March 25, 2021
By: Francis F.M.Harding
The Ahmad Tejan Kabbah foundation (ATK) for Peace and Democracy is a non-profit organization that advocates for unity, peaceful coexistence, democracy, good governance, girl child education, youth and women’s empowerment. The foundation seeks to foster a favorable environment wherein every Sierra Leonean will contribute to national development.
The ATK Foundation held a symposium at the Auditorium, New City Hall in Freetown on the 23rd March, 2021 in remembrance of Sierra Leone’s Civil War, on the theme “Reminding Ourselves of Yesterday for Better Tomorrow”. The symposium was divided into two segments for the audience to understand the root causes of the eleven years rebel.
The first segment was chaired by Hon. Alpha Kanu. In his statement, he said the late man was an exemplary leader this country had ever produced. He continued that it was on the 23rd we heard on the British Broadcasting Corporation Correspondent, Robin White who said that rebels have entered Sierra Leone through the town called Bomaru Kailahun district in the eastern part of the country. He said though majority of Sierra Leoneans were denying that Foday Sankoh was a human being who existed; they were calling the rebel all sorts of names until the rebels entered Freetown on January 6th 1999. That was the time many Sierra Leoneans believed and knew that rebel were indeed human beings.
Hon.Kanu reiterated that President Bio promised to produce Foday Sabana Sankoh for peace talk and since then the peace process started until President Ahmad Tejan Kabbbah came to power. He said though many people were not happy to have included Foday Sankoh into his cabinet.
Hon. Khan said in 2003 he became a Parliamentarian and an Aviation business person and was during the Hajj period he knew that late President Kabbah was a statesman and an exemplarily leader.
The moderator said in 2007 they as a party (All People’s Congress) was having difficulties in Kono with a Police officer. The former President ordered for the removal of the officer from the district. He said in September 2007 at State House the then Inspector General of Police, Brima Acha Kamara received a sack letter from the former Vice President, Late Solomon Berewa. The late IGP took the letter to Late President Kabbah who asked former President Koroma to reinstate him in his position.
He further commended the founder and Chief Executive Secretary of the Ahmad Tejan Kabbah foundation for Peace and Democracy, Mrs. Isata Jabbie Kabbah for keeping the legacy of her late husband.
When delivering her statement, Mrs. Isata J. Kabbah said she stands with a sense of pride and mixed feelings for the absence of her loving husband. She said God has given her the strength and courage with the support of both family members to keep the foundation going.
“On the 23rd March I had the opportunity to immortalize the late President Alhaji Dr.Ahmad Tejan Kabbah who was blessed to administer this beautiful country of ours from 1996-2007” IJ Kabba said. She said the late man was appreciative of the honor and dignity accorded him to serve the people of the country.
She narrated that during the days of her husband the country was engulfed in flames of war that mercilessly consumed thousands of innocent lives and countless properties lost in several parts of the country.
She said the senseless war brought untold hardship to all Sierra Leoneans, but with courage and determination from her late husband who used diplomatic leadership style to bring the brutal war to a peaceful end.
She continued that today we are happy as nation that those flames of war have been extinguished. Mrs. Kabbah said the end of the war restored the dignity of Sierra Leoneans and created the enabled environment for individuals and for national development.
Mrs Kabba reminded the audience that the occasion is organized to discuss about the civil war of the country as a way of remembering the Principal Champion of the Peace. She said peace is a necessity of life; if there is no peace life becomes useless. She said for far too long this country has been in a difficult moment with incidences of bad governance and its implications for retrogression and decline in socio-economic development which has continued to be a source of concern in Sierra Leone.
On the other hand, Deputy Mayor, Osman Koroma thanked the organizers for such an event of sharing memories of the war to young people. He agreed that late Pa-Kabbah was an exemplarily leader and ruled this country wholeheartedly as his desires was to see its progress. He said he recalled the former President when he said he will end the war and indeed he succeeded.
“He also promised to make this country like Singapore I believed he attempted at that time he was trying to build on the economy of this country and was a Unifier,” said the Deputy Mayor.
He said the late President tried to unify the country by bringing the South-East, North-West to seek for peace and to rule the nation as one.
Minister of Political and Public Affairs, Honorable Foday Yumkella said he was privileged to have served the late President as Minister of Political and Public Affairs. He said he played key role from 1996-2207 as a proud citizen of his country.
The Minister said the former President witnessed one of the most challenging times in the Country’s history, but did everything humanly possible to bring peace and the restoration of democracy in our nation.
The Guest Speaker for the symposium, Dr.Babatundu Ahonsi who is the United Nations Development Programme Resident Coordinator said the UNCT works to achieve the Medium-Term National Development Plan-MTNDP and the United Nations Development Coorporation Framework to be implemented from 2020 to 2023. He said some thirty years ago this beautiful West Africa country had its first taste of instability when fighters of the Revolutionary United Front under the leadership of formal Corporal of the Sierra Leone Army Foday Sankoh declared war on the country. He continued that the war lasted for eleven years from 1991 to 2002. He said late Presidents Ahmed Tejan Kabbah in an official burning of arms at Lungi International Air Port and in the presence of the international committee and parties to the conflict declared “the war don don” meaning the war has come to an end.
He said the brutal civil war affected every facet of Sierra Leone society that led to the death of more than 50,000 people and the displacement of over two thirds of the country population. He said at that time the population was four million. Women and girls were abducted and raped; children conscripted into the various fighting forces turning them into child soldiers. He said innocent civilians hands were amputated; properties looted and destroyed and villages and towns razed to the ground.
He said he has a bit of history with Sierra Leone in 2008 as he finished his tenure with the Ford Foundation he took a short studies at FBC and collaborated with few scholars where he tried to understand some of the gender dimension of the conflict. He said he took the research to Sweden as guest researcher.
He said he linked the war in Sierra Leone to that of Nigeria civil war. They stood by Sierra Leone in the peace accords that final led to the end of the war in Sierra Leone and in 1999 they setup of the UN peace keeping mission that helped in the implementation of the peace accord.
He said the UN also supported Sierra Leone in setting up the Special Court for Sierra Leone, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to address impunity, and several UN agencies such as UNICEF, UNDP, UNHCR, ILO and the World Bank including several international NGOs also played a critical role.
The panelists for the symposium were Umaru Fofana, Marcella S.Sesay Pro. Joe A.D.Ali and Valnora Edwin.