Triangular Sylvia Bylden, Chief Minister and First Lady’s schism: Where is President Bio in this?
By Alusine Sesay
I don’t want to pre-empt that things are not going right at the presidential lodge on Hill Station, but it is glaring to even the lame man that there are issues. There must be. And President Bio, I believe, is not a happy man. He couldn’t be because certain aspect of him is being exposed to the public. I am aware that he is a man of few words, but action. I cannot lure him into behaving the ‘Okonkwo’ way, but he must do something to ensure that sanity prevails in the country. He has an image to protect, the image of the family (Sierra Leone) he is leading. He must do something about what is happening.
CONFLICT
Almost two months now, the social media have been inundated with the exchange of invectives between the boys of Chief Minister David Moinina Sengeh and Dr.Sylvia Blyden. Also, the First Lady, Fatima Jabie Maada Bio, has been directing some innuendos towards the Chief Minister, albeit that is political. And the assumption is that she must be fighting for someone, probably the one she prefers to succeed President Bio. She has called out David Sengeh loud, telling the public that Sengeh is not the President of Sierra Leone, but an employee of Bio. But in all of these, the Chief Minister has maintained his cool, saying little and focusing largely on his work. Blyden and the First Lady are friends and I would not delve into the rest. Although certain sections of the public are insinuating that Sylvia Blyden must be fighting on behalf of the First Lady, but I believe she is fighting her own battle.
The issue between Sylvia and the Chief Minister emanated from the analysis of a report produced by a team of IMF Staff after concluding their visit in Sierra Leone for the approval of an Extended Credit Facility (ECF) for the country. Sylvia Blyden had reacted to a propaganda video produced by David Sengeh and corrected certain errors in that video. And, as an opposition figure, she is expected to do same. She deserves no motherly invectives in return, but a healthy engagement.
Had it been that the boys of David Sengeh had been civil in their reaction to Blyden’s critique on their master’s video, there would have not been any issue. But the caustic way in which they reacted, coupled with the silence of David Sengeh, added salt to injury. Nobody is saying Sengeh should not propagate the achievements of his government. Equally so, nobody has right to throw motherly invectives on someone being critical about his propaganda. You may not like Blyden, but that has been her always-a controversial figure to the fault. At times she may do something that one would wonder, but I can bet that she is among the cleanest politicians in Sierra Leone. I can bet my life on this! And that is why the only way those boys could get at her was to caricature her late mother and used some invectives on her.
As a journalist, I know David Sengeh as a decent person. We have had some casual interaction, and by the look of things, he is a decent person. He is one of, if not the most innovative and hardworking soldiers of President Bio. He has effected positive changes in the lives of many. His legacy at the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education will ever remain. President Bio must have drawn him closer to State House because of his ingenuity. He supervises all the cabinet ministers to ensure that the government agenda is achieved. He shouldn’t have allowed his name to be taken to the mud because he has earned his respect across the country.
BETWEEN THE DEEP BLUE SEA AND THE DEVIL
It is glaring that President Bio is caught up in a dicey situation. Many are saying that David Sengeh is the blue eye boy of President Bio. But can he back David Sengeh as against his wife? For Sylvia Blyden, that is subject understood. She is an opposition figure and one may say President Bio should have no hands in what is happening between her and David Sengeh.Although it is not clear as to what might be crawling between the Chief Minister and the First Lady, but when one reads between the lines, there must be an issue and President Bio should find a subtle way to handle it. Naturally, the issue between Sylvia and the Chief Minister can easily be settled if the President could handle the seeming scuffle between his wife and the chief minister.
