Today, we bring you yet another story from Bakarr King Conteh and his BAC Productions programme on Sierra Leone TV (SLBC). Please note that Bakarr’s work is mainly pro-government but we are interested in its news and entertainment value.
In the video clip that follows we see President Koroma and a high powered entourage on a visit to Antwerp, Belgium. The President and delegation are ina town hall meeting with some members of the Sierra Leone community in Belgium and others from neighbouring European countries.
I had never met Information minister Alpha Kanu while I was working as a journalist in Sierra Leone. He came into prominence with the return to power of the APC in 2007 although he started making an impact before the 2002 elections. I left Sierra Leone in 1997 so I don’t really know him personally.
I have been told he is a formidable orator and one of the closest colleagues and advisers of the President. He and the President grew up together in Makeni, northern Sierra Leone, although the President is slightly older than him. I knew Alpha Kanu’s older brother the late Dr. Sheka Kanu, former APC Finance minister. Sheka Kanu was the quintessential technocrat and political philosopher while Alpha Kanu is an astute and resilient political strategist and communicator.
Analysis of Alpha Kanu’s performance on video
1.The first thing viewers will notice is that Alpha is well dressed in a designer suit. This is very important in politics and life in general. A shabbily dressed speaker immediately attracts negative thoughts from many people in the audience if not the majority.
2. The whole delivery is loaded with jokes and apt references. This is appropriate for an informal and relaxed audience such as this one. A good communicator knows what to say and how to say it by a careful study of the audience. Alpha will of course not use this style in very formal events.
3. Note the way he uses his voice. At one point he spoke in a low voice to gain the attention of the audience and quickly raises his voice as soon he got their full attention.
4. He came well prepared with notes. Alpha is a professional engineer in another life so he is used to planning everything he does. A speech without a plan will lead to rambling and will quickly turn off an audience. A good orator always has a plan on what to say even if it is in their head only.
5. You will notice Alpha made a mistake in introducing Usu Boie first before Samura (who he did not see). He quickly apologized and made a joke out of it to defuse the tension. That is the mark of a good politician and orator, the ability to correct a mistake in seconds and moving on. Anybody that fails to defuse tension on the spur of the moment, while thinking on his feet, will not be a good politician.
6. His body language is perfect, relaxed and easy-going, putting the audience at ease. No tension. It’s like having a conversation with a friend. You will notice he even interacts with the audience by asking quick questions to which the audience responds. Of course he spoke in Krio, the country’s lingua franca. You cannot address a meeting consisting of Sierra Leoneans and speak in English or any of the local languages apart from Krio. Speaking any other language apart from Krio wil be a huge political blunder because not everybody may fully understand what you are saying. English is usually reserved for formal events involving educated people and foreigners; not for an informal one like this one. Also speaking in Krio has an aura of nationhood, compatriots interacting with each other, as people belonging to a country called Sierra Leone.
7. He is knowledgeable. Even though a scientist by training he is comfortable with other fields like history, geography, international relations and so on. I am told he is fluent in French, one of the few ministers in the current government that has that skill even though Sierra Leone is in a region dominated by francophone countries.
8. He is able to make people laugh, not an easy task. Some jokes might not work but you will notice all of Alpha’s jokes hit the nail and worked perfectly. He is indeed one of Sierra Leone’s best orators.
Here is Alpha Kanu in Belgium, courtesy of Bacs Productions:
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