By: Bei Santigie T Kamara

In a time of national disillusionment, when political fatigue hangs heavy in the air and hope feels like a scarce commodity, the emergence of Dr. Ibrahim Bangura as a frontrunner in the race for the APC flagbearer position is not just news, it is narrative-shifting, a compelling answer to Sierra Leone’s longing for principled, people-centered leadership. It is the reintroduction of substance into a space too often clouded by spectacle. He is not a man suddenly thrust into the spotlight; he is a figure whose roots run deep, whose record speaks quietly but unmistakably of readiness, and whose moment may finally be here. He is not new to the scene, yet he carries the freshness of possibility. His is not a campaign, it’s a calling. A mission to rebuild, restore, and reunite.

To understand Dr. Ibrahim Bangura is to understand a life shaped by struggle, defined by service, and guided by an unshakable belief in the redemptive power of leadership rooted in empathy and integrity. He is a scholar, a strategist, a servant of peace. But more importantly, he is a son of Sierra Leone, shaped by its hardships, committed to its healing, and prepared to help lead its rebirth.

Dr. Ibrahim Bangura’s story is not one of inherited wealth or dynastic politics. It is one of raw perseverance. He has lived the realities most politicians only reference in campaign slogans, poverty, illness, grief. He has walked the same dusty streets as the everyday Sierra Leonean, shared the same hunger familiar to millions of Sierra Leoneans, and buried loved ones with trembling hands. But from these depths, instead of succumbing to bitterness, he transformed his pain into purpose, he rose, not hardened, but humbled. Not distant, but deeply in touch with the pain and hope of ordinary people.

From the rural town of Mambolo to the lecture halls of Europe, Dr. Ibrahim Bangura’s journey has been steeped in grit and guided by a deep-seated calling to serve. His voice carries not the rehearsed cadence of political opportunism, but the honest weariness of a man who has seen too much injustice to remain silent. And now, with Sierra Leone at a crossroads, he is offering not platitudes, but a path.

Dr. Ibrahim Bangura’s professional journey spans more than 20 years and over 30 countries across the African continent. He has served as a senior advisor to governments on peacebuilding and transitional justice, trained military and police officers in post-conflict settings, and worked directly with communities fractured by war and unrest.

He is not merely an observer of conflict, he is a mender of it. Whether advising on truth commissions, facilitating disarmament processes, or building frameworks for youth inclusion, his approach has always been the same: consult the people, protect the vulnerable, and insist on justice.

At the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in Ghana, he serves as a lead facilitator, shaping the minds of Africa’s next generation of peacebuilders. Through his consultancy with EU-funded missions, he continues to craft practical solutions to some of the continent’s most complex governance and security challenges.

And yet, for all this international acclaim, he remains tethered to Sierra Leone, not just in sentiment, but in action.

Dr. Ibrahim Bangura’s relationship with the All People’s Congress is not a recent affiliation born of convenience. It is a long-standing commitment built on conviction and courage. As a university student in 2002, at a time when association with the opposition was considered dangerous, he was among the few who boldly invited then-opposition leader Ernest Bai Koroma to speak on campus. That act of bravery foreshadowed a political career defined by principled defiance and quiet influence.

Over the years, Dr. Ibrahim Bangura has served the APC in critical capacities: helping draft constitutional reforms, leading the party’s Peace Committee, and coordinating national campaigns with uncommon discipline and strategy. During the 2023 elections, while others pontificated from podiums, he was on the ground, door to door, street by street, organizing, mobilizing, and listening. He did not campaign with a megaphone; he campaigned with his feet.

His loyalty to the APC is not transactional, it is foundational. It is built not on entitlement, but on effort. He has not waited for the party to come to him; he has built within it, contributed to it, and defended it even when it was inconvenient to do so.

Dr. Ibrahim Bangura’s academic credentials are as impressive as they are relevant. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and History, a Master’s in Gender Studies from the University of Sierra Leone, a second Master’s in International Development from the University of Amsterdam, and a PhD in Economics from Leipzig Graduate School of Management in Germany. He is not just well-educated, he is deeply informed.

His scholarly works on post-war reconstruction, systemic corruption, youth inclusion, and peacebuilding are widely cited. His upcoming edited volume on Disarmament, Demobilisation, and Reintegration in Africa, soon to be released by Routledge, will contribute significantly to global policy discourse. But beyond academic prestige, what sets him apart is his ability to bridge theory with reality, to translate complex problems into human-centered solutions.

He doesn’t speak of justice in the abstract, he’s built it. He doesn’t theorize youth empowerment, he’s implemented it. He doesn’t romanticize national unity, he’s brokered it where it was absent.

Dr. Ibrahim Bangura is not just a name in a list of aspirants. He is a signal, perhaps the clearest yet, that Sierra Leone can still choose a different path. That politics can still be about people, that leadership can still be about vision, and that parties can still be renewed from within.

In him, many young Sierra Leoneans see a reflection of themselves, not in power, but in potential. He is living proof that you can rise without selling out, that you can lead without looting, and that you can serve without self-glorification.

To question who is Dr. Ibrahim Bangura is not merely to inquire about a candidate. It is to examine the kind of country we want to become. One rooted in character. One powered by ideas. One committed to justice, equity, and inclusion.

He is not just a frontrunner. He is a front-liner, on the battlefield for Sierra Leone’s future.

And perhaps, at this moment in our nation’s journey, he is exactly what we’ve been waiting for.