By Ibraheem Daramy
A close friend who served in the government of Ernest Bai Koroma once categorised presidential appointees as an endangered species. His comment came in the wake of the manner in which Alimamy Petito Koroma was replaced during a cabinet reshuffle. As the Minister responsible for roads and infrastructure, he was returning from a monitoring mission in the provinces when someone informed him that he was one of the casualties of the reshuffle. I can only imagine the consternation on his face. He must have been thinking that he had armed himself with every bit of information he needed for his colleagues in Cabinet.
Another Cabinet Minister, Dr Richard Conteh, said he was all set to fly to Washington, DC, for a meeting on the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) when he was informed that he had been replaced as State House Chief of Staff.
Those conversations came back to me after the axe descended on Alhaji Timothy Musa Kabba, who was Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. I never gave it much thought until I saw his name among the casualties. He was good at his job—although the President may want to disagree with me.
The politician who once told me he preferred being in Parliament may not have been wrong after all. According to him, there is an assurance of tenure. Some people have argued that Timothy is not entirely out of government following his reassignment to the position of an adviser at State House. I can assure you that appointments of this nature are often meant to ensure that those who have been removed from powerful positions do not go completely off-grid. They must remain within range.
I am not sure what he has in mind, but advising the President on whatever it is would, to me, sound like underemployment. Given his competence, I would be rooting for him to decline the new role—though that has rarely been the case.
There is something unusual about our sacked officials these days. Instead of putting out statements expressing disappointment or simply acknowledging their departure, they commend the President for having given them the opportunity to serve in the first place. If we must be honest, I see little meaning in this other than that they have taken the art of sycophancy to another level.
It will soon dawn on them. Don’t ask why some people have suddenly stopped calling you. They were there because of the position you occupied. Just watch how they scramble for the contact details of your successors so they can pledge their allegiance all over again.
This is the reality of life.
If you broke ranks with old acquaintances when you became privileged, there is no shame in going back. Their love and loyalty, after all, is unconditional.
With regard to those names the President seemingly cannot place, yet who continue to find themselves in Cabinet, one cannot help but wonder: Is there something about you that we don’t know? Or should we subscribe to the conspiracy theory that you have something on His Excellency the President?
The Chief Executive is constitutionally at liberty to hire and fire. But sometimes I wonder how some of his ministers suddenly find themselves jobless.
These principal assistants came into office courtesy of the people who entrusted their sovereignty to someone who pledged, during his campaign, to raise their standard of living. And, unarguably, most of those promises were documented in the form of a manifesto.
Thankfully, our elections are periodic. Regrettably, however, our votes have not always reflected the assessment or frustrations of many of the people.
So, perhaps it is safe to suggest that the people themselves are their own worst enemies.
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