CITATION
AND APPRECIATION
OF THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE LATE
SIR ALBERT MICHAEL MARGAI,
FORMER PRIME MINISTER OF SIERRA LEONE,
BY HIS EXCELLENCY
ALHAJI DR AHMAD TEJAN KABBAH,
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF
SIERRA LEONE
Sir Albert Michael Margai, KCMG, (brother of
the late Sir Milton Margai, the first Prime
Minister of Sierra Leone, who is popularly referred
to as the "Father of the Nation")
was born in Gbangbatoke, in the Moyamba District
of the Southern Province. He had his earlier
education in both the St. Patrick's Primary
and the St. Edwards Secondary Schools in Bonthe
and Freetown respectively. On leaving school,
he trained as a Druggist. This would have provided
him with a promising career in the Medical profession
but he abandoned it to fulfil his ambition in
the legal profession. This took him to the United
Kingdom where he read law and was called to
the Bar in 1947 and returned home in 1948, thereby
becoming the first man from the then protectorate
to qualify as a barrister-at-law.
Sir
Albert's return coincided with the publication
by the colonial administration of constitutional
proposals for Sierra Leone to move towards self-government.
He took appropriate advantage of this development
and plunged straight away into the politics
of the day. He knew that he was outside the
class of Chiefs whom the Colonial administration
would prefer to appoint to the Legislative Council.
He was described as a "progressive and
young element" from the Protectorate, the
type who then was considered to have no place
in the Council. In such a situation, to get
to the Legislative Council, Sir Albert had to
use the circuitous route of first going to the
District Council and then the Protectorate Assembly.
In the Legislative Council, he vehemently demanded,
first an increase in the number of representatives
from the Protectorate, and then the election
by adult suffrage of those additional members
without literacy qualification.
This
happened in the 1957 General Elections and after.
By this device, the representatives from the
Protectorate were not only increased in number
but included persons who unlike the Chiefs,
could pursue independent views even if those
views brought them into direct conflict with
the colonial administration. At the time he
entered politics, Sir Albert had a number of
advantages to his credit, some innate and some
acquired. He was imbued with a high sense of
gratitude and appreciation for all that he had
achieved. He never forgot those who were responsible
for making him what he had become. Therefore,
being a lawyer did not alienate himself from
his people. Rather, he always identified himself
very closely with their problems, interests
and aspirations. He was armed with an exemplary
knowledge of the law. This gave him a lot of
prestige and stature which he used to advocate
the cause of his people and later the unity
and emancipation of Sierra Leone. He had a brief
but very lucrative legal practice. He was known
for his fearless defence of his clients' cause.
These were the days of the diamond boom. He
made money legitimately and honestly through
his practice. He was a great orator and a good
impromptu speaker, with a commanding presence.
With all such qualities his physical presence
and views on matters of the day could not be
ignored even by the colonial administrators.
Thus he won the hearts of a number of the progressive
section of his party, and attracted the younger
intellectuals and radical elements in the community.
More people increasingly gravitated towards
him, a factor which he took good advantage of
later in his political career.
In
politics, Sir Albert's initial focus was on
the promotion of the interest of the then Protectorate,
which he observed, was under-represented in
the Legislative Council. He was determined to
ensure that this imbalance was redressed, which
in fact to him meant the protectorate having
predominant membership in the Legislative Council,
the forerunner of a would be Parliament. His
strong advocacy for self-determination eventually
paid dividends when the Colonial Government
later agreed to merge the Colony and Protectorate
for internal self-government after elections
to the enlarged Legislative Council, a cause
which he had consistently advocated. When at
last self-government was granted to Sierra Leone
by the Colonial government, Sir Albert was appointed
Minister of Education with Local Government
added later. Though his tenure was brief in
that Ministry, he endeared himself to teachers
throughout the country by his educational programme
and the substantial increase in their salaries
and improvements in their conditions of service.
He left his mark by the introduction of technical
education with the establishment of technical
institutions in Freetown, and Kenema and the
upgrading of other secondary schools to School
Certificate level with the addition of technical
and vocational studies as part of their Curricula
as well.
As
Local Government Minister, Sir Albert re-organised
the local government structure of the country
and transferred to local authorities all responsibilities
in the Protectorate hitherto carried on by the
colonial administrators. This was not without
a tussle between him and the colonial administrators.
He had then become an outstanding and vibrant
political leader with his own following. He
had a brief spell outside his party, the SLPP,
which he left in 1958 over a disagreement with
his elder brother. During this period he joined
Siaka Stevens to form another political party.
But his departure and estrangement was short-lived.
Sir Albert soon returned to the SLPP and became
one of the most effective Ministers of the Government,
which negotiated and won independence for Sierra
Leone in 1961.
By
the time his brother died in 1964, Sir Albert
by his own performance in the Government and
in the country at large had become the acknowledged
and acclaimed natural, political successor to
his brother. He was bold and outspoken about
the social evils of the day and seemed to know
how best to resolve them. He took anti-colonialist
stance on foreign matters and he was an extrovert
par excellence. He did not hesitate to criticise
even his brother's softly, softly policy. For
this, he was the young politician's icon and
was considered to have the courage and ability
to do better than even his brother. Thus, his
appointment as Prime Minister initially had
popular acclamation. This is, for instance,
what the then Speaker of Parliament, the late
Sir Banja Tejan-Sie, also a lawyer and contemporary
of Albert Margai, had to say about him while
congratulating the new Prime Minister on his
first appearance in the House of Representatives
after assuming office:
"I
have no doubt of his ability to do the job and
to do it efficiently, effectively and with humanism
and understanding. It is of great significance
that immediately upon entering the high office
the new Prime Minister has pledged himself to
uphold the supremacy of the law and the tenets
of the Constitution and to safeguard the rights
and privileges of the individual including freedom
of speech, and above all, to work for the unity
and solidarity of Sierra Leone".
The
few who seemed to disapprove of his appointment
were those who felt threatened by what they
regarded as his uncompromising stance on many
issues and his tendency to bring innovative
change in government which might threaten their
position. Further, the influence of those young
politicians around him was considered a threat.
This again alienated the old guard in his Cabinet
and in the Party, and some of the Paramount
Chiefs.
He
was a very able, dynamic, progressive and original
politician. He initiated a massive programme
of agricultural development which provided employment
for many school and college graduates. He was
a capable speaker and gained great stature in
Commonwealth politics in the fight for black
majority rule in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe and
in African regional organizations. His contributions
in this connection and others prompted the late
Bankole Timothy, a journalist of great repute,
to write a booklet on him entitled "Albert
Margai of Africa". He is credited for setting
up the Bank of Sierra Leone as the national
central bank and for creating the Leone as the
legal tender in Sierra Leone. The Sierra Leone
State Lottery too was his idea which he saw
through. He was very nationalistic and properly
motivated. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth
II and thus became Sir Albert Michael Margai,
KCMG. He put high premium on legality in public
affairs and he was a believer in the rule of
law. He never detained any person under his
emergency powers and never signed a death warrant
for the execution of any person convicted of
murder. His belief in the principles of democracy
and the rule of law was only excelled by his
belief in God. He was deeply religious, a devoted
Catholic who made no secret of the fact that
he believed firmly in the power of prayer.
However,
repeated allegations of corruption and nepotism
made against him largely by the opposition eroded
his support in the Western Area and damaged
his reputation in the Western democracies. The
lowest point came when a year before the elections
some of his associates persuaded him to promulgate
legislation that would make Sierra Leone a one-party
State. The opposition APC and some members of
his party picked on this mistake to further
discredit him. He abandoned the plan too late
to allay people's fear and restore the confidence
of the electorate in him before the general
elections. He did so not because he was weak
but because as a committed democrat his assessment
of the one-party campaign left him uncertain
that the majority of Sierra Leoneans supported
it. Incidentally, the later APC Government largely
justified its introduction of a one-party government
on the basis of Sir Albert's earlier abortive
attempt to introduce this form of government
which the APC had vehemently opposed.
Sir
Albert called the elections for 17 March 1967.
The local branches of his Party selected the
candidates and most of the dissenters within
the Party were not selected. However they stood
as independents and won most of their seats.
In spite of sustained persuasion, they agreed
to declare for their Party, the SLPP, only on
condition that Sir Albert vacated the leadership,
which he was not prepared to do. At the final
count of the elected ordinary members, the APC
was leading by two seats.
Thereafter
a lot of pressure was brought on the Governor-General
to appoint Siaka Stevens even before the election
results of Paramount Chief members were announced.
This infuriated a group of soldiers who had
witnessed the arm-twisting of the Governor-General
by the supporters of Siaka Stevens and opponents
of Sir Albert. They barred the State House and
prevented any one from entering or leaving.
The Force Commander Brigadier David Lansana
ordered Siaka Stevens and his supporters to
be kept there and he declared martial law.
The
events following the declaration of martial
law by Brigadier Lansana moved at meteoric speed.
Before long after his declaration, Brigadier
Lansana himself was arrested and detained by
his own officers who then established a military
junta to govern the country. This junta held
office for about a year. It was during this
period that a number of Commissions of Inquiry
were established to investigate the conduct
of the inconclusive elections and the assets
of members of the previous administration. At
this time the political atmosphere was heavily
charged in the Western Area against the SLPP
and its members and perceived supporters to
the extent that it was not possible for a fair
and objective investigation to be conducted
into the matters which those Commissions of
Inquiry were mandated to investigate. They adopted
a conduct and pattern which all other Commissions
of Inquiry established after military coups
in this country had followed since then. The
pattern is now well known and the same. From
the conduct of the investigations the impression
was created that the exercise was aimed at discrediting
and harassing the SLPP and its members to the
point of emasculating them by stripping them
of power and their possessions and thereby paving
the way for the assumption of office by Siaka
Stevens and his APC Party. This objective was
achieved as most of the assets of members of
the SLPP were ordered to be confiscated and
forfeited to the State. Sir Albert was easily
the main target in this affair, as he then personified
the SLPP and the previous administration. He
was stripped of almost all his assets as having
been acquired illegitimately, without any account
taken of the fact that he had had a very lucrative
and successful legal practice even before he
entered government and he had legitimately acquired
a lot of those assets before then.
He
was humiliated and discredited and forced to
go into exile where he died some 24 years ago.
Political
victimization of well-placed and patriotic citizens
has been one of the root-causes of alienation
and disaffection among large sections of the
Sierra Leone community, as we have now come
to know to our chagrin.
This,
no doubt, is what is referred to in the White
Paper on the report of the Chaytor Committee
appointed by Government to review previous decisions
concerning properties confiscated by government
from 1968 - 1993, the relevant portions of which
are quoted here in the following terms:
".
. . ..4. One obvious cause of perceived grievances
and alienation was in the area of the confiscation
and expropriation of properties of citizens
by the State. Since 1967 it had been the fashionable
practice for Commissions of Inquiry to be established
whenever a military regime assumed power after
a military coup.
5. Those Commissions were empowered to probe
the activities of members of the civilian governments
ousted including the assets of such members
and of their associates. Those probes invariably
resulted in the confiscation and forfeiture
of the assets of the persons subject to the
investigations and the imposition of heavy fines
and often draconian orders against them. It
was a known fact that those investigations were
conducted in an atmosphere of extreme official
hostility and heightened political tension against
the persons investigated to the extent that
there was no opportunity for their receiving
a fair hearing or for their having a chance
to put up any or any proper defence. Witnesses
were afraid or reluctant to come forth to testify
in favour of the persons being investigated.
Adverse orders were made against persons who
out of fear had kept themselves away from the
Commissions. In the circumstance the orders
were made by those Commissions for the seizure
and confiscation of the assets of the persons
investigated and the military regimes endorsed
those orders without more.
6. The seizure and confiscation of private property
in those circumstances had been among the causes
for the anger and resentment by the affected
individuals against the State. This has extended
to even generations succeeding such individuals.
The purpose of the National Commission for Unity
and Reconciliation set up under the Act (Act
No.1 of 1996) was to review and examine the
basis for the deprivation of the citizens of
their property and to make appropriate recommendation
to the Government, having regard to the need
to avoid and redress injustices, and to promote
peace, unity and reconciliation in the country.
It was Government's view that long after the
event, it was now possible to examine and review
in a dispassionate and objective manner the
cases of all the individuals affected. This
could then be done in an atmosphere that was
not as politically charged as that prevailing
immediately after the military coups, which
resulted in the setting up of those Commissions
of Inquiry.
7. It should also be remembered that the primary
reason given by the several coup makers for
their taking over power from the civilian regimes
was the prevalence of corruption by officials
and members of these civilian Governments which
they ousted and their associates. Thus, one
other purpose which the Commissions of Inquiry
were intended to serve was to provide a much
needed justification for the ousting of the
civilian governments by those military regimes.
The findings of the Commissions were held out
and treated in this light. In the circumstance
and in the prevailing hostile situation, the
need to do justice and to be fair to the persons
investigated were not the primary consideration.
As it turned out, some of the orders made by
those regimes at the end of the probes were
even in excess of and had no bearing to the
stated findings of the respective Commissions.
These instances of obvious injustice had been
the cause of resentment against, and alienation
from, the State of the persons affected. Therefore,
for the purpose of enhancing national unity,
peace and reconciliation, the National Commission
for Unity and Reconciliation was established
to redress those obvious cases of injustice.
8. Another matter which needs to be noted here
relates to the nature of Commissions of Inquiry.
By definition they are bodies charged with the
responsibility of ascertaining facts from which
inferences that may have far-reaching and adverse
consequences on the proprietary rights of citizens
can be drawn. In the process, the Commission
is empowered to relax the normal rules of procedure
and evidence which are designed to ensure fair
play and the attainment of justice in a trial.
The absence of such safeguards for the persons
investigated by the several Commissions of Inquiry
appointed by previous military regimes is another
reason for the unease on the part of the Government
to maintain the forfeiture and confiscation
orders made as a result, except in the obvious
cases of gross malpractices or irregularities
adversely affecting the State or its assets
as may be apparent from the records of the Commissions."
From the foregoing, it is not difficult to know
why Sir Albert was depicted and treated the
way he was. This should serve as an object lesson
to Sierra Leoneans in their treatment of their
compatriots to ensure that fairness and justice
always prevail.
Sir
Albert Margai was a fighter for freedom, advocate
for the social and political advancement of
the disadvantaged, a protagonist for the rule
of law and a committed democrat. His service
and contribution to this country could not be
acknowledged in his lifetime and even since
his death. Rather, for the reasons stated above,
he was stigmatized as a villain. By this action,
the record is now being put right. He deserves
to be recognized and honoured though posthumously,
as one of the prime architects of our emancipation,
independence and nationhood.
