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Concord Times (Freetown)

Sierra Leone: Of SLPP Unity And the Hilary Clinton Metaphor

Mohamed Sankoh

6 September 2008

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opinion

Freetown — The recent speech given by the former First Lady of the United States of America, Hilary Rodham Clinton, at the past Democratic National Convention in which she called for party unity and support for Barack Hussein Obama has become the singsong for some supporters of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP).

Hilary Clinton has now become a metaphor for SLPP unity. One writer says the leader of the People's Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC), Charles Margai, should learn some political lessons from Hilary's speech and action. And ended his presentation with subtleties of disdain for Mr Margai and his supporters.

One journalist, Sorie Fofana (who I have great respect for both professionally and personally) in his "Manjoroka" (I always forget to ask him the meaning of this word) column in the New Vision of Monday September 1, 2008 advocated the "need for unity" in the SLPP. He first 'prologued' his argument with anecdotes of leadership struggles within Britain's Conservative Party and 'epilogued' it on this note: "If the SLPP fails to unite now they must be prepared to die." Another young budding journalist, Ishmael Baryor of the Awoko newspaper, writing in the September 2, 2008 edition of his news organ also harped on the need for unity within the SLPP. His argument revolved around the Hilary Clinton metaphor of party unity.

Now let's see whether this Hilary Clinton metaphor fits into the blue-murdering screams for SLPP unity. In a village context according to Chinua Achebe in his novel: "Anthills of the Savannah", If one wants to get at the root of a murder, "you [first] have to look for the blacksmith who made the machete." But from the blue-murdering screams for SLPP unity, with the exception of Ishmael Baryor's article, none of the screamers tried to first get at the root of the disunity within the SLPP. Most of those who are calling for party unity are not treating Charles Margai with some amount of respect. They treat him with disdain. They regard him and his PMDC supporters as betrayers and spoilers. Most of these blue-murdering screamers use arrogant words whenever they are referring to Mr Margai and his PMDC supporters who I always refer to as SLPP supporters on vacation.

The point is, one cannot talk about party unity with a preamble iced with arrogance, disdain, and accusations of betrayal. This is where the Hilary Clinton metaphor of SLPP unity is out of place. Unlike the Democratic Party of the USA, the SLPP has a history of choosing its leaders in a pseudo-democratic manner.

I will support that statement with a sprint down Memory Street. In 1957 or thereabouts, this party was faced with its first leadership struggle between two brothers, Milton and Albert Margai (they were later knighted). The younger of the two, Albert, won by a margin of 22-21. But he did not become the leader! Then in 1996, Charles Margai had the popular vote (so to speak or should I say write?) among party faithful but the older generation had other ideas. The older Tejan Kabbah, through some pseudo-democratic means emerged leader.

Again the circumstances that led to Charles Margai's estrangement with the SLPP prior to the 2002 elections after a bruised leadership tussle with the then President Kabbah are well documented to show that the issue of leadership is one that always disintegrate the SLPP.

The final straw came in 2005 when Charles Margai (why should it always be a "Margai" to spur disunity in the SLPP?) had the popular vote among the rank and file of the SLPP. What happened? Through some pseudo-democratic means, the older Solomon Berewa emerged leader. And Ishmael Baryor of the Awoko newspaper, in his September 2, 2008 op-ed wrote at length why the SLPP disintegrated after a Solomon Berewa leadership victory.

Now coming back to the Hilary Clinton metaphor. Unlike all defeated SLPP leadership contenders, Hilary knows deep down her heart that she was not robbed of the party's leadership by "Super delegates" through Machiavellian means but through "caucuses" which encapsulated the "popular vote" of her party. And when Obama won the party leadership he tried to reach out to both Hilary and her supporters within the party. There was nothing like arrogance, disdain or an issue of "them and us". The face-to-face meeting between Obama and Hilary few days after the latter conceded defeated is still legendary. We also see how Obama and his team help raised funds to help settle Hillary's campaign debts. So Hillary was morally forced to call for party unity because she lost democratically, and saw that she and her supporters were not being ostracised.

In the case of the SLPP, its defeated leadership contenders and their supporters are always left in the cold. After the 1957-59 leadership tug-of-war which Albert Margai won but was asked to step down; he yielded but not without giving his brother some conditions. But Sir Milton, in appointing members of his cabinet, did not fulfil Albert's conditions. Albert became angry, accused his brother of bad faith and breach of trust and turned down the portfolio given him and later formed his own party.

Again some of us read how Sir Albert Margai pseudo-democratically emerged leader of the SLPP in 1964 though Dr John Karefa-Smart was the most popular. And some of us also read how Sir Albert maltreated perceived supporters of Dr Karefa-Smart within that party.

Also we saw how ex-president Kabbah maltreated Charles Margai and his supporters within the SLPP after he assumed leadership of the party in 1996. And just after the 2005 Makeni convention of that party, we saw how disdainfully and arrogantly Solomon Berewa treated Mr Margai and his supporters. We saw how perceived supporters of Mr Margai like Joseph Bandabla Dauda, George Banda-Thomas and Emmanuel O. Grant were fired from cabinet in similar style Josef Stalin purged from the Politburo the United Opposition of Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamen.

So coming again to the issue of the Hilary Clinton metaphor of SLPP unity, I will say since its first leadership struggle in 1957 unto the last one in 2005 at the Makeni convention, the SLPP has been a party of disunity. But it is now rejuvenating that young people within that party are now talking about party unity.

But candidly, I think it is now premature to use the Hilary Clinton metaphor when the SLPP is yet to select or appoint a leader. The SLPP can only become a unified party when it decides to shred off its pseudo-democratic manner of choosing its leadership.

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