Death of a Patriotic and Diplomatic Veteran
The sudden death of Mr. Ibrahim S. Yilla, Minister Counselor/Head of Chancery at the Embassy of Sierra Leone in Saudi Arabia on November 10, 2012 will certainly be viewed by a large quarter of Sierra Leoneans, who knew the deceased, as a tremendous national loss. (Photo: the late Mr Ibrahim S Yilla)
To have an idea about the high caliber of Mr. Yilla, one needs to shed light on the most important aspects of his significant and effective contribution to nation building.
After his graduation from Fourah Bay College in the late 70s, he taught in one of the high schools in his home town of Kambia before he entered the Civil Service in the early 80’s. He started as a Civil Servant in the Ministry of Agriculture where he worked for slightly over a year. Though he worked briefly at the Agriculture Ministry, he left an impact on both his area of responsibility and co-workers.
He was afterward appointed as an Assistant District Officer (ADO) in the Northern town of Port Loko and was later transferred to Bo in the South and the Eastern District headquarters of Kenema in the same capacity. Mr. Yilla’s tenure of office in almost all the most vital regions of Sierra Leone exposed him to a great deal of realities that groomed and equipped him as a veteran in the socio-political scenarios of the country.
In 1983, he travelled to Paris, France to pursue a course in French where he reportedly excelled. Being a bilingual and, in addition, to his new qualification, he was transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Corporation. He worked in almost all the departments before he was posted as Head of Chancery to Nigeria in the early 90’s.
In Nigeria, he pursed his Master’s in Diplomacy and International Relations in Lagos University; where he also came out with flying colours. Upon completing his Master’s program, he was recalled and placed at the helm of the Sierra Leone Immigration as the Chief Immigration Officer (CIO). Mr. Yilla will be gleefully remembered for being the officer who introduced the electronic passport in Sierra Leone.
After transforming the Immigration Department, he returned to the Foreign Office where he was appointed Director of Administration and Finance and later Director of Asia and Middle East.
In 2008, Mr. Yilla was posted to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as Minister Counselor/Head of Chancery to serve at the Embassy of Sierra Leone in Riyadh; a position he held until his sudden death last Saturday.
It is worthy to note that Mr. Yilla had already planned to take part in the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections slated for 17th November, 2012 in Sierra Leone. Being a civil servant notwithstanding, he had already registered to exercise his franchise as a concerned citizen and was supposed to leave Riyadh for Freetown on 11th November in the company of the Saudi Press Attaché, Alhaji Jalloh, who was also going to Freetown to exercise his franchise in the said elections. As a diplomatic courtesy and on a humanitarian note, the Press Attaché had to cancel his reservation to attend to the call of the hour.
I’m taking this opportunity to express the outpouring sympathy of the Sierra Leone nationals in Saudi Arabia to the bereaved family and to the home government for the enormous loss of a patriotic veteran in the person of Mr. Ibrahim S. Yilla, who passed away in active service.
May his soul rest in perfect peace and may the Paradise be his last abode.
By Ibrahim Yousuf Sillah
The author is a former President of the Sierra Leone Nationals’ Union in Saudi Arabia, and currently a lecturer at King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Stay with Sierra Express Media, for your trusted place in news!
© 2012, https:. All rights reserved.
