REACTIONS TO THE APPOINTMENT OF IBRAHIM SILLAH Ibrahim Yousuf Sillah of the prestigious King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia was taken by surprise this week when the U.S based Sierra Leonean Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of the widely read online Salone Monitor, Joseph Sherman appointed him as the paper’s Executive Foreign Correspondent in the Middle East. Making the appointment, Sherman had this to say about Mr. Sillah: “I always admire your style of writing and approach to issues affecting Sierra Leone and humanity. It is in this light that we see it necessary to add you to our team.” Accepting the appointment, Mr. Sillah said: “Let me make it abundantly clear that Im ready to serve in any capacity to improve your prestigious paper and in any move that would contribute in the development of Sierra Leone.” Speaking shortly after the appointment, Sillah said he sees the appointment as a challenge and that it will go a long way towards motivating him to continue serving his people and country. The Salone Monitor, he added, is a national treasure. “I will do everything in my power to uphold its high standards, preserve its integrity and build on its achievements. Sillah is indisputably one of the finest writers in this region. His unique manner of transmitting a lot of information across to the readers with as little as possible number of words makes his popular columns a must-read almost every day in the local and online dailies. In his new capacity as Salone Monitor Executive Foreign Correspondent in the Middle East, Sillah will be sending news stories and write-ups on activities of Sierra Leoneans in the Middle East among other assignments that will be assigned to him from time to time. In the past few years, Sillah has had a good number of his articles published in news portals, local and online newspapers. He has written on a number of topics of vital importance such as: education, brain drain syndrome, political issues pertaining to his country, opinions and commentaries. His readership is expanding and his write-ups have won the interest of far-reaching African communities in Africa, Europe, the United States of America and the Middle-East. Unisa Kanu is a former President of the Sierra Leone Nationals’ Union in Saudi Arabia and he also served as the Secretary General of the Union during the presidency of Ibrahim Sillah in the 1990’s – this is how Kanu reacted upon hearing the announcement. “If this appointment can be translated through the criteria of a score-sheet based on merit, then it comes as the icing on the cake after years of community service to Sierra Leoneans in the Kingdom. We have every right to interpret this appointment as just the beginning of bigger and more prestigious designations to come in acknowledgement and recognition of your selfless contribution to the Sierra Leone National Union.” Dr. Sorie Gassama is also a Sierra Leonean lecturer at the King Saud University. He has been very close to Mr. Sillah over the past two years. This is the profile he wrote about the newly appointed prolific Salone Monitor Executive Foreign Correspondent in this region….. Mr. Ibrahim Sillah commonly known among his contemporaries as Prof. Sillah hails from the prestigious Mandingo tribe. Like almost all Sierra Leoneans, his parents migrated from The Republic of Guinea decades ago, and settled in the Southern province of Sierra Leone precisely in the Bo periphery where his father later chose to settle after having him born in Freetown. Thus as a bred-in-the-bone Sierra Leonean, he grew up to be Sierra Leonean proud and has been known to have the inveterate tendency to defend the good name of The Republic in all his doings. Growing up in both the Eastern Province, Koidu Town, and the Southern Provinces of Sierra Leone with mercantile parents, Mr. Sillah’s parents took it upon themselves to give him an early academic head-start by not only sending him to excellent schools but availing him the finest tutors to make him the excellent academician he currently is. Coming from a family of polyglots, Mr. Sillah, like most Mandingo children, grew-up speaking several languages word for word without books and has all the good gifts of nature. Thus, at present he speaks, writes, and reads in excellence English, French, and Arabic. In-fact his Arabic is of so much grandeur that his translation services have become indispensable for most foreign missions here in The Kingdom during all functions of par-amount-cy. He is known to be a man of an eclectic nature who can handle several things at one time. On leaving Sierra Leone, Mr. Sillah spent some time learning the fine arts in the world renowned AL-Azar University in Cairo, Egypt, where he earned his secondary certificate at Al-Azhar Secondary for Foreign Students par excellence. This won him a scholarship, and smooth transition to one of the oldest and best universities in the Middle-East, The King Saud University in the capital city of Riyadh. Here again as before, his excellent performance was unmatched. Here he graduated with a B.Ed. in English Language with the highest distinction of Summa Cum laude. Hence, he has gone further to be the holder of the prestigious certificates of CELTA, TQM, and CAS. Mr. Sillah is also the holder of the prestigious MBA degree in Human Resources. Mr. Sillah’s work history is one equally laudable, commendable, estimable, and meritorious. He currently works in the prestigious King Saud University where he has served as a Lecturer since 2007, and hailed by his contemporaries as one with performance above average. He has been always very active in presenting workshops to better the performances of his co-lecturers. To this effect, he has received several certificates of appreciation from the powers that be. As the academic supervisor of Alfaisal International Academy from 2004-2007, Mr. Sillah was lauded as bringing to that institution an atmosphere of stability and excellence at a time when one was needed to keep the academy going. His great performance as an instructor at the Al-Imam University from 2001-2004 was one so remarkable that he is still being sought after by the authorities for a come-back. As a man of many hats, Mr. Sillah also worked out of the academic arena as a clinical translator at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center from 1990-2001. As always, his performance here was also so remarkable that authorities there keep employing anyone with his recommendation. The Al Sagri Establishment where he worked as a translator from 1988-1990 still bears his insignia. Mr. Sillah is naturally gifted in writing. His penmanship is commendable and one to reckon with. He writes with a flow that is unprecedentedly captivating. He has had a good number of his articles published in news portals, local and on-line newspapers. Among many others, he has written on a number of important topics such as: education, brain drain syndrome, political issues pertaining to his country, criticisms and commentaries to name but a few. By and large, his readership is amplifying and his write-ups have won the interest of far-reaching African communities in Africa, Europe, Asia, North and South America. He has been relentlessly publishing since 2010. By virtue of his academic background and having English Language as a major, Mr. Sillah possesses the language skills to proofread, edit, and fine tune language to make it smooth reading and easily comprehensible without losing the in-depth meaning of the text. He has edited numerous writings related to a plethora of topics.
Posted on: Fri, 06 Jun 2014 12:02:03 +0000
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