Has Musa Tarawally Crossed The Line?

By: Lansana Fofanah

The former minister of Lands under the All Peoples Congress party, and now aspiring flag bearer of the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), Musa Tarawally has taken on the country’s First Lady Dr. Fatima Jabbi Bio and by extension the President of Sierra Leone.

In his recent viral social media post, Mr. Tarawally accused Dr. Fatima Bio of inciting a social media blogger called Samura to attack him on social media. He then described the First Lady as an ordinary person that does not deserve any opportunity to be protected as that seems to be the case.

He cautioned the President Dr. Julius Maada Bio to ‘control’ his wife, and if he fails to do so, the political space will be tough for her.

The First Lady in her social media response made it clear that, she only knew the said Samura through the very Musa Tarawally who has been harboring him for a long time.

Dr. Fatima called on Musa Tarawally to reflect on how he once made Samura a monster that he was using to attack decent people; noting that if Samura chooses to go after him now, he should be man-enough to take responsibility and stop the blame game.

While I hold no brief for the First lady, it is unfortunate for Musa Tarawally to take on the First Lady publicly no matter what might have transpired between them or any of her associates.

The Sierra Leone People’s Party is a party of rules and regulations. Therefore, he should have exhausted every avenue within the party to express his concerns if only he believes in the leadership of the party. But using social media to do what he did, shows he has no fate or trust in due processes or the system.

Even if those institutions had failed to address his concerns, his last option would have been to engage the President whom he has access to, rather than using social media to open up a fight with the First Lady and by extension the President. He is simply saying that, since the President has no control over his wife, he has the will to put her under control when the need arises.

If such a threat would have come from an opposition member, we would have seen security apparatus inviting the person for questioning. Therefore, the nation deserves to know how he plans to make the political atmosphere tough for the First Lady.

The SLPP is preparing to elect its flag bearer this year. With many people aspiring for the position, it is obvious that the task ahead of the new executive is daunting looking at the current situation.

Now that President Bio is in power and such challenges are being thrown at him by someone who wants to lead the SLPP, what would happen to him, his families and his legacies after leaving power?

President Bio deserves to be respected as father of the Nation, rather than facing public humiliation from those that should be seen protecting him.