As Stevens bows down... A.P.C. future threatened
By a correspondent
The meeting was reportedly held in New York, where the former military leader, Brigadier Andrew Juxon-Smith is presently living.
The party it is intimated boasts in its ranks a good number of educated but discontented countrymen resident in the United States of America, who have become disenchanted and bitter over the way affairs are being managed back home.
In a reported broad policy pro- gramme, the party is calling for the rebirth of democracy in the motherland, and an end to the rampant corruption and administrative incompetence, political unilateralism, suppression of human rights and gross mismanagement of the national economy.
There is a general belief among these wandering breeds of Sierra Leoneans abroad, many of whom are highly qualified, that in view of the present state of the country's economy and considerably intolerant political climate, there is very little in the way of a promising future which could be visualised. This belief, right or wrong, has led to the policies of the ruling APC and manifestations of this are cited in alleged demonstrations against visiting political stalwarts and even the president himself.
In his first political move since his NRC government was overthrown in 1968, Brigadier Juxon-Smith told the press that he was still optimistic that the economy of Sierra Leone could be revived to create sufficient employ- ment and a better living standard for the people in the Sierra Leone; "we are aiming for a change of direction in the country", the ex-military ruler pointed out to the press.
What is interesting, however, is the fact that even thousands of miles away, the party is said to be talking of con- testing a general election in Sierra Leone, if and when that time comes.
The political party surfaced almost at a time of the race for a new successor to the president, as Dr Stevens will be retiring this year. Now Army Chief General Momoh, who at one time was a junior officer to Brigadier Juxon-Smith has been named by President Stevens as his successor.
The question that is exercising the minds of most Sierra Leoneans now is will the All Peoples Congress party which has been ruling the country for the past 18 years survive after Stevens' departure in October, when the presidential election is supposed to take place.
Political observers have taken this with a grain of salt. The contention is that how does the National Alliance Party constitutionally intend to contest any election, general or otherwise, on the Sierra Leonean soil, when the constitution of the country since the APC 100 per cent majority one part legislation in 1978 made all other political parties in the country illegal and the APC the sole political party of the republic.
This is not the first time that an opposition has surfaced from abroad to President Siaka Stevens APC. In 1978, barely months after the declaration of the one party state, a movement was launched in the United Kingdom headed by ex-Lt-Col Amrbose Ganda, former Sierra Leone High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.
The movement has since been agitating for what it called the return democracy in Sierra Leone, and in this, it has engaged in a highly informative hard core magazine, the Sierra Leone Report, which specializes in publishing succinct if not embarrassing accounts of exploits by government officials in Sierra Leone.
