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On Tuesday, January 16, 1996,
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I walked in to the office of the president
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as Head of State
of the Republic of Sierra Leone.
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I had not been elected.
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Four years earlier,
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I was one of of 30 heavily-armed
military officers,
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all in our 20s,
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who had driven from the war front
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into the capital city, Freetown.
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We had only one objective:
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to overthrow a corrupt, repressive,
and single-party dictatorship
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that had kept itself in power
for over 25 years.
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But in the end, it wasn't a violent coup.
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After we fired a few shots
and seized the radio station,
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hundreds of thousands of citizens
jumped onto the streets
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to welcome us as liberators.
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If you are thinking this seems
like a movie script, I'm with you.
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I was part of the ruling
military government,
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and I served in several roles.
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Our goal was always to return the country
to democratic civilian rule,
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but after four years,
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those multi-party democratic elections
had still not happened.
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Citizens were beginning
to lose faith in our promise.
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But you know what?
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I like to keep my promises.
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Some of my comrades and I
staged another military coup,
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but this time against
our own head of state and commander.
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Again it was a bloodless coup.
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That is how I became the new military
head of state on January 16, 1996.
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I was still only 31 years old.
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Of course, power was sweet.
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I felt invulnerable.
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I had thousands of heavily armed men
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and aircraft at my command.
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I was heavily protected,
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and I lived in luxury.
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But my obligations to my nation
were always superior.
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Millions of fellow citizens
were either displaced
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or fleeing the violence
and pillage of war,
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so I engaged in a series
of diplomatic activities
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right across the sub-region,
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and convinced the reclusive rebel leader
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to initiate peace talks
for the very first time.
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I also called a national
consultative conference
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of civil society organizations
and stakeholders
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to advise on the best way forward.
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In both cases, I shared with them
what I believed in then and now,
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that Sierra Leone is bigger than all of us
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and that Sierra Leone must be a secure,
peaceful and just society
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where every person can thrive
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and contribute to national development.
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And so I initiated peace talks
with the rebels.
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I organized the first multi-party
democratic elections in nearly 30 years.
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(Applause)
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I handed over power
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to the newly elected president,
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I retired from the army,
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and I left my country
for the United States of America
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to study,
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all in three months.
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(Applause)