Welcome to the Forum

I am with you. While I have enjoyed writing each book, this was my favourite. I was moved by much of what I saw while moving around. In particular, the desire to lay the flaws or sins of the past to rest and to look positively towards the future. While two of the countries are definitely poor, the people have a strong desire to move forward. At the other extreme, in Ghana, the leaders have taken steps to capitalise on cultural tourism, and this is bringing great rewards today. I see this corner of West Africa offering much to the overall development of Africa.

George Weah is one of the greatest heros Liberia has ever had. It is still argued that he was the best ever football player produced in Africa.

Having retired, he became involved in Liberian politics rising to vice president. However when he ran for office in 2017 he made strong speeches against government corruption. It was expected that he would address this. Instead his term in office was burdened by consistent claims of corruption and, in the end, very little was done to stop this.

President Weah was weighed down by high expectations but there were huge problems including the need for infrastructure development and securing relations with other countries to improve the country's balance of trade but again there was little to show for his time in office.

I read in your book, A New Day Dawns, of the historical importance  of the Cotton tree in Freetown, Sierra Leone but recently this tree collapsed and is no more. What impact does this have on the people of Freetown?

The cotton tree was the symbol of Sierra Leone's independence. The actual age of the tree was difficult to establish but it was believed to be over 400 years.  When the first of freed slaves arrived in Sierra Leone in 1820 they worshipped and thanked God for safely delivering them back to Africa.

From the earliest times the Cotton tree served as a meeting place. It was a symbol of the resilience of the people.

Earlier this year the tree came down during a heavy storm. This was cause for much weeping. And while parts of the tree will be preserved at the national museum, this cannot bring the feeling…

During my travels the biggest headache is by far the taxi man. My two chief issues are overcharging and driving routes that run up the meter. When you encounter these drivers the best you can hope for is that you  spot the potential ptoblem early and  you make the driver aware that you are aware. Today the passenger is assisted by having Google maps or some similiar program but these are not flawless. After being taken advantage of more times than l cared for l started to sit with my maps.me app in my lap. But, there is a flaw in the program that some drivers know about . For example, when travelling in Accra in Ghana a driver asked me early on if l was looking at a mapping program. I said yes, he replied," Good because l am not too familiar with where you want to go. Can…