We also now have evidence that the Treasurer (Miss Fatmata Kamara), for instance, was persistently harassed to release union funds on presidential orders. In fact because of the unconstitutional way money was withdrawn from the union account, the Treasurer was tricked to paying for some monies she never used. That was, in fact, the overwhelming reason why that poor quiet lady never had the courage to attend the convention. Also to say the least, the Financial Secretary never had any knowledge of the union account, let alone financial transaction records. Had it not even been the selfless effort of Dr. Moiwo, we were going to leave the 2011 convention without any financial report.

Students like Mr. Abdul Bawah, a two-term president of the union, resigned their membership because some members of the ex-executive used political influences to threaten and insult people with different views. David M. Margai (one of the strongest fighters for liberty, a patriot of Sierra Leone and ex-executive member of the union) was removed from the home top-up allowance (SLG) list in 2011 by the EBK-led APC government for reasons we are yet to officially know. Given, however, the politicking policies of past and current APC governments, tribalism and bigotry could not be ruled out for this subversive behavior. It therefore comes as no surprise that a name like David M. Margai can be omitted from the SLG list. It is also not surprising to see the continuous mass layoffs of opposition members (or even people suspected with ties to opposition members) perpetuated by the rogue APC government in Sierra Leone. In fact, If APC can drive out the head of the UN representative in Sierra Leone, what can it not do to the defenseless poor citizens of that country?

The union conventions have been comparatively very fruitful and unifying of Sierra Leone students in China. However, the 2011 convention held under the auspices of the APC-inspired union executive was nothing less than a mere anarchy and a disaster for democracy. The sole objective ever achieved in the convention was the distribution of the AAB membership and registration forms meant to brainwash the north-oriented student membership in China. The sole purpose of the politicization of the student community is to set the students against another along tribal and political lines. This is a cool coup, of course meticulously masterminded by the APC-mentor government in Sierra Leone. We have also witnessed the blocking of email addresses of students belonging to different ideological class, depriving such students their inborn rights communication and participation in group discussions especially within the student community. All these have but strengthened our resolve that come what may, we the fighters for liberty will never-ever letup until the fullest rights of the least person in our society are guaranteed. No level of intimidation will frustrate us to give in to this struggle. We will ever fight this fight that is so worth fighting. I therefore encourage all peace-loving and development-oriented Sierra Leoneans to heighten active participations in re-charting the future of the student union here in China and that of our motherland Sierra Leone. “Any people anywhere, being inclined to power or not, have the right to rise up and shake off an existing government and form a new one that suits them better. This is the most valuable and most sacred right we hope and believe will liberate the world” Abraham Lincoln.

By David Marcus Margai