research

🔬 Research · Presidential Leadership. 2025-2026 The Bio Governance Scorecard When Julius Maada Bio was elected President of Sierra Leone in April 2018 with 51.8% of the vote, he inherited a country still defined internationally by its 11-year civil war, the 2014 Ebola crisis, and decades of governance fragility. Eight years later, the country holds the ECOWAS chairmanship, a near-unanimous UN Security Council seat, a GPE Champion designation, and a string of continental and global governance awards. This research piece maps that transformation systematically — building the empirical case for what principled, sustained, people-centred leadership can accomplish. The Education Transformation In his first month in office, Bio became the first Sierra Leonean president to introduce free education through executive order for primary and secondary school students in public schools throughout Sierra Leone.That executive order became the Free Quality School Education Programme  and its results, confirmed by the Global Partnership for Education’s March 2026 Champion announcement, are among the most significant human capital outcomes on the continent in a decade: nearly 50% enrolment increase, one million new learners, 800,000 pupils fed in school daily, and education spending sustained above 20% of the national budget through a pandemic and a debt crisis. The Governance and Transparency Record The Anti-Corruption Commission’s 2024 Annual Report, presented for the seventh consecutive year as mandated by the Anti-Corruption Act of 2002, highlighted notable progress in investigations, prosecutions, strategic partnerships, and institutional reforms throughout 2024.  President Bio received it with a direct message to the ACC: “You have made corruption in Sierra Leone not only unfashionable but also risky and dangerous.”  In February 2025, Sierra Leone received the 2023 Right to Access Information Annual Report — with the Commission Chair commending President Bio for “creating an enabling environment for free speech and access to information.”  The Gender Leadership Awards President Bio was honoured with two prestigious continental awards — the African HeForShe Champion of the Year Award 2024 and the Presidential African Intelligence Award 2024  in recognition of his transformative leadership and commitment to advancing gender equality, girl-child education, and human capital development. The awards were presented by former Malawi President Dr. Joyce Banda. In his acceptance remarks, President Bio affirmed that “these awards are not just personal achievements but a testament to the collective efforts of my government and the people of Sierra Leone in fostering education, gender equality, and women’s empowerment.” The Youth Investment In July 2025, President Bio received the first-ever comprehensive Status of Youth Report in Sierra Leone’s history — described by the Ministry of Youth Affairs as “a landmark achievement made possible under your leadership, and a model that others in the region can emulate.” The data-driven report outlines the realities facing Sierra Leone’s youth and sets strategic recommendations for a National Youth Wealth Creation Programme — built on the foundation of the 500,000 jobs targeted under the Medium-Term National Development Plan 2024–2030. The International Credibility Arc Bio ran on a five-pillar platform focused on transforming the country’s economy, human development, improving governance, infrastructure, and overhauling financing of the public sector.  The newly appointed CEO of the African Peer Review Mechanism, Ambassador Marie Antoinette Rose Quatre, commended President Bio for his “visionary leadership and steadfast commitment to governance”  during a visit to State House in May 2025. In September 2025, President Bio highlighted significant progress achieved under his leadership across multiple sectors education, health, infrastructure, good governance, and the empowerment and protection of women and girls  during an engagement with the Sierra Leonean diaspora in Washington D.C. The conclusion of this research is direct: President Bio’s governance record is not a collection of isolated achievements. It is a coherent, compounding strategy  each reform reinforcing the next, each international recognition opening a door to the next. It is, in short, exactly the model the Julius Maada Bio Leadership Colloquium exists to study, document, and share with the rest of Africa.

Research · Gender. 2025 30 Percent Is Not Enough But It’s the Foundation Sierra Leone’s Gender Equality and Women Empowerment Act mandated 30% female representation in all appointed and elected positions. This research paper — produced two years after passage — examines what has changed, what has resisted change, and what the broader African policy community can learn from the politics of making it happen. What Changed The most visible impact has been in Cabinet and senior public service appointments, where compliance with the 30% threshold has been largely achieved. In parliamentary representation, progress has been slower — structural barriers in constituency politics, financing, and party selection processes continue to limit women’s ability to contest and win seats. What Has Resisted Cultural and community-level attitudes have proven slower to shift than legislation. In rural and traditional governance structures, women’s leadership continues to face informal resistance that the Act cannot directly address. The paper argues that complementary programmes — free STEM tuition, legal aid, and community-based civic education — are the necessary complement to the legislative mandate. ❝ “Ensuring women have 30% of all appointive and elective positions is a crucial complement to empowering women to contribute more effectively to development.” — Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, JMBLC 2025  

🔬 Analysis · Governance ·  Thought Leadership 2025 Why African Democracy Is Under Siege — and What People-Centred Leadership Can Do About I Since 2020, six governments in West and Central Africa have been overthrown by military force. A 2023 UNDP Perception Survey of 8,000 African citizens found that even in coup-affected countries, only 11% of citizens preferred non-democratic governance. The conclusion is clear: people don’t reject democracy — they reject democracy that fails them. The Root Cause This essay argues that democratic backsliding in Africa is primarily a service delivery failure. When elections consistently produce governments that ignore the poor, protect elites, and fail to provide basic services, citizens lose faith in democracy as practised  not as a concept. The solution is not stronger armies or better electoral systems. It is governance that visibly, tangibly improves the lives of the majority. The Prescription: Visible Impact The essay draws on the concept of “pro-bottom of the pyramid” flagship programmes — high-visibility, directly tangible initiatives that citizens can see, feel, and attribute to their government. Sierra Leone’s school feeding programme. Nigeria’s GEEP microcredit scheme. These don’t just deliver services; they rebuild the social contract.