SIR MILTON AUGUSTUS STRIEBY MARGAI
(1895-1964)
ARCHITECT OF SIERRA LEONE INDEPENDENCE AND FIRST PRIME MINISTER
Sir Milton Margai was born in Gbangabatoke in what is now Banta Chiefdom, Moyamba District, on December 7, 1895. The eldest son
of the prominent businessman, Mr. M.E.S. Margai of Bonthe, he received primary and secondary education at the E.U.B. school, Bonthe, and the Albert Academy in Freetown, respectively. In 1921, he obtained his B.A. degree from Fourah Bay College. He then went to Britain where he obtained an M.A. degree and studied medicine at King's College, Durham, graduating in 1926.
Sir Milton had a string of firsts to his name: first Protectorate man to graduate from Fourah Bay College, first Protectorate man to qualify as a medical doctor, founder of the first Protectorate newspaper (the Sierra Leone Observer), Sierra Leone's first Chief Minister, Prime Minister and Privy Councillor.
He was a distinguished member of the Colonial Medical Service who pioneered social welfare and hygiene education in remote areas of the Protectorate. He encouraged leaders of the Mende women's secret society, the Sande, to include training courses in hygiene, literacy and childcare in their programme of initiation for young girls. These courses were taught by qualified instructors, most of whom were trained by Sir Milton himself.
In 1950, Sir Milton retired from the government medical service and set up private practice. As a result, he had more time to devote to politics. He was from the very beginning an active member of the Protectorate Educational Progressive Union (PEPU) which later merged with the Sierra Leone Organisation Society (SOS) to form the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) of which he became the first national chairman. After the 1951 elections, he became Leader of Government Business, and in 1954, Chief Minister.
In politics, Sir Milton was the consummate negotiator and a skilful strategist. At the time he entered politics, Sierra Leone was divided into Colony and Protectorate with separate and different political systems. Antagonism between the two entities came to a head in 1947 when proposals were introduced to provide for a single political system for both the Colony and the Protectorate, with an unofficial African majority in the Legislative Council, most of whom were to come from the Protectorate. The Creoles of the Colony naturally opposed the proposals whose effect would have been to diminish their political power. Joining the Creoles in opposition to some aspects of the proposals, however, were the educated elite of the Protectorate who saw in the proposals a means of transferring the dominant position of the chiefs from the Protectorate Assembly to the Legislative Council. It was due to the astute politics of Sir Milton that the younger, educated Protectorate elite were won over to join forces with the chiefs in the face of Creole intransigence. Later, Sir Milton was to use the same skills to win over opposition leaders and moderate Creole elements to his United Front government for the achievement of independence. He offered top ministerial positions within the SLPP cabinet to such opposition leaders as Albert Margai, who had earlier broken away from the SLPP to form the PNP; C.B. Rogers-Wright, leader of the main surviving Creole party, the UPP; and G. Dickson-Thomas, leader of the IPP, a splinter of the UPP. As a result of this, the leaders agreed to disband their parties to serve under the banner of the SLPP.
An important aspect of Sir Milton's character was his self-effacement. He was neither corrupt nor did he make a lavish display of his power or status. Although he was conservative, he was tolerant of his opponents, and was not one to insist on having his way all the time. These qualities endeared him to all Sierra Leoneans who loved, respected and admired him. Many Sierra Leoneans look back to the age of "Pa," as he was fondly known, as one of the almost idyllic stability, and there can be no doubt that Sir Milton left deep and indelible footprints on the sands of time.
SIR ALBERT MICHAEL MARGAI
(1910-1980)
SECOND PRIME MINISTER
Sir Albert was born on October 10, 1910, at Gbangbatoke, Banta Chiefdom (now in the Moyamba District) and was educated at St.
Edward's Secondary School, Freetown.
He first worked as a nurse from 1931 to 1944, then proceeded to Britain to study law at the Inner Temple Inns of Court where he qualified in 1948. He returned to Sierra Leone and enrolled as a solicitor and advocate in the Supreme Court and set up private practice.
Sir Albert played an active role in the debates over the Stevenson Constitution and was one of the chief spokesmen for protectorate interests. He held cabinet positions in Education, Agriculture, Natural Resources and Finance between 1951 and 1964. In 1951, he was elected to the Legislative Council as the first Protectorate Member, and became the first Minister of Education when he was appointed to the cabinet in 1952. In 1957, he was returned to parliament in the general elections as M.P. for Moyamba South Constituency. Shortly after the elections, he challenged his brother for the leadership of the party and was elected leader of the S.L.P.P. but later stepped down for his elder brother after he had been guaranteed that his closest ally, Siaka Stevens, would return to the cabinet. It was Sir Milton's failure to honour this and other pledges that led Albert to refuse the cabinet position he had been offered, and to form his own party, called People's National Party, in September 1958. He was appointed Minister of Agriculture in the United Front Coalition in 1959. In 1962, he was returned as M.P. for Moyamba South Constituency and was appointed Minister of Finance. He introduced the decimal currency, established the "leone" as legal tender, and created the Bank of Sierra Leone as our Central Bank. He became Prime Minister on April 29, 1964, following the death of Sir Milton.
At the time he became leader of the S.L.P.P. and Head of Government, Sir Albert was no longer a young man, but he did not enjoy the reverence which old age had bestowed upon his elder brother. As the first up-country lawyer, he was highly respected but, unlike Sir Milton, did not enjoy the support and confidence of all factions of his party. As the recognised leader of the progressive wing of the S.L.P.P., he advocated a faster pace of development for Sierra Leone and took an "African" stand on most international issues. Sir Albert was also known to have advocated less attachment to traditional institutions, and while he was leader of the People's National Party (PNP), he openly asked traditional rulers to stay out of politics.
As Prime Minister, Sir Albert, who had come to be popularly known as "Big Albert," "Albert of Africa," and "Akpata," infused dynamism and glamour into the somewhat sedate politics of Sierra Leone.
He had great respect and admiration for Presidents Sekou Toure and Kwame Nkrumah, and sought to emulate the two leaders in their stands on international issues and their preoccupation with politicising the mass of their people. Sir Albert personified the African personality both in his attire and his public utterances on African issues..
Until he came on the scene, S.L.P..P. politics was largely a conservative affair left to chiefs, elders and opinion leaders. Sir Albert added glamour by increasing pomp and pageantry in the office of Prime Minister. Outriders on motorcycles and police landrovers with blaring sirens became more conspicuous. Gaily attired women in ashobi, young men in party t-shirts, praise singers and drummers also became a regular feature of the political scene. With the introduction of the institution of Mammy Queens, women suddenly became important in politics, organising their fellow women in sections to provide political support for the leadership..
In his attempt to project himself as a symbol of national unity and as catalyst for mobilising the progressive forces of the country, Sir Albert found himself in the same dilemma in which many African leaders of his time found themselves. His impatience with the gradualism of the older generation, and his revolt against their authority, not only alienated him from a section that still had considerable sway, but also opened him to attacks from younger elements who perceived his efforts as not going far enough.
Racked by accusations of corruption in high places and of disregard for the interests of significant sectors of the population, Sir Albert lost the 1967 elections to the opposition A.P.C., and in the process became the first and only leader of an African state to have officially lost an election.
In spite of the failings of his regime, this genial giant who was wont to threaten to shoot down his opponents, brrr...had profound respect for the law and the constitution of the land. He relied on legal rather than extra-legal means in his fight against his opponents, and in the process helped to preserve a sacred heritage.
EUSTACE HENRY TAYLOR CUMMINGS
(1890-1967)
PUBLIC SERVANT AND CONCERNED CITIZEN
Eustace Taylor-Cummings was Mayor of Freetown from 1948 to 1954. His contribution to the medical service as a doctor, to civic
duties as mayor, and to fostering education in Sierra Leone is an example worthy of emulation.
Eustace was born the son of a leading Krio merchant, Emmanuel Cummings, who had himself been Mayor of Freetown. As would be expected from this background, he had the opportunity of the best education that could be offered in Sierra Leone at the time. He attended the Wesleyan Boys High School (now Methodist Boys' High School) and, from 1909 to 1911, studied at Fourah Bay College. He then proceeded to Britain, where he became the first African to qualify as a doctor from the University of Liverpool.
After working in Birmingham as a doctor for a short while, he returned home in 1920 and joined the medical service. Those were the days when European doctors did not care to serve under a black doctor, and many resigned rather than accept this. Eustace Cummings was first attached to the Sanitation Department. In that position, he made an extensive tour of the protectorate. He also worked to improve the sanitary conditions of Freetown in particular and the colony in general, advocating a proper drainage system and proper ventilation in houses. By the time of his retirement in 1947, he had risen to the rank of Senior Medical Officer.
Eustace Cummings was also very active in civic affairs in Freetown, achieving the position of Mayor of Freetown in 1948. He first joined the Freetown City Council as nominated member in 1936, and held this position until he became mayor. As mayor, he was instrumental in establishing the system which has now become the municipal schools in Freetown, starting with the Interim Municipal (now Regent Square) School.. He also successfully pressed the colonial government to build these new schools in Freetown.
Eustace Cummings was a member of the Commission on Higher Education in West Africa, appointed by the British government in 1943. This commission's report resulted in the establishment of the University Colleges of Ibadan and the Gold Coast. Cummings recommended that Fourah Bay College be retained for the time being as a college of Durham University and then be allowed to develop as an autonomous university, which turned out to be precisely the way things developed.
When the colonial government threatened to reduce the status of Fourah Bay College to that of a technical college in 1944, Cummings was one of the concerned citizens who formed the "Save the Fourah Bay College" Committee to mobilise popular support against the move.
From 1950 to 1953, Cummings was President of the Fourah Bay College Council, the governing body of the college, being the first Sierra Leonean to hold that position. In 1960, he was awarded the Doctor of Civil Laws by Durham University in England. He lived a very upright life as an active churchman, and died in 1967.
(1895-1964)
ARCHITECT OF SIERRA LEONE INDEPENDENCE AND FIRST PRIME MINISTER
Sir Milton Margai was born in Gbangabatoke in what is now Banta Chiefdom, Moyamba District, on December 7, 1895. The eldest son
of the prominent businessman, Mr. M.E.S. Margai of Bonthe, he received primary and secondary education at the E.U.B. school, Bonthe, and the Albert Academy in Freetown, respectively. In 1921, he obtained his B.A. degree from Fourah Bay College. He then went to Britain where he obtained an M.A. degree and studied medicine at King's College, Durham, graduating in 1926.Sir Milton had a string of firsts to his name: first Protectorate man to graduate from Fourah Bay College, first Protectorate man to qualify as a medical doctor, founder of the first Protectorate newspaper (the Sierra Leone Observer), Sierra Leone's first Chief Minister, Prime Minister and Privy Councillor.
He was a distinguished member of the Colonial Medical Service who pioneered social welfare and hygiene education in remote areas of the Protectorate. He encouraged leaders of the Mende women's secret society, the Sande, to include training courses in hygiene, literacy and childcare in their programme of initiation for young girls. These courses were taught by qualified instructors, most of whom were trained by Sir Milton himself.
In 1950, Sir Milton retired from the government medical service and set up private practice. As a result, he had more time to devote to politics. He was from the very beginning an active member of the Protectorate Educational Progressive Union (PEPU) which later merged with the Sierra Leone Organisation Society (SOS) to form the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) of which he became the first national chairman. After the 1951 elections, he became Leader of Government Business, and in 1954, Chief Minister.
In politics, Sir Milton was the consummate negotiator and a skilful strategist. At the time he entered politics, Sierra Leone was divided into Colony and Protectorate with separate and different political systems. Antagonism between the two entities came to a head in 1947 when proposals were introduced to provide for a single political system for both the Colony and the Protectorate, with an unofficial African majority in the Legislative Council, most of whom were to come from the Protectorate. The Creoles of the Colony naturally opposed the proposals whose effect would have been to diminish their political power. Joining the Creoles in opposition to some aspects of the proposals, however, were the educated elite of the Protectorate who saw in the proposals a means of transferring the dominant position of the chiefs from the Protectorate Assembly to the Legislative Council. It was due to the astute politics of Sir Milton that the younger, educated Protectorate elite were won over to join forces with the chiefs in the face of Creole intransigence. Later, Sir Milton was to use the same skills to win over opposition leaders and moderate Creole elements to his United Front government for the achievement of independence. He offered top ministerial positions within the SLPP cabinet to such opposition leaders as Albert Margai, who had earlier broken away from the SLPP to form the PNP; C.B. Rogers-Wright, leader of the main surviving Creole party, the UPP; and G. Dickson-Thomas, leader of the IPP, a splinter of the UPP. As a result of this, the leaders agreed to disband their parties to serve under the banner of the SLPP.
An important aspect of Sir Milton's character was his self-effacement. He was neither corrupt nor did he make a lavish display of his power or status. Although he was conservative, he was tolerant of his opponents, and was not one to insist on having his way all the time. These qualities endeared him to all Sierra Leoneans who loved, respected and admired him. Many Sierra Leoneans look back to the age of "Pa," as he was fondly known, as one of the almost idyllic stability, and there can be no doubt that Sir Milton left deep and indelible footprints on the sands of time.
SIR ALBERT MICHAEL MARGAI
(1910-1980)
SECOND PRIME MINISTER
Sir Albert was born on October 10, 1910, at Gbangbatoke, Banta Chiefdom (now in the Moyamba District) and was educated at St.
Edward's Secondary School, Freetown.He first worked as a nurse from 1931 to 1944, then proceeded to Britain to study law at the Inner Temple Inns of Court where he qualified in 1948. He returned to Sierra Leone and enrolled as a solicitor and advocate in the Supreme Court and set up private practice.
Sir Albert played an active role in the debates over the Stevenson Constitution and was one of the chief spokesmen for protectorate interests. He held cabinet positions in Education, Agriculture, Natural Resources and Finance between 1951 and 1964. In 1951, he was elected to the Legislative Council as the first Protectorate Member, and became the first Minister of Education when he was appointed to the cabinet in 1952. In 1957, he was returned to parliament in the general elections as M.P. for Moyamba South Constituency. Shortly after the elections, he challenged his brother for the leadership of the party and was elected leader of the S.L.P.P. but later stepped down for his elder brother after he had been guaranteed that his closest ally, Siaka Stevens, would return to the cabinet. It was Sir Milton's failure to honour this and other pledges that led Albert to refuse the cabinet position he had been offered, and to form his own party, called People's National Party, in September 1958. He was appointed Minister of Agriculture in the United Front Coalition in 1959. In 1962, he was returned as M.P. for Moyamba South Constituency and was appointed Minister of Finance. He introduced the decimal currency, established the "leone" as legal tender, and created the Bank of Sierra Leone as our Central Bank. He became Prime Minister on April 29, 1964, following the death of Sir Milton.
At the time he became leader of the S.L.P.P. and Head of Government, Sir Albert was no longer a young man, but he did not enjoy the reverence which old age had bestowed upon his elder brother. As the first up-country lawyer, he was highly respected but, unlike Sir Milton, did not enjoy the support and confidence of all factions of his party. As the recognised leader of the progressive wing of the S.L.P.P., he advocated a faster pace of development for Sierra Leone and took an "African" stand on most international issues. Sir Albert was also known to have advocated less attachment to traditional institutions, and while he was leader of the People's National Party (PNP), he openly asked traditional rulers to stay out of politics.
As Prime Minister, Sir Albert, who had come to be popularly known as "Big Albert," "Albert of Africa," and "Akpata," infused dynamism and glamour into the somewhat sedate politics of Sierra Leone.
He had great respect and admiration for Presidents Sekou Toure and Kwame Nkrumah, and sought to emulate the two leaders in their stands on international issues and their preoccupation with politicising the mass of their people. Sir Albert personified the African personality both in his attire and his public utterances on African issues..
Until he came on the scene, S.L.P..P. politics was largely a conservative affair left to chiefs, elders and opinion leaders. Sir Albert added glamour by increasing pomp and pageantry in the office of Prime Minister. Outriders on motorcycles and police landrovers with blaring sirens became more conspicuous. Gaily attired women in ashobi, young men in party t-shirts, praise singers and drummers also became a regular feature of the political scene. With the introduction of the institution of Mammy Queens, women suddenly became important in politics, organising their fellow women in sections to provide political support for the leadership..
In his attempt to project himself as a symbol of national unity and as catalyst for mobilising the progressive forces of the country, Sir Albert found himself in the same dilemma in which many African leaders of his time found themselves. His impatience with the gradualism of the older generation, and his revolt against their authority, not only alienated him from a section that still had considerable sway, but also opened him to attacks from younger elements who perceived his efforts as not going far enough.
Racked by accusations of corruption in high places and of disregard for the interests of significant sectors of the population, Sir Albert lost the 1967 elections to the opposition A.P.C., and in the process became the first and only leader of an African state to have officially lost an election.
In spite of the failings of his regime, this genial giant who was wont to threaten to shoot down his opponents, brrr...had profound respect for the law and the constitution of the land. He relied on legal rather than extra-legal means in his fight against his opponents, and in the process helped to preserve a sacred heritage.
EUSTACE HENRY TAYLOR CUMMINGS
(1890-1967)
PUBLIC SERVANT AND CONCERNED CITIZEN
Eustace Taylor-Cummings was Mayor of Freetown from 1948 to 1954. His contribution to the medical service as a doctor, to civic
duties as mayor, and to fostering education in Sierra Leone is an example worthy of emulation.Eustace was born the son of a leading Krio merchant, Emmanuel Cummings, who had himself been Mayor of Freetown. As would be expected from this background, he had the opportunity of the best education that could be offered in Sierra Leone at the time. He attended the Wesleyan Boys High School (now Methodist Boys' High School) and, from 1909 to 1911, studied at Fourah Bay College. He then proceeded to Britain, where he became the first African to qualify as a doctor from the University of Liverpool.
After working in Birmingham as a doctor for a short while, he returned home in 1920 and joined the medical service. Those were the days when European doctors did not care to serve under a black doctor, and many resigned rather than accept this. Eustace Cummings was first attached to the Sanitation Department. In that position, he made an extensive tour of the protectorate. He also worked to improve the sanitary conditions of Freetown in particular and the colony in general, advocating a proper drainage system and proper ventilation in houses. By the time of his retirement in 1947, he had risen to the rank of Senior Medical Officer.
Eustace Cummings was also very active in civic affairs in Freetown, achieving the position of Mayor of Freetown in 1948. He first joined the Freetown City Council as nominated member in 1936, and held this position until he became mayor. As mayor, he was instrumental in establishing the system which has now become the municipal schools in Freetown, starting with the Interim Municipal (now Regent Square) School.. He also successfully pressed the colonial government to build these new schools in Freetown.
Eustace Cummings was a member of the Commission on Higher Education in West Africa, appointed by the British government in 1943. This commission's report resulted in the establishment of the University Colleges of Ibadan and the Gold Coast. Cummings recommended that Fourah Bay College be retained for the time being as a college of Durham University and then be allowed to develop as an autonomous university, which turned out to be precisely the way things developed.
When the colonial government threatened to reduce the status of Fourah Bay College to that of a technical college in 1944, Cummings was one of the concerned citizens who formed the "Save the Fourah Bay College" Committee to mobilise popular support against the move.
From 1950 to 1953, Cummings was President of the Fourah Bay College Council, the governing body of the college, being the first Sierra Leonean to hold that position. In 1960, he was awarded the Doctor of Civil Laws by Durham University in England. He lived a very upright life as an active churchman, and died in 1967.