By Sheik Sesay
The leading aspirant for the flagbearer ticket of the main opposition All Peoples Congress (APC), Dr Ibrahim Bangura has recently told party members and supporters at the Fourah Bay Community Field that he was born and raised in the APC and will die as APC member.
Addressing a mammoth crowd, Dr Bangura disclosed that he did not join the APC, but was born into the APC. He recalled his father’s legacy in the APC and referred to him as a pillar of the Youth League, as he rose through the ranks of the party to become the National Organising Secretary.
Dr Bangura stated that his father is more than politics, stressing that he possess in the rent human qualities including compassion, empathy and sense of community.
According to the academic heavy weight-cum-politician, the APC office on Pademba Road became more than a stronghold as it became the backdrop where love exists, pointing out that his father met the woman who would become his wife there, and that love gave birth to Ibrahim Bangura. “Yes, literally and politically, I am a child of the All Peoples Congress,” Dr. Bangura reminisced.
Also, Dr Bangura disclosed that at the age of 15, he formed ‘The Rising Sun,’ a movement of young minds, comprising children of the APC committed to carrying the torch. He furthered that by the year 2000, he was at university, establishing and leading the APC Students’ Movement.
Dr Ibrahim Bangura further that he invited Ernest Bai Koroma to Fourah Bay College in 2002 to campaign, and he acceded to power in 2007. But unlike others, who lined up for rewards, he chose a different path. He left to further his studies, sharpening the tools he would later use in service of the APC and the nation.
In 2018, when the APC lost the elections, he did not run out of the kitchen, but offered himself for National Secretary General.
He further disclosed that when the NRM storm broke out, it was him that the party leadership contacted, and in his wisdom, he chose party peace over personal ambition; and with the wisdom of a mediator and the integrity of a patriot, he helped mend fences, much to the appreciation of many quarters. Since then, he went on, he has been a tireless contributor, serving on the Constitutional Review Committee, the Manifesto Committee, and strategic platforms ahead of both the 2018 and 2023 general elections.
According to party members and supporters, Dr Ibrahim Bangura’s ink of fingerprints is on the party’s very playbook.
Delving in his slogan: “Heal, Unite, Build”, Dr Ibrahim Bangura recommitted his commitment to competent and decisive leadership that will protect the votes of the APC and change the face of Sierra Leone, while being positive that the APC would form the next government after the 2028 general elections.
He however promised that even his rivals of today will find a seat at the table tomorrow should he emerge the APC flagbearer after the 2026 National Delegates Conference (NDC).
“If we’re serious about unity, we must lead respectfully; every APC member or supporter is my brother and sister. We must not tear down what we intend to build. True leadership is not about exclusion; it is about harnessing every strength,” the unblemished politician maintained.
Meanwhile, a good number of APC and non-APC supporters have described his message as one of healing and not of division.
Dr Ibrahim Bangura, an Associate Professor at Fourah Bay College (FBC) and a visiting Professor at Oxford University in the United Kingdom, has over 30 publications on peace, governance, and security to his credit. He is also a consultant for the African Union (AU), ECOWAS, and the European Union (EU).
