Gibrill Mustapha
BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY Alhaji, Hon. Dr. M.S Mustapha, C.B.E, D.C.L, C.R. * WW II Veteran, Sierra Leonean Hero & American Ally/Advocate - 1903 - 1993Muhammad Sanusi Mustapha
DEDICATED MUSLIM, BUSINESSMAN, AND POLITICAL LEADER - 1903 - 1993
Alhaji Muhammad Sanusi Mustapha has made lasting contributions
the fields of Islam, education, commerce and politics. And, indeed,
he stands in a long and proud tradition of Islamic leadership in Sierra
Leone [while maintaining his Christian family connections], stretching back to the early history of this country [Sierra Leone].
M.S Mustapha was born in the Oku community of Fulah Town in
the east end of Freetown, on June 1, 1903; and has maintained a life-long attachment to that historic area. His paternal grandfather, Alpha Abubakar Bilal,
was the first Freetown merchant to start trading up the Scarcies River
in the last century. His maternal grandfather, Sheikh Ibrahim N'jai,
was a Wolof from Senegal who was a noted Islamic teacher and writer
in Kambia at the time of Foday Tarawaly's great Islamic University there.
As a child Muhammad Sanusi Mustapha was a gifted student, and
was the first Head Prefect at the Prince of Wales School. He went
on to read law at Lincoln's Inn, in London. M S Mustapha spent the early
of his career in the Civil Service, while growing more and more
in public affairs. In 1935, he was Honorary Secretary of the East
Rate Payers Association, one of the major pressure groups in the
colonial politics of the time.
During that period, he was also Assistant Secretary of the National Congress of British West Africa. In 1951, he was elected to both the Legislative Council for Freetown and the Executive Council, and from there his rise was rapid.
M S Mustapha was one of the founders of the Sierra Leone People's Party
(S L P P), and was among the first Sierra Leoneans to be appointed
to cabinet rank in 1953. He was a member of the delegation for
constitutional talks in London which ushered in Sierra Leone's
independence in 1961. Between 1953 and 1964, Alhaji Mustapha held
several cabinet portfolios, including Finance, Works and Transport,
and Trade and Industry. He continued to serve in Parliarment into
the 1980s, on one occasion serving as Acting Vice President II, and
is still a member of the Governing Council and Central Committe of the
A.P.C.
But quite aside from his brilliant political career, Aihaji Mustapha
has also been a dynamic leader in the field of business. At a time when
educated Sierra Leoneans avoided business as something beneath
their social station, he launched himself with vigour into the world of
commerce. In 1946, he helped to establish Mustapha Brothers and Company.
Importers and Exporters, a thriving business venture.
Aihaji Mustapha was the first Sierra Leonean to do local rice milling.
He became a licensed buying agent for the Produce Marketing Board
in 1950, and was President of the Association for buying agents for the
Sierra Leone Produce Marketing Board (S.L.P.M.B.), in 1967.
His commercial success is an invaluable example at a time of great need
for diverse forms of indigenous private enterprise in this country.
Along the way, Aihaji Mustapha has also made important contributions
to the Islamic community as well as the Christian community, and to the
field of education. He has been a Muslim leader in the Fulah Town area for
half a century and a force in the Sierra Leone Muslim Congress for over
fourty years, and he was instrumental in 1958 in launching the Sierra Leone
Muslim Congress Secondary School at Kissy.
When the British colonial authorities wanted at one point to reduce
Fourah Bay College to the status of a technical college, Alhaji Mustapha helped
organise the "Save Fourah Bay College Committee" and. as Joint Secretary, toured the then Protectorate whipping up support. In 1987, the University of Sierra Leone awarded Alhaji Mustapha the degree of Doctor of Civil Laws in recognition of his many contributions to Sierre Leone’s advancement.
For many years Aihaji Muhammad Sanusi Mustapha has been known fondly as "Akpata", from the Yoruba expression 'akpata kin gberu ojo," meaning translated in Creole: "watasai stone noh de fraid ren", literary meaning in English, "the rock that stays in the river is not afraid of the rain". And, indeed, Alhaji Mustapha, like the "watasai stone," has persevered and endured in many trying and challenging circumstances - much to the betterment of his fellow countrymen.
Biography Resource: Sierra Leonean Heroes "Fifty Great Men and Women Who Helped to Build Our Nation" with a Foreward By the late President Major-General Dr. J.S. Momoh, of Sierra Leone.
Printed and bound in Great Britain By Commonwealth Printers Ltd. London
DEDICATED MUSLIM, BUSINESSMAN, AND POLITICAL LEADER - 1903 - 1993
Alhaji Muhammad Sanusi Mustapha has made lasting contributions
the fields of Islam, education, commerce and politics. And, indeed,
he stands in a long and proud tradition of Islamic leadership in Sierra
Leone [while maintaining his Christian family connections], stretching back to the early history of this country [Sierra Leone].
M.S Mustapha was born in the Oku community of Fulah Town in
the east end of Freetown, on June 1, 1903; and has maintained a life-long attachment to that historic area. His paternal grandfather, Alpha Abubakar Bilal,
was the first Freetown merchant to start trading up the Scarcies River
in the last century. His maternal grandfather, Sheikh Ibrahim N'jai,
was a Wolof from Senegal who was a noted Islamic teacher and writer
in Kambia at the time of Foday Tarawaly's great Islamic University there.
As a child Muhammad Sanusi Mustapha was a gifted student, and
was the first Head Prefect at the Prince of Wales School. He went
on to read law at Lincoln's Inn, in London. M S Mustapha spent the early
of his career in the Civil Service, while growing more and more
in public affairs. In 1935, he was Honorary Secretary of the East
Rate Payers Association, one of the major pressure groups in the
colonial politics of the time.
During that period, he was also Assistant Secretary of the National Congress of British West Africa. In 1951, he was elected to both the Legislative Council for Freetown and the Executive Council, and from there his rise was rapid.
M S Mustapha was one of the founders of the Sierra Leone People's Party
(S L P P), and was among the first Sierra Leoneans to be appointed
to cabinet rank in 1953. He was a member of the delegation for
constitutional talks in London which ushered in Sierra Leone's
independence in 1961. Between 1953 and 1964, Alhaji Mustapha held
several cabinet portfolios, including Finance, Works and Transport,
and Trade and Industry. He continued to serve in Parliarment into
the 1980s, on one occasion serving as Acting Vice President II, and
is still a member of the Governing Council and Central Committe of the
A.P.C.
But quite aside from his brilliant political career, Aihaji Mustapha
has also been a dynamic leader in the field of business. At a time when
educated Sierra Leoneans avoided business as something beneath
their social station, he launched himself with vigour into the world of
commerce. In 1946, he helped to establish Mustapha Brothers and Company.
Importers and Exporters, a thriving business venture.
Aihaji Mustapha was the first Sierra Leonean to do local rice milling.
He became a licensed buying agent for the Produce Marketing Board
in 1950, and was President of the Association for buying agents for the
Sierra Leone Produce Marketing Board (S.L.P.M.B.), in 1967.
His commercial success is an invaluable example at a time of great need
for diverse forms of indigenous private enterprise in this country.
Along the way, Aihaji Mustapha has also made important contributions
to the Islamic community as well as the Christian community, and to the
field of education. He has been a Muslim leader in the Fulah Town area for
half a century and a force in the Sierra Leone Muslim Congress for over
fourty years, and he was instrumental in 1958 in launching the Sierra Leone
Muslim Congress Secondary School at Kissy.
When the British colonial authorities wanted at one point to reduce
Fourah Bay College to the status of a technical college, Alhaji Mustapha helped
organise the "Save Fourah Bay College Committee" and. as Joint Secretary, toured the then Protectorate whipping up support. In 1987, the University of Sierra Leone awarded Alhaji Mustapha the degree of Doctor of Civil Laws in recognition of his many contributions to Sierre Leone’s advancement.
For many years Aihaji Muhammad Sanusi Mustapha has been known fondly as "Akpata", from the Yoruba expression 'akpata kin gberu ojo," meaning translated in Creole: "watasai stone noh de fraid ren", literary meaning in English, "the rock that stays in the river is not afraid of the rain". And, indeed, Alhaji Mustapha, like the "watasai stone," has persevered and endured in many trying and challenging circumstances - much to the betterment of his fellow countrymen.
Biography Resource: Sierra Leonean Heroes "Fifty Great Men and Women Who Helped to Build Our Nation" with a Foreward By the late President Major-General Dr. J.S. Momoh, of Sierra Leone.
Printed and bound in Great Britain By Commonwealth Printers Ltd. London
- Gibrill Mustapha
