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Continued from page 2 trounced Kamara in subsequent elections.

Bio’s record in office was marked by several much-needed social welfare projects. He became the first Sierra Leonean president to introduce free education for primary and secondary school students in public schools. He eliminated application fees for students in government-run public universities and canceled a China-funded $400 million loan agreement with previous Sierra Leone president Ernest Bai Koroma to build a new international airport in Sierra Leone.

In February 2019, Bio declared a state of emergency in Sierra Leone due to endemic sexual violence. He increased penalties for rape and other sexual violations.

However, under his regime, the country slipped into rising poverty.

Anti-government protests in August 2022 sparked by the country’s cost of living crisis were met with violence.

Chernoh Alpha Bah, a fierce critic of Bio and a contributor to the Africanist publication, was also dismissive of the election which, he said, was called before all the votes were counted.

“We must agree that there should be no short-cut to electoral democracy, and we need to underline that entrance legitimacy is essential to any accountable government in any part of the world,” he wrote in a recent issue of the Africanist.

Tinubu Vows To Address Insecurity In Nigeria And End Coups

(GIN) — Nigeria is making news again. At the recent summit of West African heads of state, Nigeria’s newly elected president, Bola Tinubu, was the surprise pick to lead