The Maada Bio Master Stroke “Yu Coco Don Roast O”

Julius Maada Bio

By Thomas Johnny

Since President Julius Maada Bio returned to politics, never have we seen him play the kind of strategic, disciplined, and masterful political game as he did during the recent SLPP executive election in Freetown. This was not the ordinary Maada Bio. This was a leader who, for once, chose statesmanship over sentiment, the unity of his party over personal alliances, and the republic over a familiar face.

This election was not just a contest of party executives. It was a proxy war, a tug of power between those who wanted to control the future of the Sierra Leone People’s Party and those who believed that the party should belong to its people, not to a kitchen cabinet led by an unelected First Lady. Yes, Fatima Bio, who has loudly and repeatedly claimed her Gambian identity, even while serving as First Lady of Sierra Leone, was at it again.

It was well-known in inner political circles that Madam Fatima was pulling the strings behind the scenes. From booking expensive hotels for diasporans flown in to tip the balance to commanding regional caucuses with whispers of influence, her hands were everywhere. She believed the party could be shaped in her image, and her ambitions were becoming too glaring to ignore. But the real twist in the story came not from her moves. It came from her husband’s response.

In a moment that will be remembered for years to come, President Maada Bio took the stage and did what many of us never expected. With the full weight of his office, he distanced himself from the manipulations. He made it crystal clear that he had not endorsed any candidate, that anyone saying otherwise was peddling falsehoods. It was the first time the President drew a line between his personal life and the party’s institutional democracy.

This was not just a political statement. It was a slap in the face of entitlement, a rebuke to those who believed that marriage to the President equaled ownership of the party. For years, the SLPP has been hijacked by personal interests, family friends, and foreign-born influence, many of whom don’t even recognize the soul of Sierra Leone. Fatima Bio, who was actually born in Kono but continues to identify more as Gambian than Sierra Leonean, has too often tried to redefine what patriotism and loyalty to this nation should look like. But the President’s public neutrality said no more.

It was the kind of leadership we have been starving for.

By stepping away from the scheming, President Bio protected not just the party, but his own presidency. Had he remained silent, had he allowed his wife to bulldoze over the party structure, the consequences would have been dire. The SLPP would have imploded. The rank and file would have revolted. The diaspora, already uneasy about being used as pawns in power struggles, would have pulled back. The 2028 roadmap would have begun with a fracture, not a foundation.

President Bio may not have always gotten it right, but this was his moment of redemption. This was a master stroke.

Leadership is not just about making decisions. It’s about knowing when to draw the sword and when to sheath it. Fatima Bio, with all her flamboyance and dramatic flair, had overstepped. She forgot that political power is earned through the ballot, not the bedroom. Her actions were becoming an insult to the intelligence of voters and the dignity of our institutions. For her to openly tell the world that she’s Gambian and then try to lead and control a Sierra Leonean political party is more than a contradiction. It’s a mockery.

How can someone who doesn’t claim full allegiance to Sierra Leone attempt to dictate who leads one of the oldest political parties in the country? How can someone who flaunts her foreign identity presume to shape our domestic agenda? This isn’t just arrogance. It’s dangerous.

But it took a strong man to stand against that tide. It took President Bio, in one moment of clarity and courage, to remind Sierra Leoneans that the presidency is not a family business. That the SLPP belongs to the grassroots, not the elite circle around the First Lady. That our democracy cannot and should not be shaped by unelected individuals riding on their spouse’s coattails.

Let this moment serve as a lesson to the First Lady and others who believe proximity to power gives them the right to own it. Let it be a turning point for the SLPP and the country. Let us rebuild our institutions not around personalities, but principles. Let the courage of one leader standing up to the tide of manipulation be the fire that burns away the rot of entitlement.

Yu coco roast o. And sometimes, that’s exactly what the country needs.