By Ing Simone Johnson
6th May 2025
At a time when Sierra Leone cries out for steady hands and a visible, grounded leadership, our president has chosen the clouds over the country.
Time and again, Julius Maada Bio has demonstrated a startling indifference to the pulse of the nation — abandoning Sierra Leone when she needed him the most. The pattern is unmistakable.
Like a disappearing magician, the President has made an art of vanishing from the national stage during critical moments. While the people suffer, he boards a plane.
Take August 10, 2022 — a dark day etched into our collective memory. Citizens across Freetown and beyond took to the streets in protest over the unbearable cost of living. Tensions boiled, lives were lost, and chaos engulfed the streets.
The nation stood on the edge of crisis. And where was our commander-in-chief? Not in the State House, not in Parliament, not even in the country — but abroad, far from the cries and blood of his own people. Fast-forward to April 27, 2025, Sierra Leone’s 64th Independence Anniversary — a day meant for reflection, unity, and pride.
A day every patriotic leader would seize to rally the nation, heal divisions, and inspire hope. Yet again, the president was notably missing. While other heads of state use such occasions to reaffirm their commitment to the nation, ours could not be bothered to stand beneath our flag on its birthday.
And now, the straw that breaks the camel’s back: the crisis in Yenga. Guinean troops have reportedly crossed into Sierra Leonean territory, displacing innocent citizens, firing shots, and trampling on our sovereignty.
An incursion, no less — a direct challenge to our national dignity. But what does President Bio do? He jets off to Gabon, choosing a ceremonial foreign inauguration over the urgent security of his homeland. In what sane republic does a president abandon his people while their borders are being violated?
This is not diplomacy; this is dereliction. Not leadership, but a lamentable abdication of responsibility. Sierra Leone deserves a president who stays to face the storm, not one who flees to foreign banquets.
A president who walks the streets with his people, not one who watches from the luxury of an overseas suite. In the theatre of leadership, presence matters. Courage matters. And above all, patriotism matters. President Bio may find comfort in international handshakes, but no handshake abroad can heal the bruises of a neglected nation.
The people of Sierra Leone are not fools — they see, they feel, and they remember. And come the next reckoning, they just might choose a leader who doesn’t vanish when the nation bleeds.