An interview with Mr. Njai
By David Krueger
“The compensation for good work is more work.”
It’s been over a week since I returned to Freetown from Kambia and that thought is still on my mind. It was one of the last things Mr. Ibrahim Njai said to me when I interviewed him to hear all about his life. But it’s usually one of the first things on my mind while I’m at work.
This is a great quote, and it’s true. If a person works hard enough, and does a good job, people will notice and ask them to do more.
Mr. Njai is a perfect example.
Born in Kambia, he received a scholarship to go study in the United States. Njai ended up at the University of Washington in Seattle. The same University of Washington that sent me to Freetown for my summer internship.
There Njai received a Masters in urban planning after he graduated in 1966. He returned to Sierra Leone (a requirement of his scholarship) soon after, along with his new bride, whom he married in Seattle.
Since then I’m going to declare Mr. Njai one of the most influential people in Sierra Leonean history. Admittedly, I don’t have a vast knowledge of the history of this great country. However, after listening to him talk about his life and what he’s done, it’s incredible to think that one man can make such a difference.
Allow me to explain.
Njai, now 62 years old, returned to Africa in 1967 and immediately went to work with the Ministry of Housing, looking at the distribution of construction and building permits. He helped plan sections of the Kissy and Wilkinson Road areas of Freetown, as well as other land upcountry.
He became the officer in charge of the diamond mining area in Kono, where he met his life's biggest regret.
“We didn’t succeed in really controlling the development,” Njai said. He was disappointed at the gap between the planning and implementation of the plans.
But without many other choices for employers, Njai continued to climb the ladder at the Ministry until he was the director, and principal advisor to the Minister of Housing.
From 1967 until 1995 Njai worked at the Ministry, but then he decided that he could help Sierra Leone in a bigger way. So he went to Parliament, where he served as a member for the next six years.
Njai wasn’t a huge fan of the politics, which is weird for a politician. He didn’t like all of the responsibilities to his constituents, which included hundreds of visitors to his house either to complain, ask for help (usually financial) and eat all of his food.
However, Njai persevered, driven by one strong goal: he wanted to ratify a new constitution after the rebel war.
“I wanted to be a part of breathing life into it, to make it work,” Njai said. “Into making it what it was supposed to be.”
Mr. Njai said he had a hand in changing “a lot of things” in social, political and judicial systems. Already gainfully employed as a consultant for the World Bank and Sierra Leonean government, he didn’t get into politics for the money or glory. He did it because he felt it was his duty as somebody who could help, to participate.
“I felt obliged to be involved in changing our government and our country that way,” Njai said.
Njai was afraid of being a politician. During the war, his house in Freetown was destroyed and his vehicle stolen, just because of his occupation. It was terribly distressing to Njai that the very people he was trying to help would turn against him simply because he was a politician.
That fact made leaving government life easy. He went to Parliament for a purpose. Once the constitution was ratified, and his term was up, he left Parliament for good and returned to a life of consulting, just like he said he would.
In 2005, he opened Kambia Africana Village, in my opinion the premier guesthouse in Kambia. As an urban planner, he supervised construction and hired an administrative staff. He ran it from Freetown, until 2010.
That year his wife, Posseh Njai, passed away after fighting illness for two years. With his kids gone off to school and work, the big house seemed empty, so late that year Mr. Njai returned to Kambia full-time to run the Village. By all indications, he’s really enjoying it.
“It’s a slower-paced life. It’s good for a retired man,” he said. “It’s a life of variety.”
Njai enjoys meeting a variety of people, including important guests, government officials, United Nations employees and even a fellow University of Washington alumni. He has remarried, to a woman named Olive, an artist and incredible cook who makes the meals at the guesthouse.
To this day Njai has since been propositioned by those in the government, including current President Ernest Bai Koroma, who Njai calls “a regular guy.” He’s made it clear to everyone who asks, however, that he has no intention of returning to government life.
We’ll see how that works out for him.
Njai said he wants to be involved in “developing democracy” in the Kambia area, where he donates money, furniture and books to local schools. He also regularly attends meetings, talks in local radio discussions and offers advice whenever and wherever he can.
“It’s getting there,” he said. “We just have to make sure we don’t slip back into bad tendencies.”
As if that weren’t enough, he’s also ventured into the environmentalist area, helping bring The Wonder Stove to Sierra Leone. This particular stove burns 40 percent less charcoal, reducing deforestation.
Mr. Njai has not ruled out a return to the states, perhaps to go on a lecture circuit and help inspire a new generation to help their country. On that tour he might stop by his alma mater, the University of Washington which he credits as being a huge influence in his life, and, as a result, the country of Sierra Leone.
“I am grateful for the opportunity I had, being able to study in America, because it broadened my horizons considerably, and helped provide me with an outlook on life,” Njai said. “And I’ve been able to use that to help my country in many ways.”
Mr. Njai has done an immense amount of good work in his life, a sign that he might have a lot more still to do. Surprisingly, he currently has no plans to write a memoir, saying that “I don’t think I have an interesting enough life for people to read about.”
Obviously, I disagree.
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