By Umaru S. Jah
London, 13 September 2026:
A packed hall decorated in gold and white, provided the setting for Friday’s official launch of DIB Iron Ladies UK and Ireland. Members and supporters filled the seats, while others stood as the programme continued. When Dr Ibrahim Bangura took the microphone, he was only a few steps away from many of those who had come to support his candidacy.
Dr Bangura used the occasion to explain his relationship with the APC and what service to the party means to him. He said he had worked for the APC in different ways, including work carried out away from public attention. In his view, such work should be judged by its results and not by the praise it brings.
He expressed that position in one of the main statements of the evening: “I believe that I owe the APC; the APC does not owe me.” He added that despite his years of involvement, the party did not owe him the flagbearer position. He was offering himself for consideration, not presenting the leadership as a reward to which he was entitled.
Dr Bangura traced his involvement in the APC to the period after the 1992 military coup. He recalled his father and other members working to keep the party alive when it was out of power and facing an uncertain future. They were not wealthy and did not have many resources, he said, but they remained committed because of their love for one another and their belief that the APC would recover.
He later became President of the APC students’ wing at Fourah Bay College, where he served for four years. He remembered that this was a period when identifying openly with the APC was not always fashionable. By recalling those years, he placed his present candidacy within a longer history of party work, opposition and recovery, while making it clear that this history did not give him an automatic claim to the leadership.
His remarks about the DIB movement were also important. Although the movement carries his initials and supports his election, Dr Bangura warned against reducing it to his personality. He told the gathering that the movement is bigger than him, and argued that a political movement centred on one individual could not be considered serious.
Those words place a responsibility on the people campaigning in his name. Their conduct will help others judge whether the movement reflects the principles its candidate speaks about. Supporting Dr Bangura does not require hostility towards APC members who prefer another aspirant, and disagreement over the leadership should not become a permanent division within the party.
Dr Bangura said the flagbearer race should not become bitter or be filled with acrimony. The aspirants will compete, their supporters will defend their choices and disagreements will occur. The real test will be whether those disagreements can be managed without leaving wounds that prevent the APC from coming together after the delegates have voted.
This part of his address connects with the questions I have been considering in this series. In Part Two, published on Friday, I examined the experience Dr Bangura brings to the APC and the relationship between his professional work and his attention to results. His London speech provided a closer look at how he views leadership inside the party.
He described himself as being at a stage in life where he could serve as a bridge between older APC members and the younger generation. Older members carry the memory of the party’s difficult years, while younger members have their own expectations about political participation and the future of Sierra Leone. Bringing the two generations together will require listening to both and giving them a place in the decisions the party makes.
Dr Bangura also referred to the experience he has gained beyond the APC and outside Sierra Leone. He believes that combining this with his knowledge of the party would help him serve both the APC and the country. Looking around the crowded hall, he remarked that there were enough capable Sierra Leoneans present to form several cabinets. His point was that the country has people with knowledge and ability; the task is to bring them together and make proper use of what they know.
Towards the end of his address, Dr Bangura spoke about how he would like to be remembered. He said he was conscious that life would one day end and that he wanted to remain in the hearts of Sierra Leoneans as someone who had made a difference. He also said that power comes from God, and accepted that he might or might not reach the position he is seeking.
The speech did not settle the question of who should become the APC flagbearer, as that decision remains with the delegates. It did, however, explain how Dr Bangura wants his candidacy to be understood: leadership as a responsibility rather than a reward, a movement that is larger than its candidate, and an internal contest that does not prevent the APC from working together afterwards.
Whether these principles will continue to guide Dr Bangura and his supporters as the contest becomes more competitive, is a question worth examining. I will address it in Part Three of my series, The Leader Who Can Bring the APC Together.