The Spectacle of Maada Bio’s Name: On the Hypocrisy of the Sierra Leone People’s Party and the Poverty of Recognition

By Dr John Idriss Lahai, Date: 28 March 2026

The political life of Sierra Leone is currently caught in a deep crisis of truth. We see the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) government celebrating because Donald Trump spoke the name of President Julius Maada Bio at a global gathering. As far as I am concerned, this joy is not a sign of success. It is a sign of a deep lack of integrity. It reveals a state of being where a person has no fixed moral center. We must look at this change of heart with a critical eye. We must remind the SLPP government of its past words. Not long ago, they showed a visceral dislike for the man they now used to feel important. This change is an example of what we call bad faith. It is the act of lying to oneself to gain a fleeting advantage. (Photo: Fatima Bio insulted Trump in 2020).

In the study of wisdom, we know that many seek the gaze of the powerful to feel they exist. This is a form of alienation. When this SLPP government values the name-recognition of its leader by a foreign leader more than its own honesty, it has lost its way. The SLPP government acts as if the words of Donald Trump are a great gift to our nation, Sierra Leone. Yet, a few years ago, the story was completely different. This shift is not about President Julius Maada Bio growing as a leader. It is about being a hypocrite. They (the SLPP collective – Government and supporters alike) have moved from a state of total condemnation to a state of total celebration without any change in the character of the man they once hated.

The Religious Devotion to Biden and the Hate of Trump – We must remember the history of these emotions to understand the current moral vacuum. The leaders of the SLPP party were once very loud in their support for President Joe Biden. They did not just support him as a political choice. They spoke of him in religious terms, as if he were a divine savior. At the same time, they used their voices to take away the dignity of President Donald Trump. Yes! The leadership of the SLPP publicly insulted President Donald Trump.

Mrs. Fatima Jabbe Maada Bio, the First Lady, has been very clear about where her heart is. Is this not the same President Trump she once called a joker? During the American debates (see the attached screenshot of her statement), she spoke against him with great heat. She called the event “chaos in Wonderland” (the exact words of Mrs Fatima Bio). She claimed that Trump never once talked to the people but only to his opponent. This was not a simple critique. It was an attempt to cast him as a man without a soul. (Photo: Trump and Maada).

When the American election ended, her words became even sharper. On 7 November 2020, she suggested that only the power of God could bring Joe Biden to lead. She wrote that “only God can do this” (the exact words of Mrs Fatima Bio). She prayed that Biden would live long to see his “enemies” celebrate him. In her mind, Trump was the enemy. On 8 November 2020, she shared a post with the words “Faith over Jokers” (the exact words of Mrs Fatima Bio). This was her way of saying that Biden was a man of faith and Trump was a mere joker. This use of the divine to attack a political leader shows a dangerous lack of humility.

The sudden shift of the minister – The Minister of Information, Chernor Bah, also shows this lack of a steady soul. Before he was a minister, he spoke of Trump supporters (including my humble self) as people rejected by the divine – God Almighty. He even told the supporters of Trump that God was not accepting their prayers. He claimed that “God has chosen Biden and Kamala” (the exact words of Chernor Bah). He wrote that “Those who were praying for Trump now need prayers. Duya oh. God don reject una” (the exact words of Mr Chernor Bah). This is a heavy statement. To say that God has rejected a group of people is to claim knowledge that no human has.

In earlier years, his view was just as dark. When looking at the plans of the American leader, he used three heavy words to describe the situation. He called it “Shameless. Sad. Terrifying” (the exact words of Mr Chernor Bah). He questioned how such a man could even stand on a stage in a great nation. He asked if anyone watching could conclude that Trump was “presidential” (the exact words of Mr Chernor Bah). Now, the same man sits in a high office and praises the same President Trump for mentioning his leader. This is a betrayal of his own words. It shows that his view of the truth changes based on who can give him a job or a photo.

The Moral Empty Space and the Spectacle – How can a government that once called a man a joker and a shameless person now be happy when that same man says their leader’s name? This is a deep hypocrisy. It shows that the party has no true values. Their love or hate depends on what helps them stay in power. This is a betrayal of the truth. When the Minister of Information praises the man he once said was rejected by God, he shows the world that his words have no weight. They were once pro-Biden because they thought it would bring them favor with the world. Now they are pro-Trump because they want his name recognition to hide their own failures. They have no soul of their own. They are like shadows that change shape based on the light in the room. (Photo: Fatima Jabbe Bio insulted Trump in 2020, but today she has swallowed her words).

The Pain of the People of Sierra Leone versus the Pride of the SLPP Government – While the SLPP government is busy with this show, the people of Sierra Leone are in pain. There is a wide gap between high-level meetings and the bread-and-butter issues of the family. The nation is suffering. Many people cannot find enough food to eat. Many live in deep poverty. The cost of life is going up every day. The weight of debt is heavy on the backs of our children. Yet, the government acts as if a word from a foreign leader is bread for the hungry.

We must ask a series of serious questions. Does the name recognition of the inept President of Sierra Leone, Maada Bio, by Donald Trump lower the cost of a bag of rice for a mother in Freetown? The answer is no. This recognition is a ghost that does not fill a stomach. The SLPP government loves the shadow while the economy is rotting. Does the mention of a name by a powerful leader like President Donald Trump reduce the debt that our Sierra Leonean children will have to pay? The answer is no. Our debt is still high, and our future is at risk. The government is looking at the lights of distant cities while our own homes are dark.

Why does the government value the words of a man they once called “shameless” more than the cries of its own people? This reveals their lack of skill. They failed to build a nation that is strong and respected on its own. Instead, they beg for the gaze of others or the name-recognition of their trash and “lelemu” existence to hide their failures at home, the land, Sierra Leone, that they have looted beyond recognition. How can the people of Sierra Leone trust a government whose leaders change their views of the will of God based on who is in power? They cannot. This hypocrisy shows they view the people of Sierra Leone as objects to be fooled rather than citizens to be served. (Photo: Mob Justice Fatima Bio in the White House).

The SLPP government is morally empty – better still, morally bankrupt and corrupt. They have no shame in praising the man (President Donald Trump) they once insulted publicly. They have nothing to show for their time (in governance between 2018 and 2028) except for photos in distant lands. A true leader does not need the praise of a man they once called “joker” or an “enemy” to be great. Greatness comes from feeding the hungry, protecting the weak, and being honest with the people – the people of Sierra Leone. The SLPP government has failed in all these tasks.

They are celebrating a hollow showmanship – that exposes their inferiority complex – while the nation suffers. It is time for us to see through the show and demand a government that values truth more than the fleeting gaze of the powerful man they once thought was unfit to be the President of the United States of America. May God continue to bless President Donald Trump and the Republican Party. Amen. May God continue to curse President Maada Bio and the Sierra Leone People’s Party. Amen.

Kind regards,

Dr John Idriss Lahai