In an unprecedented display of true and responsible statesmanship, His
Excellency, President Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma (photo) who is currently in the
Federal Republic of Germany,
telephoned the Head of 2013 Hajj Team to
Saudi Arabia, Hon. Alhaji Moijueh Kaiakai, Minister of Social Welfare
in the evening of Friday 25th October, 2013 and requested to talk to a
cross -section of the Sierra Leone pilgrims himself to enquire about
their general status.
The president spoke to over 50 pilgrims, including, some members of
the medical team that accompanied the pilgrims, cooks, the elderly,
the disabled, religious and traditional leaders, among many others.
In their response, the pilgrims, who had the honour to talk to their
dear president, intimated him that they were doing pretty fine and
that his appointed Members of the Hajj Delegation has thoroughly done
their assignment by addressing their needs and concerns accordingly
and by ensuring their safety and security in all stages of their
pilgrimage since their arrival in the holy land a few weeks ago.
It is indeed worthy to note that never before in the history of Sierra
Leone, particularly what has to do with pilgrimage, has a president of
Sierra Leone gone this extra mile to find out in person about the
general welfare of his nationals in the holy land in the aftermath of
their performance of the rituals of the fifth tenet of Islam-Hajj.
Since President Koroma’s occupation of the highest office in the land
in 2007, he has not only facilitated the Hajj process for Sierra Leone
pilgrims, but has also manifested a keen interest in ensuring their
general welfare and the correctness of their pilgrimage in every
aspect.
Citing an example, a traditional leader from Pujehun District said:
“When talks reached President Koroma last year that some pilgrims cast
doubt in the authenticity and validity of their slaughtering, this
year, His Excellency ordered the Hajj Delegation to be physically
present at the slaughter site so as the ensure that the number of the
animals slaughtered matched the exact number of pilgrims.”
The purpose of this procedure, the Chief added, was to unequivocally
make sure that total transparency was the order of the day in this
year’s Hajj; and indeed his order was truly carried out.
A senior civil servant who begged for anonymity said in his Mecca
Hotel that: “President Koroma’s act and initiative on Friday evening
should once again buttress to our nation, particularly the Muslim
nationals who are in the majority, that in spite of him (the
President) being a Christian, he views all Sierra Leoneans as his own
family members; that is, he cares for every Sierra Leonean,
irrespective of their religious, regional, sectional and tribal
affiliations.”
For his part, Assistant Secretary General for Civil Society Movement
and Member of the National Commission for Disability, Abdul Gillen
said: “Sierra Leoneans of all sectors should take cognizance and heed
of the caliber and worth of their God-given leader, in the person of
Dr. Ernest Koroma, in order to wholeheartedly rally behind him and
support him with all their might,” adding, “ so that his legacy of
equality in terms of treating his nationals and in terms of his true
concerns for their general welfare would be not only a norm, but also
a policy to be adopted by his successors.”
Many people interviewed after the President’s telephone conversation
with them said: “EBK has set a host of excellent and remarkable
precedents in his governance of Sierra Leone that should be
appreciated by all well-meaning Sierra Leoneans.”
It could be recalled that in the past, there were incidents that not
only brought unnecessary pain upon the pilgrims, but considerably
soiled the image of the country. Among those incidents were the
unnecessary delay in the airlift of pilgrims which kept many of them
at Lungi Airport for days; delay in bringing back the pilgrims from
Saudi Arabia which left many of them stranded; the high cost of
undertaking the Hajj and delay in the issuance of visas to the
intending pilgrims. But since the Ernest Koroma led –APC Government
took over the organization of Hajj in 2010, there has been a lot of
improvement in the areas of transportation, medical, accommodation,
feeding, issuance of visas, to name but a few.
Abdul Gillen.
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