Muslim Fula Business Elites and Politics in Sierra Leone

366 Pages·2018·15.612 MB·English

by  Alusine Jalloh

M U S L I M F U L A
B U S I N E S S E L I T E S
A N D
P O L I T I C S
I N
S I E R R A L E O N E
alusine jalloh
Muslim Fula Business Elites
and Politics in Sierra Leone
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Rochester Studies in
African History and the Diaspora
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The Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the
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Muslim Fula Business Elites
and Politics in Sierra Leone
Alusine Jalloh
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Copyright © 2018 by Alusine Jalloh
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under current legislation, no
part of this work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system,
published, performed in public, adapted, broadcast, transmitted,
recorded, or reproduced in any form or by any means, without the
prior permission of the copyright owner.
First published 2018
University of Rochester Press
668 Mt. Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620, USA
www.urpress.com
and Boydell & Brewer Limited
PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, UK
www.boydellandbrewer.com
Hardcover ISBN-13: 978-1-58046-917-3
Paperback ISBN-13: 978-1-58046-937-1
ISSN: 1092-5228
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Jalloh, Alusine, 1963– author.
Title: Muslim Fula business elites and politics in Sierra Leone / Alusine
Jalloh.
Other titles: Rochester studies in African history and the diaspora ; v. 78.
1092-5228
Description: Rochester : University of Rochester Press, 2018. | Series:
Rochester studies in African history and the diaspora, ISSN 1092-5228 ;
v. 78 | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018015506 | ISBN 9781580469173 (hardcover : alk.
paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Fula (African people)—Sierra Leone—Politics
and government. | Muslims—Political activity—Sierra Leone. |
Businesspeople—Political activity—Sierra Leone. | Sierra Leone—
Politics and government—1961–
Classification: LCC DT516.815 .J35 2018 | DDC 966.404—dc23 LC record
available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018015506
This publication is printed on acid-free paper.
Printed in the United States of America.
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For my late older brother, Dr. Chernor M. Jalloh, Esq.,
and my son, Benjamin J. Jalloh
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Abbreviations xi
Introduction 1
Part 1: The Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) Rule
1 The Prime Ministership of Milton A. S. Margai, 1961–64 9
2 The Administration of Albert M. Margai, 1964–67 48
Part 2: The All People’s Congress (APC) Era
3 The Siaka P. Stevens Years, 1968–85 105
4 The Joseph S. Momoh Presidency, 1985–92 175
Conclusion 211
Notes 223
Bibliography 297
Index 315
Photographs follow p. 102.
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Acknowledgments
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 profi ted 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.
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