by Fatima Babih, EdD
When I was in elementary school in Koidu, I attended the UMC Girls’ Primary School in Tankoro Chiefdom. We lived in Gbense Chiefdom at Hill Station. In those days, we had to cross a river I remember as Gbesa from its shallow points to get to and from school every day. I fondly remember many of the fun parts of those days; however, the hard part was the scorching afternoon trips back. Oh, how I wish we had the luxury of school buses then.
Apparently, in modern-day Koidu, children who attend schools far from home have been enjoying the luxury of school buses. These school buses of Koidu once symbolized hope, children’s laughter echoing through their corridors, crisp uniforms marking fresh beginnings each morning.
Today, those same buses are parked, their silence as deafening as the broken promises of Fatima Bio that led them there.
The children, resilient as ever, continue their journey to school, now on foot. Dusty roads have replaced comfortable seats, and blistered feet have replaced the security of safe transport. Their education dreams persist, but the path has become physically harder. Their determination in the face of adversity is truly inspiring.
This crisis, a result of Fatima Bio’s reckless interference and subsequent abandonment, is a stark injustice that demands immediate attention and resolution.
A “Champion” Who Vanished
Fatima Bio positioned herself as Sierra Leone’s champion of justice when she issued her explosive ultimatum to Koidu Holdings a few weeks ago,
‘Pay me $50 million within seven days or face legal action.’
The cameras rolled, and the headlines blazed. She stood as a fierce advocate for dismissed workers, promising accountability and action.
But such an ultimatum without follow-through is merely a senseless drama.
As prominent lawyer Ady Macauley observed recently on national television,
I have not seen or heard what the First Lady has done for the sacked Koidu workers.
Neither have the people of Koidu seen or heard what Fatima Bio has done for the displaced Koidu workers. Her reckless interference, which involved repeated threats to Koidu Holdings, destabilized the community’s economic foundation, yet no court filings followed her threats. No compensation materialized for displaced workers, and no sustained advocacy emerged from her.
Only silence, and the ongoing suffering of those whose cause she claimed to champion.
A Tale of Two Eid al-Adha
The stark reality of Fatima Bio’s abandonment became unmistakable during Eid al-Adha when Fatima Bio offered the nation a window into her world of luxury through social media posts from the State Lodge.
Fatima Bio’s Eid: Overflowing plates of delicacies, designer clothing, and gleaming gold jewelry. A lavish feast surrounded by her family many of them were flown in from the Gambia by private jet, including her mother, Tidankay Jabbie Daboe, and many of her elite friends. Joy, abundance, and celebration are captured in carefully curated photographs and videos.
Koidu People’s Eid: The dismissed workers of Koidu and their families, the people whose cause Fatima Bio once claimed to champion, were not among the guests at the State Lodge. They celebrated Eid in hardship.
- No fine jewelry and clothes for their wives and children.
- No abundant feasts for their families and community.
- No bags of rice or tokens of support from the woman who disrupted their livelihood.
While Fatima Bio displayed state-sponsored luxury, the people of Koidu endured state-induced poverty, a direct result of her actions. While she celebrated with abundance, the people of Koidu struggled and suffered with the consequences of her actions.
Hierarchy of Silence
Fatima Bio’s abandonment and silence reflect a disturbing pattern of governance where accountability flows upward, but responsibility disappears:
- Local leaders remain silent, intimidated by government ministers
- Government ministers stay silent, wary of the president’s displeasure
- The president maintains silence, deferring to his wife’s authority
- Fatima Bio speaks only when it serves her interests, and she is answerable to no one
This hierarchy has created a vacuum where the most vulnerable, the displaced Koidu workers, their families, and the people of Kono, have no voice and no advocate.
A Community in Crisis
The school transportation crisis represents just one facet of Koidu town’s broader struggle. Local authorities had no contingency plan when Koidu Holdings left town with its community support following Fatima Bio’s reckless interference. The daily financial contributions from students vanished without accountability. Bus drivers and conductors remain unpaid.
The mayor of Koidu, a devoted supporter of Fatima Bio, offers no solutions.
Meanwhile, government ministers who signed the mining agreements with Koidu Holdings remain absent from the messy scene their First Lady created. The president who approved those contracts maintains a strange silence. The community that once benefited from Koidu Holdings’ corporate social responsibility now bears the cost of political grandstanding.
True Cost of Fake Activism
Fatima Bio’s actions reveal the dangerous consequences of treating real suffering as a stage for fame and political theater. The workers of Koidu became props in her activism performance, discarded once the cameras stopped rolling and the headlines faded.
- This is not leadership, it is abandonment dressed in fancy clothes and gold jewelry.
- This is not justice, it is betrayal served on golden plates.
- This is not advocacy, it is exploitation of the vulnerable followed by indifference.
A Question To Answer
As Koidu’s children continue their long walks to school, while dismissed workers struggle to feed their families, and the community grapples with the aftermath of political interference, one question echoes through the dusty streets of Koidu,
Where is Fatima Bio now?
We know where she is, in luxury, comfort, and celebration. The real questions then become,
- Where is her conscience?
- Where is her accountability?
- Where is the justice she promised the people?
The people of Koidu are still waiting for an answer. However, given Fatima Bio’s pattern of reckless behavior, they may be waiting forever.
The buses remain parked. The promises remain broken, and, Fatima Bio remains silent.
MAMA SALONE ~ Lioness of the West Coast 