It was officially agreed by the leaders of the Economic Community of West African States ECOWAS during the recent emergency meeting in Abuja that ECOMOG peacekeepers will be deployed in Sierra Leone to tighten security nationwide for the benefit of all Sierra Leoneans. The approval of the ECOMOG deployment is welcome news in the aftermath of the ongoing insecurity that emanated from the dubious November 26, 2023, military coup in Freetown which has ushered in more questions than answers. (Photo: ECOMOG soldiers on the way).

The idea for ECOMOG troops to come to Sierra Leone was endorsed by the illegal President Bio himself during the visit of the high power delegation from ECOWAS and the African Union on November 27, 2023, a day after the fake military coup in Sierra Leone. Members of the delegation first suggested the beefing up of security in Sierra Leone after the so-called military coup which was first described as a security breach but later the illegal SLPP regime changed it into a coup. Now, the ECOWAS leaders have approved the deployment which is expected to be done in early January 2024.

The majority of Sierra Leoneans are delighted to hear that ECOMOG troops will be deployed in Sierra Leone because, at the moment, the exacerbation of the insecurity felt by ordinary citizens and the summary executions of innocent citizens by the Bio presidency has put serious fear in the minds of most people in Sierra Leone today. Reports have intimated that the State House is equally excited for the arrival of the ECOMOG troops. However political observers believe this imminent deployment would be a blessing for the people rather than for the illegitimate SLPP regime of Maada Bio.

It would be the first time for peacekeeping soldiers from ECOWAS military force ECOMOG to come to Sierra Leone for security reasons since the end of the eleven years of bloody civil war in 2002. All came about after a delegation from ECOWAS came to Sierra Leone a day after the Sunday, November 26 so-called coup in Freetown. Maada Bio accepted that ECOMOG soldiers are welcomed to Sierra Leone. The tension and the lack of security in the country worsened after the chaotic June 24 2023 elections which the Bio presidency stole. ECOMOG deployment in Sierra Leone is welcomed by peace-loving citizens.

More on this issue by Dreamer APC thus – Deployment of the stabilisation force in Sierra Leone is a preventive mechanism. Sierra Leone’s security needs to be fortified because deep-rooted division, and partisan, and tribal problems have eaten the fabric of our security architecture. The resolutions that came out from the 64th ECOWAS summit to deploy a stabilisation force in Sierra Leone are a step in the right direction. Therefore, citizens and local and international partners have lost trust in the Police, Military, and other sections of our security structure. In this vein, Maada Bio has used, misused and abused our security forces for personal gains at the expense of the wider majority in the country.

By the look of things, there is a strong belief that Maada Bio is trying to hinder and destroy the joint communique signed by the Government of Sierra Leone, APC, and the International Community, but planning to use the security component to get his way. Our country has suffered hugely during his stay in governance. The state is not ready to go through another brutal civil unrest which is why we are in line with the ECOWAS decision.  Opposition parties, the media, and civil society are powerless. These are organs that serve as oxygen to democracy. Today, they are non-functional based on using executive powers to silence dissenting voices. With the intervention of external security, it will generally strengthen, open, and create some leverage for the will of the people to take effect. The suffering mercies will support these gains to sanitize our mother country. Participatory democracy is the ultimate answer to the growth and furtherance of our nation.