Sheik-Umarr Mikailu Jah

Sheik-Umarr Mikailu Jah was born on 22 August 1935, in Pujehun Hospital, Pujehun District, Southern Province, Sierra Leone. His father was Paramount Chief Mikailu Jah, of Mende and Fula descent, and his mother was Madam Hawa Bellay Swaray, of Mandingo descent. He was delivered by Sir Milton Margai, the first Protectorate Medical Doctor and later the first Prime Minister of Sierra Leone. Born into a Muslim family, Jah learned to recite the Quran in Arabic and practiced Islam throughout his life. However, in order to attend primary school, he was baptized under the name Simion and, as an altar boy, excelled in reciting Christian texts in Latin. Jah, born into a polygamous family, had several brothers and sisters and he was very close to all of them. He had one full sibling, his sister Christiana Salematu Jah (born ~1943, died Dec 2012). In 1983, his brother Abdulai Bu Mikailu Jah succeeded their father as Paramount Chief.

Jah began his primary education at a Quranic school in Pujehun under the guidance of Imam Sidie Yayah Touray from 1944 to 1946, stopping in Yusuf. In 1947 he moved to the Holy Family Primary School in Pujehun, continuing up to Standard 4. He completed Standard 5 and passed the Common Entrance Examination at St. Francis Primary School in Bo in 1950.

For his secondary education, Jah attended the Bo Government Secondary School (commonly known as Bo School), from 1951 to 1959. The school, at that time, was reserved for sons and nominees of Paramount Chiefs. His admission number was 1027. Initially he was at Manchester House, and later at Paris House where he was the Senior Prefect. As a runner he held many longstanding records. Up to Form 5 he completed the Cambridge Higher School Certificate (Marks: “Second Division”). In Form 6 he took exclusively science subjects, completing A-levels in biology, physics, chemistry, and zoology.

He started his career as a science teacher and taught for 3 years in secondary schools: Christ the King's College Bo, Bo School, and Prince of Wales Freetown.

Jah was awarded two scholarships by the Government of Sierra Leone. The first was to study forestry in the United Kingdom, which he declined, and the second was to study medicine in Germany, which he accepted. On 13 December 1961, the year of Sierra Leone's independence, in Freetown he boarded the mail vessel "Apapa" from Lagos. After an eight-day journey, including a stop in Banjul to visit Swaray relatives, he arrived in Liverpool. He then took the Boat Train to London, where he spent New Year's Eve, before flying from Gatwick to Köln Bonn Airport on 2 January 1962. From there, he travelled by train to Bad Aibling, where he completed a four-month German language course at the Goethe-Institut. During this time, he remarked that he “never saw the earth", as it was always covered in snow.

He commenced his medical studies at the University of Bonn, in the summer semester of 1962 and graduated on 19 February 1968, earning a "Note 2" grade in the Staatsexamen. During his studies, he lived at Hermannstraße 1 in Bonn, which was then the capital of West Germany. After completing the Physikum, he spent one semester at Heidelberg University under Professor Lindner, a surgeon.

As a junior house officer (“Medizinalassistent”), Jah worked unpaid for 2 years in Bonn. In 1970, he earned his Doctor of Medicine (Dr. med.) degree with a thesis in ophthalmology titled “Dye detection in tissues and fluids of the bodies and eyes of rabbits after intravenous fluorescein sodium injection”,^[1] supervised by Professor Hermann. He graduated with the highest honors, “Note 1, Summa cum laude”.

From 1970 to 1975, he specialized in general surgery with a focus on orthopedics in North Rhine-Westphalia, working under Professor Major, in hospitals across Essen, Solingen, Velbert, Siegburg, and Waldbröl.

He later worked as a senior surgeon in Essen from 1975 to 1979, at Connaught Hospital in Freetown from 1979 to 1981, and at Bo Government Hospital from 1981 to 1996. As a surgeon he performed the first total hip replacement in West Africa and his orthopedic skills were sought after by patients and referring colleagues throughout Sierra Leone and neighboring countries.

Throughout the Sierra Leone Civil War he worked in Sierra Leone serving his people. For two short episodes that he had to flee for his life, he worked for a few months as a visiting surgeon at the Evangelic Hospital Lengerich and in a surgery in Püsselbüren, Germany.

Jah was a long-time member of the Sierra Leone People's Party and served as its Deputy National Chairman for two terms from 2001 to 2004, under Dr. Sama Banya and Alhadji U. N.S. Jah. He was described as "the people's servant who has over the years championed their cause" and was recognized for the "respect and love he has for his people".^[2]

After serving as the chairman of the National Power Authority, he was appointed Minister of Health in the interim government of Julius Maada Bio, holding the position from 16 January 1996 to 29 March 1996.

Following the election of President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, Jah became the inaugural Minister of National Reconstruction, Resettlement and Rehabilitation. He held this post until November 1998 when the ministry was transformed into a commission, where Jah served as Commissioner until 2 November 1999.^[3] His work was interrupted by a coup d'état from 25 May 1997 to 12 February 1998. In his role, Jah made significant contributions to Sierra Leone's post-civil war reconstruction, including reporting to the United Nations: "urgent support was also needed for the return, resettlement and reintegration of nearly 500,000 Sierra Leonean refugees in Guinea and Liberia" and "that over 3,000 villages and towns destroyed by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) guerrillas and 1,700 educational facilities, 400 health centres and 3,000 wells needed to be rehabilitated or rebuilt."^[4]

Jah subsequently served as Minister of Works and Technical Maintenance from 2 November 1999 to 2 February 2001.^[5]

He later became the Minister of State for the Southern Region, a position he held from 2 February 2001 until 17 September 2007.^[6][7]