By Our Correspondent
The former presidential candidate (known in Sierra Leone as flagbearer) of the opposition Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP), Julius Maada Bio, pictured, is said to be studying hard at an overseas university (probably an online degree factory) for a Doctor of Philosophy degree (PhD).
Online universities are very popular in Sierra Leone these days; there is one in the UK with a dubious pedigree that has been dishing out Masters and Doctorate degrees to Sierra Leoneans in the last couple of years although the country’s Ministry of Education has refused to recognize it or its degree certificates and diplomas.
It is however possible that Bio is studying in a recognized university because the political costs of graduating from an unrecognized degree factory will just be too messy for him. He currently holds a Masters degree in International Relations from American University in Washington DC, USA.
The claim that Bio is secretly studying for a PhD comes from a very credible source, Ambassador John Leigh, a well known anti-SLPP critic. Leigh, writing on Facebook, says Bio wanted to surprise Sierra Leoneans with a brand new PhD just before the 2018 elections since his Brigadier title has now been declared fake by a former head of the Sierra Leone army.
Bio also needs a PhD to counter his most serious rival in the SLPP, Dr. Kandeh Yumkella, who has a PhD in Agricultural Economics from an American university and works for the UN where he is a top official. Bio wants Yumkella to be his running mate in 2018, something Yumkella considers an insult from a former coup-maker.
Yumkella has recently however accepted Bio as running mate in 2018 due to the pleading of party leaders but Bio himself has been wavering, he wants to be presidential candidate again hence his attempt to leverage himself with a PhD. Most Sierra Leoneans, especially the less educated and illiterate, have enormous respect for and actually treat like a demi-god anybody with a PhD or Doctor of Medicine (MD) due largely to a colonial mentality created and fostered by over 300 years of colonialism.
The Patriotic Vanguard has not yet been able to reach Bio for his comments on the PhD issue and many top Bio supporters (known as Pao-pas) have refused to comment but one of them quietly said: It will not be a bad thing if he goes for a PhD, would it?
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