AN OPEN LETTER TO HIS EXCELLENCY DR. JULIUS MAADA BIO, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE

Mr. President,

Every nation reaches moments that test not only its leaders but also its resolve. These are the moments when silence becomes costly, delay creates uncertainty, and the choices made today shape how history judges tomorrow. Sierra Leone is facing one of those moments.

Recent reports from local authorities, community leaders, and the media have renewed concern over the continued Guinean military presence in Yenga and reported incursions into the Kaliereh area. Whether these reports ultimately prove temporary or point to a more enduring problem, they deserve your Government’s immediate attention. This is far more than a disagreement over a remote stretch of land. It touches the very heart of our sovereignty and reminds us that every inch of Sierra Leone matters.

This is not an SLPP issue.

It is not an APC issue.

It is a Sierra Leone issue.

No political party owns our borders. They belong to the Republic. They belong to those who came before us, to those who call this country home today, and to the children who will inherit it long after all of us have gone.

Mr. President, when you took the oath of office, you pledged to preserve, protect, and defend the Republic of Sierra Leone. The Constitution places upon the Presidency the solemn responsibility of safeguarding the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our nation. That duty extends equally to every district, every village, every river, and every boundary that defines Sierra Leone.

Some will say this is simply another episode in the long-running Yenga dispute.

Perhaps.

But the reports concerning Kaliereh suggest that this moment deserves closer attention than we have given it.

History teaches a simple lesson. Border disputes rarely erupt overnight. They usually begin quietly, with uncertainty, competing claims, or a military presence that gradually becomes accepted simply because it goes unchallenged. The longer such questions remain unresolved, the harder they become to settle.

Delay has rarely been a friend of diplomacy.

Fortunately, Sierra Leone is not without history, law, or precedent.

The boundary between Sierra Leone and Guinea rests on agreements reached during the colonial period and subsequent boundary demarcation carried out by the two administering powers. Those agreements have long formed the basis of the internationally recognised frontier inherited by both countries at independence. Historical references, including the International Boundary Study prepared by the Office of the Geographer of the United States Department of State, continue to provide useful context for understanding that frontier. Where questions arise about particular locations, they should be settled through official records, technical verification, and bilateral dialogue rather than competing assertions.

That is why this issue deserves calm but urgent diplomatic attention.

Mr. President,

Africa has paid a heavy price whenever border disputes have been neglected. Across the continent, disagreements that began over villages, rivers, or boundary markers have sometimes grown into diplomatic crises and, in the worst cases, armed conflict.

The lesson is clear.

Problems ignored seldom disappear.

They usually become more complicated.

That is why this moment calls neither for panic nor complacency.

It calls for wisdom.

It calls for patience.

Above all, it calls for leadership.

Sierra Leone and Guinea are not adversaries. We are neighbours bound together by history, commerce, culture, and family ties. Communities on both sides of the border have lived together for generations. Our shared history should encourage cooperation, not confrontation.

But friendship between neighbours is strongest when it rests on mutual respect.

Respect for sovereignty.

Respect for agreed borders.

Respect for international law.

Mr. President,

Your Government has repeatedly affirmed its commitment to peaceful coexistence, regional integration, and African solutions to African challenges. This is an opportunity to demonstrate those principles.

I respectfully urge your Government to ensure that the Sierra Leone–Guinea Joint Boundary Commission is fully engaged in addressing these concerns; to pursue a joint technical verification of the affected areas; to seek technical support from the African Union Border Programme and ECOWAS where appropriate; and to keep every discussion firmly anchored in international law and officially recognised boundary records.

These are not acts of confrontation.

They are acts of responsible statecraft.

They signal confidence in diplomacy instead of coercion, and in evidence instead of emotion.

At the same time, Sierra Leone should respectfully but firmly make it clear that questions affecting our territorial integrity cannot be allowed to drift indefinitely without resolution.

Peace is not preserved by avoiding difficult conversations.

Peace is preserved when neighbours confront those conversations honestly, respectfully, and within the framework of international law.

Mr. President,

Every President leaves a legacy.

Some are remembered for transforming economies.

Some for expanding education.

Some for building roads and hospitals.

But history also remembers how leaders responded when the sovereignty of their nation was tested.

Years from now, Sierra Leoneans may look back and ask what their country did when concerns arose over Yenga and Kaliereh.

My hope is that they will say your administration met the challenge with wisdom instead of indifference, with patience instead of provocation, and with principled diplomacy instead of political expediency.

Because borders are more than lines drawn on a map.

They mark the reach of our Constitution.

They define the limits of our sovereignty.

They safeguard the inheritance we hold in trust for future generations.

They deserve neither neglect nor unnecessary confrontation.

They deserve vigilance.

They deserve wisdom.

And they deserve the unwavering commitment of every Sierra Leonean.

Respectfully,

Ibrahim Gadfly Sanda Barrie

Author’s Note: This letter draws upon publicly available historical treaties, boundary records, and published studies concerning the Guinea–Sierra Leone frontier. References to recent developments are based on publicly reported information. Any technical questions concerning specific localities or boundary markers should ultimately be resolved through the appropriate bilateral boundary mechanisms and authoritative official records.