By Dr. Fatima Babih
A few days ago, the North American Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) Women’s Wing branch, also known as the Women’s Council, held a conference in Dallas, Texas, USA.
As those familiar with my book would know from Chapter 13, Mrs. Fatima Maada Bio hijacked this group in 2021 and merged it with her Julius Maada Bio (JMB) Women’s Wing when she rigged the election and installed her maid as the group’s National Chairlady. She has maintained control of the group ever since.
The national chairlady of the SLPP NWC, or her deputy, should have rightfully been the chairperson, master of ceremony, or keynote speaker of the NA branch’s conference in Dallas. But she was not. Instead, Mrs. Bio hijacked the event and dominated the stage to speak for and in place of the group’s chairlady. As usual, the attention-seeking mic-grabbing Mrs. Bio demonstrated to the people of Sierra Leone that she is not a woman who practices what she preaches but rather one who will steal words from others and say them to get attention, even at the cost of telling lies and exposing herself.
During her speech, Mrs. Bio admonished the women to stop seeking attention and visibility, saying,
“Leadership is not about the person who wears the best costume, and every time you want to be at the front with a mic…that is show off.”
Huh?? Did Mrs. Bio realize she had just described herself in that statement? Did her brain fail to communicate with her mouth when she said those words?
That statement was deeply hypocritical but self-exposing. Those words spoken by a woman infamous for her relentless hijacking of women’s spaces and resources, with the penchant for showing off, stealing shows, and grabbing the mic, those words were at the highest point of hypocrisy. Her ‘advice’ to the women was a thinly veiled silencing of women in the SLPP who might dare to challenge her illegitimate domination and authority.
As the wife of the most powerful man in the SLPP and the country, Mrs. Bio is gravely afflicted with First Lady Syndrome, which makes her believe she is entitled to the same authority as her husband. She has consistently used her position to monopolize women’s spaces in the SLPP, the country, and internationally. She uses covert and overt bullying tactics to keep other women in her husband’s party, the SLPP, in check and away from visibility and control—especially those who do not align with her JMB Women’s Wing camp.
The SLPP women who align with her mainly seek to protect their positions within her husbands’ government or otherwise enjoy the profits of their alignment, including unchecked corruption. Those women have no choice but to remain subservient to Mrs. Bio.
In the same speech, Mrs. Bio announced that her imposed charlady, Hawa Foray, would run for office again in the next election and vowed to “campaign” for her. Her devotees in the audience applauded because they knew that “campaign” stands as Mrs. Bio’s code word for rigging the election as she did in 2021.
With these statements, Mrs. Bio assured the audience that she would continue wielding illegitimate power over the SLPP Women’s Council. Mrs. Bio also sent a strong message to potential dissenters within the SLPP NA branch women’s wing by shamelessly and callously stating,
“…if you keep Aminata or you decide to bring a new person, I will still remain the First Lady of the Republic of Sierra Leone until 2028. And with the leadership you have…it is how your leadership is…that is how you get access to Maada Bio because I am the GATEKEEPER…” (Mrs. Fatima Maada Bio, 7/6/24).
In other words, in a typical First Lady Syndrome exhibition, Mrs. Bio told the audience that she had the same powers as her husband. So, whether they like it or not, she will continue to dominate and monopolize the group, other spaces, and resources as long as her husband continues holding on to power until 2028.
MAMA SALONE ~ Lioness of the West Coast 