January 6,2021
By: James Kamara-Manneh
President of Sierra Leone Dr. Julius Maada Bio has on the 5th January 2021, granted citizenship to twenty two African Americans. The event took place at State House, where the recipients of the Sierra Leonean citizenship had showcased DNA results linking them to the country.
Most of those granted the citizenship traced the origin from Bo and Tonkolili districts. In handing over passports to the new citizens, President welcomed them home, stating that coming home was not just about sightseeing but demonstrating loyalty to the country.
He said to the new citizens others may invent history for the purpose of marketing tourism, “but you have lived your own history over 400 years. This is the land of our mutual ancestors who were to later work rice fields and plantations that sustained the economies of the 13 British Colonies in the Americas. This is the land of Sengbeh Pieh of the Amistad revolt. This is the land of the rice coast, of the Gullahs, of folktales about the trickster, of handicraft, of food ways, of seeking rituals, and the call and response of African-American song and dance. This is Sierra Leone…”
President Bio reminded the new citizens that Sierra Leone as a country had come a very long way from slavery and colonialism, gone through repressive dictatorships, bad governance, corruption, epidemics and natural disasters and civil wars.
He added that his government had worked hard to restore the dignity of the country and recalled that the 2020 Global Peace Index ranked Sierra Leone as the 46th most peaceful country in the whole world and 5th most peaceful country in Africa.
Referring to other impressive indices the Presidents stated: “The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention rates us as Tier 1 low risk. We have fewer than 3% case fatality ratio and only 76 recorded deaths. We are rated with a significantly lower violent crime rate. We have a free press, a free society, decongesting prisons, and working hard to build resilience in every facet of our nation.”
President Bio further disclosed that government is creating an enabling environment for the private sector to flourish, protect investments and support the establishment of businesses and organizations that would touch lives either through direct employment or social capital impact.
One of the beneficiaries of the citizenship, Dynast Abete Adewale Amir, expressed gratitude to President Bio for officially receiving them as citizens of Sierra Leone. He described the event as an emotional moment for them, adding that they were already pleased with the love they enjoyed from the President and citizens of the country.
Mr. Amir concluded by stating that they looked forward to making good use of their citizenship by rendering meaningful contributions to the development of Sierra Leone.
