Sylvanus Koroma

Last updated October 05, 2019

Sylvanus Fornah Koroma was a noted educationist in Sierra Leone and the father of Sierra Leone's president, Ernest Bai Koroma.

Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, informally Salone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea to the northeast. Sierra Leone has a tropical climate, with a diverse environment ranging from savanna to rainforests, and a total area of 71,740 km² (27,699 sq mi) and a population of 7,075,641 as of the 2015 census. The capital and largest city is Freetown, and the country is divided into five administrative regions, which are further subdivided into sixteen districts.

The President of the Republic of Sierra Leone is the head of state and the head of government of Sierra Leone, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces.

Ernest Bai Koroma is a Sierra Leonean politician who served as the 4th President of Sierra Leone from 17 September 2007 to 4 April 2018.

Career

Koroma spent many years working as a bible school teacher at the Wesleyan Church in Makeni.^[1]^[2]

The Wesleyan Church, also known as the Wesleyan Methodist Church and Wesleyan Holiness Church depending on the region, is a holiness Protestant Christian denomination in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Indonesia, Asia, and Australia. The church is part of the holiness movement and has roots in the teachings of John Wesley. It is Wesleyan and Arminian in doctrine.

Makeni is the largest city in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. The city is the capital of Bombali District, and is the economic center of the Northern Province. Makeni is the fifth largest city in Sierra Leone by population. The city of Makeni had a population of 80,840 in the 2004 census and a 2013 estimate of 112,428. Makeni lies approximately 137 kilometers east of Freetown. Makeni is home to the University of Makeni, the largest private university in Sierra Leone..

He served as the mayor of Makeni.^[3]

Honours

Koroma was a noted educationist in Sierra Leone, and the Yoni, Bombali, campus of the University of Makeni is named after him.^[4]

University of Makeni is the first private, Catholic, university located in Makeni, Sierra Leone.

In 2011, a memorial foundation was established bearing his name.^[5] His widow, Alice Koroma, was appointed honorary chairperson of the foundation.^[2]

Alice Rosalyn Koroma was the mother of Sierra Leone's president, Ernest Bai Koroma, and a longtime primary school teacher in Makeni. She was a longtime member of the Wesleyan Church congregation in Makeni, and in the 1960s she was a member of the Makeni city council from the All People's Congress (APC) party. Koroma, whose political career stems back to the 1960s, "was a strong supporter" and "advocate of women's rights". She was very active in the political scene of Sierra Leone and was a former leader of the All People's Congress (APC) Women's Congress in Bombali District in the later half of the 1960s.

Personal life

Koroma, who was of Temne and Loko heritage, was a native of Makari Gbanti chiefdom, Bombali District. Sylvanus Koroma was a devoted Christian.

The Temne people, also called Time, Temen, Timni or Timmanee people, are a West African ethnic group. They are predominantly found in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone, as well as the national capital Freetown. Some Temne are also found in Guinea. The Temne constitute the largest ethnic group in Sierra Leone, at 35% of the total population, which is slightly more than the Mende people at 31%. They speak Temne, a Mel branch of the Niger–Congo languages.

The Loko are one of the indigenous ethnic groups in Sierra Leone. Landogo is used as an endonym for the people and language, but other groups refer to them as Loko. They speak a Southwestern Mande language that is also called Loko. The majority of the Loko people live in the Northern Province of the country, particularly in Bombali and Port Loko District, and around the capital city of Freetown in communities such as Regent. Important regional towns include Tambiama, Kalangba, and Gbendembu, though other groups such as the Mandingo, Fula and Temne peoples live there too.

A chiefdom is a form of hierarchical political organization in non-industrial societies usually based on kinship, and in which formal leadership is monopolized by the legitimate senior members of select families or 'houses'. These elites form a political-ideological aristocracy relative to the general group.

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The Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) is one of the two major political parties in Sierra Leone, along with the All People's Congress (APC). It is the current ruling party in Sierra Leone since April 4, 2018.

Bombali District is a district in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. Its capital and largest city is Makeni, which is also the largest city in the north. Bombali District is one of the fourteen districts of Sierra Leone. Bombali is the second largest district in Sierra Leone by geographical area, after Koinadugu District, and is the second most populous district in the North, after Port Loko District. In the 2015 Sierra Leone national census, the population of Bombali district was 606,183. Other major towns in Bombali District include Kamabai, Karina and Binkolo.

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Solomon Ekuma Dominic Berewa was Vice-President of Sierra Leone from May 2002 to September 2007. Standing as the candidate of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP), he was defeated in the second round of the 2007 presidential election by Ernest Bai Koroma of the All People's Congress (APC).

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The Limba people are the third largest ethnic group in Sierra Leone. They represent over 8% of Sierra Leone's total population.

Port Loko District is a district in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. It is the most populous District in the North and the second most populous District in Sierra Leone, after the Western Area Urban District. As of the 2015 census, Port Loko District has a population of 614,063. The district capital is the town of Port Loko and its largest city is Lunsar. The other major towns in the district include Masiaka, Rokupr, Pepel, Lungi and Gbinti.

Edward Wilmot Blyden was an educator, writer, diplomat, and politician primarily in Liberia. Born in the West Indies, he joined the free black immigrants from the United States who migrated to the region. He taught for five years in the British West African Colony of Sierra Leone in the early 20th century. His writings on pan-Africanism were influential in both colonies. These were founded during the slavery years for the resettlement of free blacks from Great Britain and the United States.

Dr. Christiana Ayoka Mary Thorpe is a former two-term Chief Electoral Commissioner and Chairperson of the National Electoral Commission, an independent agency created by the Sierra Leone government to organise and supervise national, regional and local elections. She is the first woman Chief Electoral Commissioner in the country's history. She was also a Deputy Minister of Education in the 1990s. In March 2016, she was appointed a Deputy Minister of Education, Science and Technology, though one source states that Parliamentary approval was still pending.

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Makari Gbanti is a chiefdom of Bombali District in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. Officially, the principal town now lies at Masongbon. However, the village of Panlap is also considered the headquarters. The historical centre was Makari.

Alhaji Ibrahim Ben Kargbo, commonly known as I.B. Kargbo, is a Sierra Leonean journalist and politician. He currently the MP of constituency 030(Bombali District) Ernest Bai Koroma. I.B Kargbo is a close personal friend of president Ernest Bai Koroma and former president Ahmad Tejan Kabbah. I.B. Kargbo is one of the most trusted aides to president Koroma. He has a Bachelor's degree in journalism from Fourah Bay College and a Diploma in Journalism from John New Homes School of Journalism, 1979.

Sylvia Olayinka Walmina Oreshola Blyden is a Sierra Leonean journalist, political commentator, newspaper publisher, and the current Sierra Leone minister of Social Welfare, Gender and Children Affairs. She served as Special Executive Assistant to Sierra Leone's president Ernest Bai Koroma from 2013 to 2015.

Union Trust Bank (UTB), whose full name is Union Trust Bank Limited, is a commercial bank in Sierra Leone. It is licensed as a "commercial bank" by the Bank of Sierra Leone, the central bank and national banking regulator.

Alhaji Alpha Osman Timbo is a Sierra Leonean politician, educationist, lecturer and trade unionist. He was Sierra Leone Minister of Labour and Industrial Relations from 2001-2002 under president Ahmad Tejan Kabbah.

Patrick Omolade Hamilton is a Sierra Leone judge and an associate justice in the Supreme Court of Sierra Leone. He had previously served as a judge in the Sierra Leone High Court and the Sierra Leone Court of Appeal. He was appointed as a Supreme Court justice by Sierra Leone's president Ernest Bai Koroma and took office on January 22, 2009 after being confirmed by the Sierra Leone Parliament.

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References

↑ Tarawalie, Sheka (July 5, 2008). "Crawler's Special Written Sometime in Mid-November, 2007". Sierra Herald. Archived from the original on July 9, 2008.
1 2 Sawyerr, Ralph (28 June 2011). "President Koroma honours his late father Sylvanus Koroma at memorial service and launched a new foundation in his memory". Newstime Africa.
↑ Blyden, Sylvia Olayinka (11 January 2013). "Time to take Sierra Leone back from Lying Hate Mongers". Awareness Times. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
↑ Blyden, Sylvia (11 February 2014). "A Regent Village Scion Studying Law at Yoni Campus in Bombali : Integration of all Sierra Leoneans is on a High Note!". Awareness Times. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
↑ Sawyer, Ralph (28 June 2011). "President Koroma honours his Late father Sylvanus Koroma at memorial service and launched a new foundation in his memory". Newstime Africa. Retrieved 21 March 2015.

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[1] Tarawalie, Sheka (July 5, 2008). "Crawler's Special Written Sometime in Mid-November, 2007". Sierra Herald. Archived from the original on July 9, 2008.

[sawyerr-2] 1 2 Sawyerr, Ralph (28 June 2011). "President Koroma honours his late father Sylvanus Koroma at memorial service and launched a new foundation in his memory". Newstime Africa.

[3] Blyden, Sylvia Olayinka (11 January 2013). "Time to take Sierra Leone back from Lying Hate Mongers". Awareness Times. Retrieved 21 March 2015.

[4] Blyden, Sylvia (11 February 2014). "A Regent Village Scion Studying Law at Yoni Campus in Bombali : Integration of all Sierra Leoneans is on a High Note!". Awareness Times. Retrieved 21 March 2015.

[5] Sawyer, Ralph (28 June 2011). "President Koroma honours his Late father Sylvanus Koroma at memorial service and launched a new foundation in his memory". Newstime Africa. Retrieved 21 March 2015.