By Rev. David Kanu
Every year, since the days of the late President Joseph Saidu Momoh, the Sierra Leone Government has consistently been financially helping Muslims to perform their sacred pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca, in Saudi Arabia. During the administration of President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah some Arab States, especially Libya, provided air tickets and other financial assistance to help more of our Sierra Leonean Muslim brothers and sisters perform the hajj.
President Ernest Bai Koroma has continued with this trend and gesture to Muslims and has in fact increased the number of beneficiaries, we understand. All this is well and good. In fact during the last Muslim holiday President Koroma paid for each pilgrim to be able to buy a sheep to slaughter as sacrifice during the Eid of Sacrifice in Mecca. What amazes me is that all our Presidents so far, excepting the late President Siaka Stevens, have not made any attempts to financially help Christians in Sierra Leone to go on pilgrimage to Jerusalem at Easter or to Lourdes in France in the case of Catholics.
Over the years President Yahyah Jammeh in the Gambia, has been helping Muslims and Christians on an equal footing, to go on their respective pilgrimages even though he is a Muslim. Our Muslim brothers and sisters in Sierra Leone are very lucky, as successive governments always strive to help them. Why not?
The big question is this: Who will help the Christians in Sierra Leone perform their own pilgrimage?
Thank you very much.
(C) Politico 26/11/13
