By Nelson Adebayo Johnson
In a strong display of diaspora momentum, leading flagbearer aspirant for the main opposition All People’s Congress (APC), Dr. Ibrahim Bangura, has engaged Sierra Leoneans in the United Kingdom with his message of national healing and unity.
The high-profile engagement, held in a decorated banquet hall in London, attracted APC stalwarts, youth leaders, women, and members of the Sierra Leonean community from across the UK. In photos obtained, Dr. Bangura, dressed in a crisp white shirt and dark trousers, is seen passionately addressing the gathering, microphone in hand, while two professional cameras captured the proceedings for live broadcast to supporters back home in Sierra Leone.
A Strategic Diaspora
Sources say the London meeting, organised by supporters on June 21, was not just a campaign rally, but a strategic town hall aimed at tapping into the intellectual and financial resources of the diaspora for national development in Sierra Leone.
This is part of a coordinated European tour. Just two weeks earlier, on June 6, his campaign team held a strategic planning meeting in Frankfurt, Germany, bringing together APC members and volunteers from France, Belgium, and the Netherlands to enhance outreach and voter education for Sierra Leone.
Political analysts say the UK diaspora is critical for any APC aspirant, as London remains a major hub for Sierra Leoneans abroad, and its support often has an influence on political developments back home in Freetown and across the provinces.
The Core Message: Heal First
In his address, Dr. Bangura returned to his now-familiar three-word doctrine that has become the centrepiece of his movement for Sierra Leone.
“That is why we carved our campaign into three words: HEAL, UNITE, and BUILD. We must heal first, then we unite, then we build this country. Everybody must be involved, the youths, the women, the vulnerable, the old ones. Nobody should be left out,” he said to thunderous applause.
He urged fellow aspirants to avoid divisive statements and instead focus on strengthening the party’s leadership and structures in Sierra Leone. “My responsibility is to support and strengthen the party’s existing structures, rather than to overshadow or replace them,” he stated.
Who is Dr. Ibrahim Bangura?
Unlike many politicians, Dr. Bangura is not presenting himself as a career politician, but as a technocrat and bridge-builder for Sierra Leone.
Academic: PhD in Economics from Leipzig Graduate School of Management, Germany; Associate Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies, Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone.
Global Expert: Senior Partner at Transition International in the Netherlands; 2024 Afox Fellow at Oxford University; former consultant for ECOWAS, African Union, and the UN on governance and peacebuilding.
APC Roots: A loyal party man since his student days in Sierra Leone, he helped revive the APC student wing at Fourah Bay College after the 1992 military coup that banned political parties.
Character: Party insiders in Sierra Leone describe him as free from internal rivalries and personal political baggage.
In a recent interview, he said: “I am not here to live a lavish lifestyle, but to build our democratic institutions and channel our resources in the right direction to lift Sierra Leone off the bottom of the Human Development Index.”
Reaction from London
Attendees said the meeting was overwhelmingly positive and deeply connected to issues back home.
The London engagement further cements Dr. Bangura’s image as a candidate with serious international backing and a structured campaign that embodies inclusion, teamwork, and service to Sierra Leone.
As the APC prepares for its flagbearer convention ahead of the 2028 general elections in Sierra Leone, Dr. Ibrahim Bangura’s Heal-Unite-Build movement is proving to be a force to watch.