Alhaji MB Jalloh: Sierra Leone Telegraph: 31 August 2021:
At a time when education needs a diversified approach, the Sierra Leone Government has this week appointed Dr. Mohamed Ramadan Jalloh as Sierra Leone’s Representative to the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) at the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education.
Founded by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in May 1979, ICESCO, formerly ISESCO is an international organization specialized in the fields of education, science, culture and communication. And Sierra Leone is a member of ICESCO.
Dr. Jalloh’s – a humble and top-class scholar is one of the country’s leading figures in Islamic education. And he is not only grounded in Islamic education, but Western education as well, which will make his job easier.
I rang Dr. Jalloh last night and asked him about his functions and responsibilities in the ministry. Quoting the Harvard trained Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, Dr. David Moinina Sengeh, “the Saudi trained Economist, Dr. Mohamed R. Jalloh’s appointment to the position is aimed at selling the government’s education agenda to the Islamic World, cater for the development of Arabic education in the country and reorganize the ‘katatibs’ in the country, so that they too will benefit from government opportunities in the education sector which is a top priority of the Bio regime.”
He added that his appointment will enable the government to come up with a well-structured Arabic curriculum that will meet the needs of the current world.
Who is Dr. Mohamed Ramadan Jalloh?
Born and bred in the diamondiferous eastern town of Tongo Field in the Kenema District, Dr. Jalloh had his primary education at the Tongo Independent School and later at the Tongo Agricultural Secondary School before he proceeded to the Ansarul Islamic Boys Secondary School in Kono District where he sat to his ‘O’ level examinations.
In 1983, he was admitted at the Bo Government Secondary School where he took his ‘A’ level examinations in 1985, and the following year, he was awarded a scholarship to study at the prestigious Umm Al Qura University in the holy city of Makkah.
Due to his outstanding academic performance in both his undergraduate and post graduate programs, the University granted Dr. Jalloh the opportunity to pursue his doctoral studies where he got a PhD (Distinction) in Islamic Economics in 2011, making him the few Africans to have acquired such qualifications from one of Saudi’s premier institutions of higher learning.
On completing his studies, he returned home in 2012 to serve his people. Upon his coming home, he lectured Islamic and Arabic studies at the Ansarul Islamic College of Education and Technology, where he was appointed as the principal of the College and Financial Secretary of the Ansarul Islamic Mission Committee. Dr. Jalloh is currently the national Imam of the Old Bo Boys Association (OBBA) and a founding member of the Al Huda Foundation.
Many Arab trained Sierra Leonean scholars welcome the appointment describing it “as the right peg in the right hole”.
“The Government made a wise decision to appoint a man with such eminent personality and incalculable pedigree to support the government’s flagship program aimed at building a better Sierra Leone through collaborative education in other diversified learning medium,” his former college mate at Umm Al Qura, Dr. Sheikh Umar Shaw said.
Mr. Alie Baba Jalloh is a prominent Sierra Leonean who lives and works at Worcester, Massachusetts in the United States. He was a classmate of Dr. Jalloh at the Ansarul Islamic Boys Secondary School in Kono. He was ecstatic at Dr. Jalloh’s appointment and had this to say:
“Dr. Ramadan Jalloh will bring enormous expertise and a hub of collective resources to the Ministry, through his alliances and relationships with the Arab world. Alie Baba added: “The Ansarul Mission is proud to produce a man whose contribution to the arena of education is in sync with its modest motto of “service to Mankind”.
Totally agree with you Mr Sahr Matturi. For the record Bio the divider is inchief is the most politically divisive, and socially unhinged President our country have had for very long time. His records speaks for itself. He had tried everything under the sun to sow the seeds of divisions amongst a population that doesn’t require much encouragement to see others as the main problems in our country. To his credit, he was brave enough to admit publicly on the infamous sofa interview that he only employe people he knows, never mind whether they know their job discriptoin, or just been given the leg up because Bio happens to know them and grew up with them in his village.He plays the game of mable with them back in his school days. Bio have never grown out of his village. A village boy is always a village boy. You can take him to the city, but his village mentally stays with him forever. And Boo’s actions or the lack of it, tick all the right boxes. Now Bio is venturing in to uncharted territory religious intolerance .
Creating division amongst a population known for religious tolerance by appointing an other mate from his School days not out of pressure, or Muslims demanding for it, but out of political expediency, qualified by by a desperate attempt to win the Muslim vote. Unfortunately for Bio we can see his moves.The emperor has no clothes. Bo school, must be the Eton of Sierra Leone, where all our leaders seemed to get there education.Albert Academy seemed to stanf out in producing good students who goes on to make good citizens of our country and contribute immensely to the future developments of our country .Where are those students now? But nowadays they are relegated to second class status. More like We prefer the fomer corrupt students from Bo school to run our affairs. But looking at the records from the sort of students that Bo school produced, I wonder how much efforts the school teachers of this wonderful education institute thought their students about honesty, not to be tribalistic, and above all else not to be stealing from the State.
The perils of impunity in which Bio think he can continue on this divisive road to hell, has its own ramifications. A leader like that, doesn’t care what he says or does might end up creating a country that never finds peace with itself. And right now our country is going through that period. But as always Bio is capable of finding tbe” useful idiots “that play along, lending credibility and legitimacy to his unhinged actions or the lack of it. Now what about other communities that worship different denominations. Is Bio going to appoint the Pope as his ambassador to tbe Christian world council.?
Ladies and gentlemen. I don’t admire this appointment for the minute because it’s all 2023 elections, politics and divisiveness, in my view. Such appointments are very divisive, even for Muslims. Can you imagine? What about well qualified Sierra Leoneans from other Muslim organisations, Ahmadiya, Islamic missions, etc.? There are many out there. What about highly qualified Sierra Leoneans who have studied in Israel, for example. We have the Sierra Leone Muslim council, an organisation representing the entire Muslim community in Sierra Leone. Why not sponsor and aid such an organisation and make it our ambassador to the Muslim world? If you do that, you don’t have to worry about Ansarul, Islamic, Ahmadiya, Jewish, this and that etc., missions or trained men and women of their faith.
Is it not time to establish a position in the ministry of Higher Education for Sierra Leone’s Representative to the Jewish World Education, Scientific, co-operation etc.? The Bio SLPP can also receive aid and grants to top up the failing economy but not win the next elections from Israel. I mean something similar to Dr Mohamed Ramadan Jalloh’s work at the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education? Such acts of divisiveness will not help win any elections yesterday, today, tomorrow or in 2023. That has to stop. God help and protect religious tolerance in Sierra Leone.
A picture or look of a person, can some how tells you about his character, welcome Dr. Jalloh and good luck we the Sierra Leoneans home and abroad looking forward to you. I am so happy for you because, the Arabic students across will come to realize that actually the Language is very important. Whatever studies you can get perfection from amongst the foreign languages, Arabic, French, Chinese Korean etc, go for it, you won’t regret it one day. Dr. Jalloh; I personally honor you, and wishing you all the best. Thank you….
We hope Dr Ramadan Jalloh doesn’t come as a window dressing exircise for Bio’s public relations exircise. Bio is like a chess play.He is clam under pressure, and he likes to evlaulte and placed his political opponents under a macroscopic view, in a political laboratory , visualising their reaction, before he makes his moves. To Bio, the outcome or endgame matters more than the little tittle tatler of his political opponents that are busy hemorrhaging support from the Sierra-leonean voting public. He knows when to make his moves, and he is not sort of ideas of how to cacth his political opponents napping.Sierra Leone is a majority Muslim country, but unlike other countries, our level of religious tolerance have allowed Christianity, and atheist to flourish with out any hindrance to their wellbeing . And long may that continue.We just have to look at Nigeria Mali and central Africa Republic, and see what religious division can do to undermined the security of the state.
Yes Dr Ramadan might bring some diversity in helping promote the teachings of the Islamic faith in Sierra Leone and advanced our knowledge in scientific understanding, and more petrol monies from the middle east flowing our way .So far so good. The unspoken fact all Sierra Leoneans should be proud of, despite some of the tribalistic and regional undertones that occasionally get the better of us, when it comes to religious freedom,and tolerance, our country is a class on its own. This religion tolerance we have in us, and the tribalistic behaviour of some of our politicians, may lend credence, after all this tribal division that exist in the country have been nurtured, and encouraged by our political classes for their own benefit. Otherwise one is forced to asked the question, Why when it comes to religion we are more accommodating of each other than the political parties we identifies ourselves with. Are the answers to my questions lie in the mosque or Church? Because the more we socialise, by praying together, we have a better understanding than, than seeing the Fulani Herdsman near your rice farm, and thinking worst.?
In the cold ligth of day, given the level of religious tolerance our country is known for, there migth be other factors at play here. Maybe, Bio is looking for more funding from the middle eastern countries of the organisation of Islamic cooperation. Or better still looking at the elections clock of 2023 that is counting down the days he has left in State House. So anything that will prop him up and extend his stay at the office of the president of Sierra Leone, he will go out of his way to hedge his bets. Bio is not as stupid as he looks. Rightnow every move he makes is calculated for the maximum effect. Who could blame him. You have a weak opposition party, lead by men and women that can’t tell the difference between midday and sunset, but happy and contend tbat the sun will shine on them forever. We hope Dr Jalloh doesn’t become like the experts Doctors that this president have catapult to high position of power, only to turn out be an almighty distraction and disappointment or worst failures.