By Umaru Fofana
“Little is known of Sierra Leone and how it connects to the diamonds we own”, so said the US hip-hop artist Kanye West. In his 2005 hit song DIAMONDS FROM SIERRA LEONE, he presented a powerful case for the troubles that diamonds had brought upon the country.
The war had just ended then. Two nationwide elections had been held since. Peace had started returning. But the government at the time failed to capitalise on what the country needed the most – rebranding. All we were known for then was the brutal war and its aftermath which included amputations, killings and the fact that we had the largest UN peacekeeping force in the world.
Kanye West has up to now not visited Sierra Leone which he showed so much empathy to by releasing that song – an opportunity the Tejan Kabbah administration did not seize. That opportunity should be revisited so Kanye can come as part of a massive visit by celebrities. The follow-up will perform wonders for our ailing economy and tourist industry.
Now, the year 2019 ended with a bang! The visit for the first time by Hollywood actor, Idris Elba to his fatherland made headline news around the world. A positive development in itself! The British actor’s obviously genuine interest in wanting to compensate for his late return to the place where his father was born and raised and where his mother grew up was telling in more ways than one. This is one gift that Sierra Leone must grab with both hands and both feet and not let slip like the Kanye one.
Sierra Leone in the hands of its leaders sometimes seems like a gold nugget in the hands of a pig. Completely clueless as to what to do with it! This is a country draped in rich history. So much so that it is easy to make it attractive to people with no links to it, let alone those with an ancestry traceable to here. And there is a long list of them:
Through DNA testing the American actor, Isaiah Washington traced his ancestry to Sierra Leone and has even visited. President Ernest Bai Koroma conferred citizenship on him and gave him a passport. I am not sure how much that was followed through for obvious dividends, by way of keeping in touch with the actor, who has starred in Spike Lee films. But he is one of those who can be brought together for a special homecoming to the fatherland. That could be re-launching the country’s rich tourism which used to be a Mecca for that.
Twiggy Jalloh, a beauty and lifestyle assistant for a leading showbiz magazine VOGUE, is another. In a powerful article about her recent homecoming, she concludes: “I gained a piece of myself” after visiting Sierra Leone for the first time. The piece talks about discovering herself after the UK-born fashionista visited the country of birth of her parents.
Also the actor, Caryn Elaine Johnson known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg has traced her ancestry to the Kroo tribe. Agreed they are more dominant in Liberia than they are in Sierra Leone, but five hours’ drive away means the Kroos here can lay some claim to her so we make her a part of that grand homecoming.
There is a willing group of people in southeastern United States who have been very enthusiastic about their ancestry to Sierra Leone. The Gullah who live in the low county region, have organised a series of home visits. I understand they were even here last Christmas. I am also informed that the Sierra Leone embassy in Washington DC organises annual visits to them in South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia where live The Gullahs, who still sing traditional songs in southern Sierra Leone.
All of that should be better coordinated. The president or the vice president should be made to attend this year’s visit and to engage the American media in a deliberate way to attract tourists. The same offensive can be done in the UK and elsewhere. This should involve all Sierra Leonean political parties that have branches in those countries so it gets a national appeal and buy-in. We can do a similar charm offensive in some other countries in Africa and in the Caribbean.
Bunce Island, off the coast of Freetown, lies in ruins. The place which the American archaeologist Joe Opalla refers to as “where history sleeps”, still has canons used by slave traders facing seawards, crumbled slave houses and graves of slave masters. There was talk years ago that funds had been secured or were about to be secured for the rebuilding of those houses on the uninhabited island to look as original as possible. Not sure what happened to that project.
While all that is good on the foreign front, our knowledge of our history and places is equally needed locally. It is refreshing to know that plans are far advanced to salvage the grave of Bai Bureh one of the most important and iconic Sierra Leoneans that ever lived. When that is completed it will open up that sleepy part of Port Loko District which will have a reverberating effect on the whole country. Schools and other academic institutions should organise tours of the area. That will not only strengthen knowledge of the homeland and its history, it will also buoy up the local economy.
Tiwai Island in southern Sierra Leone was once described by a foreign friend of mine as a place whose beauty can wake up the dead. The wildlife sanctuary in the area makes it a Mecca for tourism. In this one of the few remaining tracts of the ancient rainforest in West Africa, some butterflies that are extinct in many other parts of the world are said to be found there. Improving the road leading to the place will open it up to tourists.
Situated in Pujehun District Tiwai will not be a far flung place to visit with a good road network. School trips should also be organised. I was stunned during a recent visit to some of Uganda’s tourist attractions by the sheer number of school kids visiting. So much so that we were asked to wait until they had completed their tour.
Our Tacugama chimpanzee sanctuary is a pride to behold. The brainchild of Balasingham Amarasekaran, this ecotourism hub with close to 100 chimps has been there since 1995 and is one of the most recognised in the world. It is shocking how come the founder and programme director commonly called Balla, has never been given any national honour despite having received several such overseas. But that is for another day. The world needs to be encouraged to come and see and enjoy the beauty that Sierra Leone beholds.
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