The Emperor Has No Clothes, The Throne is Made of Sand

Julius Maada Bio being sworn-in recently as Chairman of ECOWAS

By Alpha Amadu Jalloh

Author Monopoly of Happiness, Unveiling Sierra Leone’s Social Imbalance, Recipient of the Africa Renaissance Leadership Award 2025.

It is often said that history repeats itself. First as tragedy, then as farce. The recent appointment of President Julius Maada Bio as Chairman of ECOWAS embodies both. Tragedy, because the people of Sierra Leone are now saddled with a leader who has failed miserably at home but is being celebrated abroad. Farce, because the ceremony that crowned him as ECOWAS Chairman was soaked in ego, fanfare, and wastage. It was a mockery to the very ideals of regional cooperation and a betrayal to the struggling masses of West Africa.

Let us not mince words. President Julius Maada Bio’s appointment is not a symbol of regional confidence. It is a cynical game of political rotation among ECOWAS elites. It is an exclusive boys’ club that thrives on champagne diplomacy while citizens across the region suffocate under failed governance, poverty, insecurity, and hunger.

The pomp and pageantry surrounding Bio’s appointment was both shameful and expensive. Our national treasury, already bleeding from reckless spending and chronic corruption, took yet another hit as Sierra Leone’s government went all out to celebrate a title that brings no tangible benefit to our country. The red carpets, private jets, extravagant suits, media campaigns, and senseless celebrations were all paid for with money that should have been used to address our collapsing health system, our dilapidated schools, and our unemployed youth.

How do you justify the celebration of a man who hasn’t delivered on his own national promises? How do you spend millions showcasing a leader who fled to Ghana for eye surgery while his own people were dying due to poor healthcare? It is an insult to every hungry child, every unpaid civil servant, and every suffering market woman in Sierra Leone.

Let us be brutally honest. President Bio was not the natural or ideal choice for ECOWAS Chairmanship. He ascended to that seat by mere rotation and regional accommodation, not by merit. His record in governance is underwhelming. His leadership style is erratic and his vision blurry. While others in the region wrestle with reforms, infrastructure, and innovation, Sierra Leone under Bio has regressed. Corruption is institutionalized. Nepotism is celebrated. Political opposition is criminalized. Yet this is the man now expected to champion the values of democracy and stability in West Africa. It is laughable if it weren’t so dangerous.

Upon assuming his new regional role, Bio boldly proclaimed that he would ensure that Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger return to constitutional order. Really? From what moral high ground does he speak?

These three countries have already turned their backs on ECOWAS and have formed the Alliance of Sahel States. They see ECOWAS as a tool of Western manipulation and elite domination. What leverage does Bio, a man who cannot even unify his own fractured ruling party or secure his own borders, have to bring these sovereign nations back into a fold they deliberately rejected?

Moreover, if Bio is so committed to sovereignty and constitutionalism, where was he when Guinea began inching into Sierra Leonean territory in Yenga? Why has he remained silent as our people in border towns cry out for help while Guinean troops enforce their illegal presence? Does his courage only extend beyond our borders and never within?

One of the most disturbing aspects of this appointment is that it gives President Bio another excuse to abandon his duties at home. He already has an addiction to unnecessary international travel. He chases awards, summits, and photo opportunities while leaving his country to burn. As ECOWAS Chair, that tendency will only worsen.

Expect more absences. More government shutdowns while the Commander-in-Chief is in yet another five-star hotel in Abuja, Accra, or New York. Expect more jet fuel bills while hospitals run out of medicine. More speeches abroad while disasters at home go ignored.

We have seen it before. When the Kissy fire disaster struck and families were mourning, Bio was busy shaking hands at a foreign conference. When our young people were gunned down on August 10th, he was more concerned about protecting his image than delivering justice. Now, with his new ECOWAS title, we will be lucky if he spends a week per month in Sierra Leone.

Let us look at the facts. What has President Bio done that qualifies him to lead West Africa?

Sierra Leone has one of the worst-performing economies in the region. Inflation is skyrocketing and the Leone is in freefall. His government has been accused of rigging elections, silencing opposition voices, and using security forces as political tools. Under his watch, social unrest has worsened. Youth unemployment is a ticking time bomb. Political violence is on the rise. He has remained largely passive in addressing regional conflicts and has no major diplomatic breakthrough to his name.

So again, what exactly does Bio bring to the ECOWAS table? A tired script of empty rhetoric and failed policies?

The bigger tragedy here is that ECOWAS itself has become a caricature of its founding ideals. Originally formed to promote economic integration, democracy, and regional security, ECOWAS has morphed into a club of self-serving leaders who meet annually to toast champagne while their citizens perish in silence.

The institution has failed to respond meaningfully to coups, crises, and human rights abuses in the region. Its military interventions are selective. Its sanctions are inconsistent. Its summits are bloated with protocol and devoid of results. And now, with someone like Bio at the helm, it is bound to sink deeper into irrelevance.

Ask yourself. When was the last time ECOWAS made your life better as a West African? When did ECOWAS intervene to stop a massacre? To lift a border blockade? To fight corruption? To hold a leader accountable?

ECOWAS is not for us. It is for them. The presidents. The ministers. The elites. Bio fits perfectly in that world of political pretence and moral decay.

Make no mistake. Sierra Leone will pay the price for Bio’s regional escapade.

We will pay with a distracted leader whose priorities are now split. We will pay with increased government expenditure on foreign travel and protocol. We will pay with the worsening of already-neglected local crises. In the end, we will gain nothing. No investment. No relief. No respect. Just the crumbs of a borrowed crown.

President Julius Maada Bio’s ECOWAS Chairmanship is not a victory for Sierra Leone. It is a cruel joke. A badge of hypocrisy awarded to a leader who has failed to deliver hope, prosperity, or justice to his own people.

Let us not be deceived by the title or the tuxedo. Bio remains the same leader who has presided over economic decline, human rights abuses, and rising poverty. His ascension to ECOWAS leadership is not a step forward. It is a symptom of a region where failure is rewarded, and mediocrity is celebrated.

West Africa deserves better. Sierra Leone deserves better. And we, the people, must say it loud and clear. The emperor has no clothes. The throne is made of sand.