Former President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, His Excellency Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma, has called for renewed national attention to entrepreneurship, private enterprise and the opportunities they can create for Sierra Leone’s young people.
Speaking during a homecoming reception held in his honour at the Wusum Hotel in Makeni on Saturday evening, President Koroma said public service and politics should not be regarded as the only avenues to success.
Drawing on his own experience in the private sector before entering public life, he encouraged Sierra Leoneans, particularly young people, to embrace entrepreneurship, investment and enterprise as pathways through which they could create jobs, generate wealth and contribute meaningfully to national development.
President Koroma also returned to themes that have featured prominently in his reflections since coming back to Sierra Leone: peace, national cohesion and the responsibility of citizens to look beyond narrow and parochial interests.
He urged Sierra Leoneans to concentrate on issues rather than individuals and to work together towards building a country in which everyone has the opportunity to live a better life.
The warmth and affection shown to him since his return, he said, had been deeply moving. At times, the extraordinary reception had caused him to reflect on his years in office and to wish that he had been able to do even more for the people whose confidence and affection he continues to carry.
His more than two and a half years in Abuja had also given him time for reflection and exposed him to new experiences and perspectives. President Koroma said he intended to draw on those experiences in establishing a foundation through which he could continue serving Sierra Leone, particularly in areas where he saw gaps in peacebuilding, national cohesion and development.
The evening was therefore not only a celebration of his return to the city of his birth. It also offered an intimate reflection on the experiences, relationships and values that have shaped his life and public service.
Speaker after speaker recalled President Koroma’s kindness, generosity, humility and accessibility. Their reflections pointed repeatedly to his ability to connect with ordinary Sierra Leoneans and to bring together people from different backgrounds.
Chairing the occasion, former Attorney General and Minister of Justice Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara drew on several personal anecdotes to illustrate what he described as President Koroma’s compassion and capacity to serve as a rallying point for people across social and political divides.
For childhood friend Abdul K. Mansaray, the qualities that came to define President Koroma in public life could be traced to the home in which they grew up. Proposing a toast on behalf of their childhood friends, Mr. Mansaray recalled the Wesleyan Christian values and firm discipline instilled by President Koroma’s parents, Pa Sylvanus and Mama Alice.
Those memories were echoed by Former First Lady Sia Nyama Koroma, who reflected warmly on the several decades she has shared with her husband and on the welcome she received from the people of Makeni as a daughter from Kono who had married their son and brother.
Mrs. Koroma described the disciplined and deeply religious home in which her husband was raised as an enduring influence on the man and leader he became. The values instilled by Pa Sylvanus and Mama Alice, she said, helped shape his character, his kindness towards others and his commitment to service.
President Koroma’s daughter, Alice Mansaray, spoke with similar affection about her father’s abiding relationship with Makeni. Whatever the circumstances and whatever people might say about him, she observed, his heart had always remained firmly attached to the city of his birth.
She expressed gratitude for the reception given to her father since his return and also traced his attachment to Makeni, his generosity and his sense of service to the example established by his parents.
For Sylvester Sillah Koroma, who organised and financed the reception, the evening was an expression of personal gratitude. He spoke of the influence President Koroma had exercised on his own life and career, describing the reception as a modest effort to recognise that impact. His daughter, Sylvia Koroma, presented a citation honouring the former President’s years of public service and his enduring connection with Makeni and the Northern Region.
As the formal programme concluded, President Koroma did not remain apart from the gathering. He moved around the room, greeting guests and speaking informally with friends, relatives and members of the community.
For a statesman returning to the city where he was born after more than two and a half years away from Sierra Leone, the evening was more than a ceremonial welcome. It brought together memory, gratitude and an important conversation about private enterprise, national cohesion and the next chapter of his service to the country.
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