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MUSLIM FULA
BUSINESS ELITES
AND
POLITICS
IN
SIERRA LEONE
alusine jalloh
Muslim Fula Business Elites
and Politics in Sierra Leone
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Alusine Jalloh
ISSN: 1092-5228
Acknowledgments ix
Abbreviations xi
Introduction 1
Conclusion 211
Notes 223
Bibliography 297
Index 315
This book would not have been possible without the research support
of the Africa Program at the University of Texas at Arlington, which I
founded in 1994. Its generous funding allowed me to make multiple
research trips to Sierra Leone. In addition, a Fulbright grant in 2012–
13 at Fourah Bay College (FBC), undergraduate alma mater, University
of Sierra Leone, in Freetown—the capital city—enabled me to gather
more information for this project. I would like to thank the J. William
Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board for this prestigious opportunity.
And my gratitude also extends to the Department of History and Afri-
can Studies at FBC for hosting me, particularly the Department’s chair,
Joe A. D. Alie.
To my twin brother, Alhassan Jalloh, and to Abdul A. Mansaray, I
extend special gratitude for their research assistance. Furthermore,
in the course of my research, I profited from discussions with many
Fula, particularly Alhaji1 Mohamed Malal Jalloh Jamboria2—father
of the author; Alhaji Abu Bakarr Tejan-Jalloh, Almamy3 (Alimamy)
Agibu Jalloh, Alhaji Chernor Maju (Sowe), Alhaji Almamy Muhamadu
Alieu Seray-Wurie, Alhaji Almamy Baba Allie, Alhaji Sanu Barrie, Alh-
aji Mohamed Lamin Sidique, Alhaji Mohamed “Texaco” Bah, Alhaji
Almamy Dr. Honorable (Hon.) Chief Justice Abdullai B. Timbo, Hon.
Alpha B. Barrie, Alhaji Ambassador Sulaiman Tejan-Jalloh (son of Alh-
aji Tejan-Jalloh), Professor M. Alpha Bah, Alhaji Chernor Sie, Alhaji
Ambassador Amadu M. B. Jalloh, Chief Justice Umu Hawa Tejan-Jalloh
(daughter of Alhaji Tejan-Jalloh), Alhaji Abu Bakarr Jalloh, Alhaji Ibra-
him I. Tejan-Jalloh (son of Alhaji Tejan-Jalloh), Dr. Allieu Shaw, Cher-
nor Jalloh, Mrs. Fatmata Momoh (née Shaw), Lamin Bah, Mrs. Fatmata
Binta Stevens (née Jalloh), Alhaji Umaru Monorma Bah, Almamy R.
Seray-Wurie (son of Alhaji Seray-Wurie), Hon. Bai Sheka Wurie, and
Almamy Jaia Modibo Kaikai (son of Alhaji Almamy Dr. Jaia Kaikai). My
research visits to Sierra Leone were assisted by Kadiatu Ngele; many
thanks for your hospitality. My longtime colleague Allen M. Howard
generously shared research materials on the Fula. Additionally, I owe a
deep debt of gratitude to my former student, treasured friend, and col-
league Harold Harris for his strong support over the life of this project.
I also wish to thank the staff members of the Sierra Leone Library
Board (SLLB), the FBC Library, and the Sierra Leone Public Archives
(SLPA) for their assistance and professionalism. In particular, I would
like to thank Salieu Turay, chief librarian of SLLB; Albert Moore, senior
Sierra Leone government archivist of the SLPA; Rev. Frederick Lavai,
deputy librarian, FBC Library; and Alfred K. Fornah, assistant Sierra
Leone government archivist of the SLPA. These individuals were most
helpful and provided the necessary documents with speed and pro-
fessionalism. Moreover, my gratitude also extends to the anonymous
reviewers for their constructive feedback, which helped to improve the
manuscript.
I have presented portions of the book at two international confer-
ences: “Sierra Leone Past and Present 2012” at the FBC in April 2012
and the International Academy of African Business and Development
Conference at the University of Florida in Gainesville in May 2008. I
thank the audiences at these gatherings for their helpful observations
and suggestions, some of which have influenced the final product. I
wish to thank the Africa Program, the Department of History, the
Office of Graduate Studies, the College of Liberal Arts, and the Charles
T. McDowell Center for Critical Languages and Area Studies at the Uni-
versity of Texas at Arlington for providing a travel grant to the first con-
ference in Sierra Leone. The Africa Program and the Department of
History funded the second conference in Florida.
Finally, I have dedicated this book in part to my late elder brother,
Dr. Chernor M. Jalloh, Esq. Among other things, Chernor inspired me
to pursue and earn at age twenty-nine a PhD in history on a gradu-
ate assistantship from his beloved undergraduate alma mater—How-
ard University, where he was a professor emeritus of philosophy. After
receiving his PhD in philosophy from Pennsylvania State University,
Chernor combined his academic career with a private law practice in
Washington, DC, after receiving his doctor of law (JD) degree from the
Georgetown University Law Center. My most enduring debt is to my
son, Benjamin, to whom I have co-dedicated this book. He missed out
on bonding with his dad during my long research absences. Thank you
for your understanding and support!
This book investigates why and how Muslim Fula1 business elites partic-
ipated in the postindependence politics of Sierra Leone. The Fula are
one of the country’s main entrepreneurial groups. Arguably, they are
the most successful African business minority in this West African coun-
try, which has a long history of entrepreneurship, considerable agri-
cultural potential, and vast resource endowment including diamonds,
gold, and bauxite.2 The study focuses on elite Fula who engaged in
import and export business enterprises, as well as large-scale retail
trade, and were the highest-ranking members of the socioeconomic
hierarchy of the Fula people. The Fula business class, comprising both
immigrants and native-born individuals, was a component of a larger
multi-ethnic business community. Others included Temne, Mende,
Krio, and Mandingo,3 as well as non-African groups like Indians and
Lebanese.4 As Muslims, the Fula played a major role in the spread of
Islam through their proselytizing efforts and establishment of educa-
tional institutions. They are part of a larger Islamic presence in West
Africa, extending from Senegal to Cameroon.5
The book examines Fula political relationships with the Sierra Leone
People’s Party (SLPP) during the prime ministership of the brothers
Dr. Milton A. S. Margai and Albert M. Margai, as well as with the All
People’s Congress (APC) under the leadership of Siaka P. Stevens and
Joseph S. Momoh. The history recounted here begins in 1961, the year
of Sierra Leone’s independence,6 with the Milton Margai administra-
tion. But in 1964, Sir Albert became prime minister after the death
of Sir Milton. Then, in 1967, military coups ensued after the electoral
defeat of the Albert-led SLPP by the opposition APC. However, in
1968 the APC was reinstated in power with Stevens as prime minister,
who became president in 1971 when the country adopted a republi-
can constitution. In 1985 President Stevens retired and was succeeded
by Major-General Joseph Momoh. This made history, as Sierra Leone
became the first African country to hand over a civilian-constituted
government to the military chief. The period under study concludes
in 1992, when the Momoh presidency was ousted in a military coup
d’état led by Captain Valentine E. M. Strasser. As a result, the National
Profits from the diamond trade were then invested in such sectors
as real estate, livestock, and motor transport, the latter being one of
the fastest-growing sectors of the Sierra Leone economy. The Fula
were importers, owners, and drivers of various models of commercial
vehicles from countries such as Japan, France, Italy, Germany, South
Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Fula-owned com-
mercial vehicles transported goods and passengers both within Sierra
Leone and into Guinea. In the politics of business examined in this
study, new light is shed on the Fula as lobbyists and on their interac-
tions with political leaders and politicians of each party, as well as with
government officials in ministries dealing with Fula businesses.7
To achieve their goals in the country’s political landscape, Fula busi-
ness leaders pursued diverse strategies that focused on fostering intra-
group cooperation and building bipartisan alliances with multi-ethnic
local political actors and organizations, which reflected their politi-
cal pragmatism. Fula intra-group collaboration involved traditional,
political, and business leaders, as well as Western-educated, native-born
professionals and civil servants. Women, many of whom were wives of
Fula businessmen, were also a part of this broad-based partnership to
advance the Fula political plan of action. Mobilizing the large Fula busi-
ness group was a linchpin of the political approach of the Fula business
elites. Moreover, as Muslims they worked within trans-ethnic local Mus-
lim organizations such as the Sierra Leone Muslim Congress (SLMC)
in strategic leadership positions, resulting in close personal ties with
government officials and politicians that helped to influence govern-
ment policies affecting the Fula people.
The nexus between business and politics is one of the most important
areas of study in business history.8 As it pertains to Africa, however, the
literature on this subject from both country-based and comparative
perspectives is relatively small. Many of the scholarly writings have been
by political scientists, economists, and anthropologists whose primary
focus has been such topics as corruption, underdevelopment, foreign
investment, state enterprises, and nationalization of businesses. When
specific firms have been studied, the focus has generally been on non-
African enterprises. Significantly, a large gap exists in the historical
literature on the interconnections among African minority business
groups, governments, and political parties in postcolonial Africa.9
The present volume, therefore, seeks to help fill this void in our
historical knowledge of the intersection of business and politics in
postindependence Africa. It is the only book-length examination of
business elites in the political history of Sierra Leone. Moreover, it is
the first comprehensive work on twentieth-century Muslim Fula busi-
ness-government relations. The book combines business and political
history, drawing on private business records, oral sources, government
documents, newspapers, and periodicals in order to show the dynamic
interplay between business and politics. This book expands on my own
previously published work as well as multidisciplinary works by scholars
such as M. Alpha Bah, Arthur Abraham, John R. Cartwright, Gershon
Collier, Earl Conteh Morgan, S. T. Cox, Sheikh Batu Daramy, G. K.
Deveneaux, Mac Dixon-Fyle, C. Magbaily Fyle, Fred M. Hayward, Allen
M. Howard, Kelfala Kallon, Jimmy D. Kandeh, Martin Kilson, William
Reno, David E. Skinner, and A. Zack-Williams that have examined his-
tory, politics, business, immigration, Islam, and ethnicity in historical
and contemporary Sierra Leone.10
In illuminating the case study of Sierra Leone, this book makes a
significant contribution to our understanding of both historical and
contemporary Africa. Moreover, it enriches our insights into broad
comparative themes such as immigration, the political relationship
between immigrant communities and host societies, minority business
elites, the interactions between immigrants and their homelands, polit-
ical parties, interest groups, intergenerational relations within minority
communities, political leadership, political fundraising, elections, and
the intersection of ethnicity and national politics. If we are to under-
stand contemporary Africa, with its boundaries inherited from the
colonial period, we must understand the dynamics of immigration and
ethnicity. African history specialists, students, and the general public
interested in the history of Africa, as well as scholars in political sci-
ence, sociology, anthropology, business, Islamic, and African diaspora
studies will find this book most useful.
The book is divided into two parts of two chapters each. Part 1 deals
with the prime ministerships of the Margai brothers, Milton and Albert,
from 1961 to 1967. This was a short but critical period in the history
of Sierra Leone, as it witnessed the first postindependence govern-
ment, the first administration to be defeated in a national election in
In 1951 Dr. Margai, alongside others like Alhaji Dr. Muhammad Sanusi
(M. S.) Mustapha, helped found the SLPP, which was a merger of the
Protectorate Educational Progressive Union (PEPU), the SOS, and
the People’s Party (PP) founded by the Reverend E. N. Jones (Lamina
Sankoh). Dr. Margai provided strong leadership for PEPU in the 1940s
after its founding by mainly Protectorate chiefs and others to promote
education as a priority in the Protectorate. By 1954 Dr. Margai was
chief minister, and in 1958, under a new preindependence constitu-
tion, he was named premier. In 1960 he was knighted by Queen Eliza-
beth II, thus receiving the title “Sir.” The SLPP represented an alliance
of the traditional and Western-educated Protectorate elites and the
Western-educated Krio leaders from the colony. The SLPP was commit-
ted to moderate nationalism, political unity, and independence. This
emphasis on unity was evidenced in the SLPP’s motto: “one country,
one people.” At independence in 1961, Dr. Margai was both leader of
the SLPP and prime minister.3
Immigration
cases where patrons were not contestants for national political office,
they may call on their clients to support political alliances involving rel-
atives or friends. Such action may serve to protect the patron’s political,
economic, or social privileges in his community.5
Immigration, which was one of the most controversial political
issues since independence, also affected citizenship. The criteria for
Sierra Leonean citizenship were vigorously debated in Parliament and
among the general public. Fula politicians of the SLPP such as Alhaji
Dr. Amadu Wurie and Hon. Abdulai Bum Mikailu (A. B. M.) Jah6 con-
tributed to the citizenship debates in Parliament, arguing for inclusion
of minority groups like the Fula.7 One noted political commentator
on the public debates on citizenship was Dr. Raymond Sarif Easmon,
who advocated broader Sierra Leonean citizenship to include minority
groups such as the Lebanese, Afro-Lebanese, and Fula. According to
the independence constitution, a Sierra Leonean citizen was defined in
section one as
Every person who having been born in the former Colony and Protector-
ate of Sierra Leone was on the twenty-sixth day of April 1961 a citizen of
the United Kingdom and Colonies or a British protected person shall
become a citizen of Sierra Leone on the 27th day of April 1961. Pro-
vided that a person shall not become a citizen of Sierra Leone by virtue
of this sub-section if neither of his parents nor any of his grandparents
was born in the former Colony and Protectorate of Sierra Leone.8
After two proposed bills and lengthy public debates, Parliament passed
an amended Citizenship Act in January 1962. According to the Act,
date his father is a citizen of Sierra Leone.”10 Stevens, the leader of the
opposition APC, criticized the legislation as “sectional” and said that
it deprived some people of the right to contest for Parliament or local
government councils. However, J. Barthes-Wilson, deputy leader of the
United Progressive Party (UPP), which was formed in 1954, described
the Act as fair and added that “any Citizenship Act in any country must
be discriminatory, for instance it must distinguish aliens from indige-
nous people.”11
Kono District
— Sandi kuolee!
— Tap-tap-tap-tap.
Hänen äänensä oli hiljainen ja heikko, mutta tyttö tiesi, että olipa
seuraus mikä tahansa, hänen piti kertoa.
Sanders makasi hiljaa silmät ummessa hänen puhuessaan ja
hänen lopetettuaan makasi vaiti — niin hiljaa, että tyttö luuli hänen
pyörtyneen.
*****
— Elämäni valo ja sieluni ilo, sanoi hän vaimolle, joka oli hänen
olkikattoisen haareminsa kaunistus. — Jos Sandi kuolee, niin uskolla
ei ole mitään merkitystä, sillä olen rukoillut kaikkia jumalia,
profeettoja ja herroja Markusta, Luukasta ja Johannasta — ja Pyhää
äitiä, josta Maristveljet minulle kertoivat; olen rukoillut ristejä ja ju-jua
ja uhrannut vuohen ja kanan Ochorin jumalan edessä.
Hänen asemansa oli vaikea, hän tiesi sen. Juuri edellisenä yönä
hän oli siepannut Tolonin salaisen lähetin, joka oli tullut Ochoriin
kehoittamaan heitä hyökkäämään Sandin miesten kimppuun
pohjoisesta päin ja ajamaan heitä kapinoivan kuninkaan odottavia
legioonia kohti. Bosambo otti mieheltä selville koko viestin, ennen
kuin lopetti hänet.
Tyttö ei vastannut.
— Kun orja istuu kuninkaan paikalla, niin vain orjat häntä kuulevat,
siteerasi hän Joen sananpartta.
*****
Sandi nyökkäsi.
Niihin aikoihin Suuri kuningas oli hyvin suuri ja hyvin vanha; niin
suuri, että mikään brittiläinen kuvernööri ei uskaltanut muuta kuin
pyytää häntä olemaan harjoittamatta julmuuksia.
Tämä Mkamdina oli älykäs nuorukainen, hyvin taitava ja sieti hyvin
pitkälle haukkumisia. Hänellä oli hovimiehen kaikki ominaisuudet. Ei
ole sen vuoksi ihmeteltävää, että hän saavutti aseman kuninkaan
perheessä, istui hänen oikealla puolellaan aterialla ja meni naimisiin
kuninkaan mielitietyn kanssa, jonka tämä hylkäsi.