In May 1789, Louis XVI summoned to Versailles a full meeting of the “Estates General”. The First Estate consisted of three hundred Nobles. The Second Estate, three hundred Clergy. The [Read more]
Sierra Leone’s 2028 general election might sound like light years away, just like how a day or week in politics could be a long time. The cyclical life span of [Read more]
The 55% threshold in Sierra Leone’s 1991 Constitution was no arithmetic accident. It was a deliberate act of political design—an attempt by the framers to confront, rather than merely ignore, [Read more]
I stopped publishing articles in my widely read Critique Column for some time due to the enormous responsibilities I carry at the moment as the head of an institution that [Read more]
It is early days into the Holy Ramadan Month, during which Muslims all around the world are required to fast from dawn to dusk, throughout the month. As one of [Read more]
When Donald Trump referred to African countries, Haiti and El Salvador as shithole nations during a meeting on the 12 January 2018, the whole of Africa’s 1.55 billion people was [Read more]
On January 23rd and 24th, 2024, YAD added another chapter to its ongoing youth and women’s empowerment initiatives by hosting its annual TVET graduation in a spectacular fashion. Each year, [Read more]
n Sierra Leone’s debate over the 2025 Constitutional Amendment Bill, the most troubling feature is not the substance of the proposals themselves but the silence that has settled around them. [Read more]
A familiar strain of Western political theory has long portrayed African states as inherently incapable of self-government—an outlook that endured both the rhetoric of colonial “civilizing missions” and the administrative [Read more]
There is a peculiar habit in young democracies. They rewrite their constitutions not when liberty is openly threatened, but when authority feels insufficiently secure. The Constitution of Sierra Leone (Amendment) [Read more]
Sierra Leone’s 1991 Constitution was drafted to dismantle the 1978 one-party state and restore multiparty constitutional rule. That transition was necessary and widely welcomed. Yet, from its very inception, it [Read more]
This week, Mr. Sheku Badara Bashiru Dumbuya, affectionately known to thousands of former pupils simply as SBB, turned 80 years old. Eighty is a milestone that invites reflection—not only [Read more]
When Minister Julius Daniel Mattia wrote his op-ed on Guinea’s Simandou 2040, he was not just offering congratulations across a friendly border. His words carried the rhythm of an older [Read more]
Two important questions women (and men allies), especially those in politics, should and must ask in preparation for Sierra Leone’s 2028 elections are these: 1) If there are no SLPP, [Read more]
On 12 November 2025, I read with interest an op-ed reflection shared on WhatsApp by Sierra Leone’s Honourable Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources, Julius Daniel Mattai, titled “Mining a [Read more]
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