The name Brima Michael Turay became a household name in Serra Leone as soon as he assumed the position of Public Relations Officer (PRO) in 2013 in what was then known as the Ministry of Education Science and Technology (MEST) but now renamed the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education.

Prior to his assumption of duty in this office, this ministry did not have either a PRO or Information Officer to represent the face of the entity to the media world and the general public. This was a time when the Ministry was coming under attack from media houses because the then Minister of Education, Dr. Minkailu Bah, was not talking to any media person. He decided to shut the door on them throughout the first five (5) years of President Ernest Bai Koroma’s administration under the APC party.

Brima was the first to call the first press conference in that ministry in 2013 in which he helped Minister Bah to present to the Fourth Estate his achievements over the 5 year period and the challenges he was facing at the time. This provided  a platform for both the Ministry and the media to form an alliance that would exist to this day. Brima defended this Ministry like his life depended on it. He would endeavor to provide answers to the numerous questions that were being asked by media personnel and members of the public.  Some people were calling him all kinds of names and labelling him with anything APC. Brima worked diligently and avoided any form of distraction at the time because he understood that one cannot serve in the capacity of a PRO for any organization or company without seeking the interest of that establishment. It is important to mention that Brima was and still is a permanent pensionable civil servant in the Sierra Leone Civil Service; and Civil Servants can only speak politics if they’ve been assigned the responsibility to do so on behalf of the sitting government; and that was exactly what Brima was doing and he continues to do so even for this current SLPP government – something for which he now comes under attack from the opposition All Peoples Congress (APC) party. He has been tagged, by some APC members, as a card carrying member of the SLPP because they expected him to undermine the government’s flagship program, which is the Free Quality School Education, but he is not doing so because he has great passion for education and wants the government and the nation to succeed along those lines. Little wonder therefore that this selfless servant has authorized the Accountant General’s Department several months ago to deduct Le500,000 from his salary every month for the Free Quality Education basket fund.

Having failed to smear his character and invite scorn on his person, the APC now has a new plan against him. Brima has a bar not too far away from the APC party. He calls his bar THE Unifying Nature Bar, popularly known as THE UN BAR. The name was consciously selected to mean that his bar caters for everyone, regardless of your status in society or political leanings. There is another bar very close to the APC part office that is owned by a very aggressive young lady called Ballay, whose support for the APC party is more or less like a life and death thing for her. Most members of the APC party would sit there all day long to talk politics and other APC related matters. But from time to time, APC supporters who would voice out dissenting views about the APC and its leadership would be chastised by either Ballay or the other APC supporters; and in most cases, would be beaten up or threatened  not to visit the bar any longer. This became even more intensified after the APC lost the 2018 elections. Brima saw this as a violation of the right of individuals to speak out their minds and therefore decided to open the UN Bar just a few feet away from Ballay’s bar so that those who would be chased away from Ballay’s bar could find a place to sit and relax and have a bottle or two to sooth their hearts and minds. Some members of the National Reformation Movement (NRM), a pressure group within the APC that is demanding reforms within the APC internal politics would sometimes sit in Brima’s UN Bar because they always face harassment in Ballay’s bar which is frequented  by die hard APC supporters on a daily basis.

In order to discourage die hard APC supporters from visiting Brima’s bar, some APC members started propagating ugly propaganda that Brima opened his bar for the NRM. When this did not work, they changed their strategy and dubbed the bar as an SLPP bar because everyone, including SLPP supporters, is free to visit Brima’s  UN Bar. Still, the propaganda did not work; and so quite recently after the NRM caused an injunction to be slammed on the proposed APC convention in Port Loko, Brima became the target again. He was accused of financing the NRM to slap the injunction on the APC convention. This led to invectives being rained on Brima and threats to attack him and any NRM member that comes there. Some even threatened to burn the bar down. Above and beyond, he is also being accused of promoting the politics of former Vice President Alhaji Samuel Sam Sumana. It is the understanding of many Sierra Leoneans that Brima and Sam Sumana were best friends as far back as 2006 while Brima was in the United States of America; and that friendship goes beyond the politics of the land. As a matter of fact, Brima has suffered isolation and indignities from the APC top guns including former President Koroma for his friendship with Sam Sumana. Less competent people were appointed as Ministers in President Koroma’s government instead of Brima. But never once did he complain nor frown at anyone for this. He remains one of the most generous individuals this country has ever had. He would spend his  meagre resources on other people’s problems as if he is obligated to do so.

So, when I hear people trying to smear this fine Sierra Leonean because they can’t match his kindness, intelligence and generosity, I feel terribly bad and feel sorry for this country. I say so because the likes of Brima would be the kind of individuals that other countries would celebrate because he cuts across in his dealings with people. He would care less about ethnicity, regionalism, tribalism and colour. He has been privileged to serve in both political administrations and has done so with dignity and great integrity. He is the kind of Sierra Leoneans that this country needs. So, hate him or love him, he is an icon and one that is worth celebrating. May the good Lord cover him with blessings and guide him through in the name of every religion in the world – Amen!

Alpha Sidibay – USA