By Teddy Foday-Musa, Holland.
Our President His Excellency Ernest Bai Koroma has made few trips out of the country since the handing over of state power to him by Kabbah. Most Sierra Leoneans are jittery in the name of security as this is not common with other head of states who will want to consolidate their power base before travelling out of the country. Others are constantly digging after his trips in order to come up with a "certain criticism" that will befit their bad projections about the APC government and console their defeat.
However, it is my opinion as a political scientist that these trips are in the best interest of a good government FOREIGN POLICY RELATIONSHIP. I have no doubt that these trips will be use as a political foreign policy tool by the APC government, which in turn will be beneficial to all Sierra Leoneans.
Today, in the world of International Relations, governments hardly survive without creating FOREIGN ALLIANCES with other countries and International key players. And such alliances can be achieved by sending gestures to country of your choice through activities like state visits, one that our president: EBK has chosen. Even America the world super power nation is craving to befriend smaller nations who can serve their foreign policy purpose.
However, in extending such a foreign policy relationship, a government has to be mindful of how strategic and beneficial a certain country or government could be not only to his own government, but also to his people as a whole. Our president EBK has visited the following country. I bring you the importance of those countries to Sierra Leone.
Burkinafasso: The Bukinafasso head of state is the chairman of ECOWAS. Sierra Leone is a member state of ECOWAS. If our president could only maintain a very good relationship with the Chairman, it might play in our country’s favour in the near future who knows.
Liberia: Liberia is not only a neighbouring country with almost similar cultural background, but also a member state of the MANOR RIVER UNION to which Sierra Leone is a signatory. At the moment, the Manor river Union countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone should work as a team in order to consolidate the fragile PEACE in that sub-region. I am sure that EBK’s visit will help along this line.
Nigeria (pending): Nigerian is not only a big brother in West Africa, but did extremely well in popularising our civil war to the International Community. Some thing that saw the deployment of the largest UN Peace Keeping Force to Sierra Leone. That besides, can someone tell me how many Nigerian soldiers died in Sierra Leone during our civil war?.....Why do we have streets in Freetown and Kenema named after the late Nigerian General: Maxwell Khobe? We need Nigerians and EBK, during his visit should make this loud and clear to them.
Therefore, as far as I am concern, these trips are in the best interest of nation building, using the tools of a governmental FOREIGN POLICY.
E-mail: tfodaymusa@yahoo.ca
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