A Rare Breed of an Envoy
The Embassy of Sierra Leone in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was opened in the late 70’s of the last century. Since its inauguration, a number of great personalities have been privileged to serve in this Islamic Monarchy as envoys representing the Sierra Leonean flag. The first ambassador was: H.E. Alhaji Sulaiman Baba Timbo. He was succeeded by our highly learned brother: H.E. Alhaji Amadu Mohamed Boie Jalloh. Alhaji Jalloh was succeeded by the dynamic figure of all times: H.E.Alhaji Umaru Bond Wurie. Mr. Wurie was succeeded by the seasoned and professional lawyer: H.E. Alhaji Amadu Deen Tejan-Sie. Ambassador Tejan-Sie was succeeded last year by the all time APC stalwart and veteran politician: H.E. Wusu B. Munu, who is currently serving as the Sierra Leone’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
It is my personal belief that each of the above Excellencies served according to the best of their knowledge and ability and according to the mind maps they had carved for themselves and Sierra Leone. And, naturally, each left himself a legacy he could be remembered by, except for His Excellency, Ambassador Munu, who still is in the process of making his own legacy, which I believe would be distinctive in many aspects.
What has prompted me to write this brief account is a recent newspaper report and comments on the recent visit of Ambassador Wurie and his delegation to Saudi Arabia and the breakthrough he made in signing the loan agreement between Sierra Leone and Saudi Arabia as regards the Bumbuna energy project. Since then, I decided not to let the time pass by without me placing my comments on this great son of Sierra Leone.
With my due respect to all the Excellencies, the former Ambassadors aforementioned, I would like to highlight the legacy of the most remarkably prominent of them all, Alhaji Umaru Wurie.
Ambassador Wurie was posted to Saudi Arabia towards the end of 1993. He came at a time of immense turbulence and instability back home due to the senseless rebel war that was being inflicted on Sierra Leone by the RUF. He came to Riyadh at a time when the Sierra Leone community was in dire need of someone who could bring all its members under one banner. To achieve this goal, he invited the entire community to a general meeting where he proposed to form a national union in the Kingdom (as he’d done in Nigeria) which would serve as a forum for all Sierra Leone nationals to converge and discuss their affairs. The proposal was unanimously and warmly embraced by the entire community, and right there another proposal was made to elect the president and his executive. To my utter surprise, I was nominated as the first candidate and was thereafter elected as the first president of the Sierra Nationals’ Union in the Kingdom on the 12th November, 1993.
With a national union now in place, unity among its members was fostered, fraternal relations were strengthened, and amicability became the norm prevailing among its ranks. The executive, backed by its Dawa committee, became so active in all national domains. In brief, the union was able to send financial donations to cater for the war misplaced people and for our national team that took part in the finals of the Africa Nations’ Cup tournament that was hosted by South Africa in 1996. The union was also able to cater for the Sierra Leone pilgrims in terms of food and assistance regarding the correct performance of Hajj rituals for a number of years until cooking was banned in the holy sites after the fire incident that occurred in 1997. This is just a very brief account of the numerous achievements of the Union.
The most significant part of the above narration is not actually about the Union’s successes per se; but rather, it’s just to highlight a small portion of the glorious accomplishments of Ambassador Wurie as regards the functions of the Union. And it’s worthy to note that he was in the center of all the Union’s achievements.
To pursue national interests, Ambassador Wurie was able to establish a Sierra Leone Embassy school where Sierra Leonean children and children of other expatriates could get quality education at affordable fees. This was deemed as one of his greatest breakthroughs. It was hailed by the entire community and was seen as a symbol of national pride.
However, unfortunately, due to some malpractices of some elements of the community, and some miscalculations on the part of the Embassy authorities, this school was closed during the tenure of Ambassador Wurie’s successor. For the records, it’s worthy to note that Ambassador Tejan-Sie was not entirely responsible for the closure of the school, especially it all happened at his initial stage of his tenure; rather, it was the responsibility of some of his staff who, for some dubious reasons, wrongly fed His Excellency with the wrong advice despite the Union’s numerous attempts to prevent such an unfortunate happening. To tell the truth, since the closure of the school, parents have been staggering to meet the exorbitant fees, sometimes finding themselves forced to sadly keep their school going children at home. The memory of this school is still vivid in the memories of the community whenever Ambassador Wurie’s name is mentioned.
On the diplomatic arena, Ambassador Wurie is still regarded among the African envoys as one of the most dynamic envoys ever posted to the Kingdom. In a farewell party organized by Ambassador Tejan-Sie at the Chancery in 2009, Dr. Mohamed Labran, the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, ignoring all protocols, depicted Ambassador Wurie as a dynamic, patriotic and helpful envoy of his kind whose untimely recall was tremendously regretted by all of his counterparts.
Ambassador Wurie was able to explore avenues never thought of before. What’s more, he was able to gain the trust and confidence of the host country. To the great surprise of his counterparts, he was able to confer with both the then Crown Prince, HRH Prince Abdullah Ben Abdulaziz, who is now the current King, and the current Crown Prince, HRH Prince Sultan Ben Abdulaziz on the same day. This event was seen by diplomats as a very rare occurrence, if not an impossible one. He was enormously admired for his penchant and his courage to look for any avenue that would yield fruits for Sierra Leone and Sierra Leoneans. He was not the kind of ambassador that would ensconce himself in his office. Rather, he was conscious of his mission which he vigorously pursued with all tenacity.
As regards the Middle East, the SLPP Government made two big blunders after the election of His Excellency, President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah in 1996.
First, the cancellation of the state visit of President Tejan Kabbah to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which Ambassador Wurie fought so hard to secure. Generally, the Arab world, including the Gulf States, were so delighted to see the election of the first Muslim president in Sierra Leone. This coupled with the vision he had for his country made the Arab world quite willing to warmly embrace President Kabbah. Had the visit taken place it would have absolutely opened a lot of avenues for Sierra Leone. However, to the biggest surprise of Saudi Arabia and other sisterly countries in the region, the scheduled state visit of the President was abruptly and unceremoniously cancelled, apparently as a result of some ill-advice the president must have had from his entourage. To add insult to injury, the Arab leaders saw President Kabbah redirecting his visit to Iran thereafter. Considering the sensitivity existing between the Sunnis and Shiites, the visit of President of Kabbah to Iran immediately after he had cancelled his state to Saudi Arabia, was seen as an insult that was painfully swallowed.
Second, shortly after SLPP had won the 1996 presidential elections, the decision to remove Ambassador Wurie from the Gulf region was taken. Through his innate dynamism and his efforts to seek national interest, Ambassador Wurie had already explored avenues and established good rapport with the Gulf countries, which, in return, were indeed willing to help Sierra Leone get out of its predicaments in a variety of ways. So, this irrational decision, totally based on nepotism and favoritism, culminated into another setback for Sierra Leone.
To cite two examples of his achievements here, Ambassador Wurie was able to secure a container loaded with medicine and medical items for the war affected people in Sierra Leone. Also, shortly before AFRC’s take- over in 1997, the Kuwaiti Government had adopted the project of building a bridge that would link Freetown to Lungi. But unfortunately, because of that untimely and unwarranted coup, this project was never to see light.
As a consequence of Ambassador Wurie’s departure from Saudi Arabia, bilateral relations between Sierra Leone and the Gulf States were never the same again. As a matter of fact, many believed that they went slumbering, perhaps deeply.
Ambassador Wurie’s patriotism was once again tested when he was posted as Sierra Leone’s envoy to Germany. There he proved his mettles loud again, and was able to secure a lot of aid for Sierra Leone. From Germany, he worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Corporation in the position of Director General.
On his recent visit to Saudi Arabia, I came to learn that he is now working as Development Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development.
I would like to make it abundantly clear to all and sundry that I have no ulterior motive, whatsoever, behind writing this article. I am not seeking any personal favors from Ambassador Wurie, and, fortunately, he knows that I am not. Rather, my sole purpose of making this write-up is to sincerely highlight the patriotism and the caliber of man Ambassador Wurie is. By the same token, I would like to humbly request His Excellency, President Ernest Bai Koroma to seriously think of assigning Ambassador Wurie a key post whereby he could more effectively prove mettles, and enable him to vigorously seek greater national interests. I bet all those that know Ambassador Wurie, for what he is and for what he stands for and for what he is capable of doing, would agree with me that my request to the President is in place. I was privileged to closely work with Ambassador Wurie in my capacity as president of the Sierra Leone Nationals’ Union in Riyadh in the 90’s. I, therefore, know the Man, and I wish him all the best.
On the other hand, I am once again humbly requesting His Excellency, President Ernest Koroma to make it abundantly clear to all his envoys the world over that the time for Ambassadors to ensconce themselves in their offices has now elapsed. Rather, Ambassadors should move around to explore every avenue possible in the interest of Sierra Leone and its citizenry. Seeking national interest should be their number one priority. I do not think ambassadorial or diplomatic posts should be seen as a platform to amassing wealth in own interest. Rather, I think the country they are representing should be seen as the focal point in their mind maps.
Having made the above request to His Excellency, the President, I would like to note that since his posting last year to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States, H.E. Ambassador Wusu Munu has taken major strides in terms of seeking national interests and in terms of reconciling members of the Sierra Leone community in the Kingdom. He has been very supportive to the cause of the Dawa Committee, a religious organ that has been invariably instrumental in guiding and assisting both the Sierra Leone community in Riyadh and Sierra Leone pilgrims. I believe he and his able staff are striving very hard to ensure that they meet the expectations of Home Government. Of course, I have no idea about how other Sierra Leone envoys are faring elsewhere, but I believe that Ambassador Munu is exemplary and should, therefore, be emulated. He is one that is ready to go extra miles to explore avenues in the sheer interest of our beloved Sierra Leone. I believe, in the final analysis, he will himself a distinctive legacy.
On the other hand, it is worthy to note that Ambassador Munu is fortunate to have among his staff, Alhaji Jalloh, the able and indefatigable Press Attaché, who is doing a splendid job for the embassy and the country at large. Mr. Jalloh’s posting to this region has been a huge blessing to all Sierra Leone nationals living in this part of the world. Thank God, we are now abreast of home news as it happens. I think he and Ambassador Munu deserve many accolades for effectively performing their national duties.
Ibrahim Sillah, Dawa Committee Coordinator, Former President of the Sierra Leone Nationals’ Union, Lecturer, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
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