QUALITY NUMBER ONE: Pujehun District is perhaps Sierra Leone’s most ethnically diverse district.
Also, the Tiwai Island in Barrie Chiefdom together with Lake Mape and Mabesi are among Africa’s top tourist potentials if developed.
The District has 12 Chiefdoms made up of:
• 4 Krim Chiefdoms (Kpanga Kabondeh, Kpanga Krim, Yakemo Kpukumu Krim and Mano Sakrim)
• 3 Vai Chiefdoms (Soro Gbeima, Gallinas Perri, and Kpaka Chiefdoms)
• 1 Gola Chiefdom (Makpele),
• 1 Sherbro/Bullom Chiefdom (Malen), and
• 3 Mende Chiefdoms (Barrie, Futa Kpeje, Sowa)
However, all five major ethnicities mentioned above, fused with others such as Fula and Madingo, have been melted into one linguistic pot – that is the Mende Language. So everyone in this District is now Mende speaking.
QUALITY NUMBER TWO: Pujehun District is perhaps Sierra Leone’s most prosperous district in natural resource endowment and diversity.
This District has:
• Oil/Petroleum – the country’s largest oil pit is around the Sulima Waters
• Diamonds – only in Pujehun is the Gold Color Diamond Found
• Rubber – Pujehun is Sierra Leone’s first district to grow rubber and still maintains fertile lands for growing best grade rubber
• Coffee – among best fertile lands for growing organic coffee
• Oil Palm – among best fertile lands for growing organic oil palm • Cocoa – among best fertile lands for growing organic cocoa
• Fish/Marine Resources
• Tourist Potentials/Tourism Destinations – Lakes, Forests, Wild Life
• Hydro-electric potentials
• Highly educated and skilled indigenes in the diaspora
• Etc
***The Gola Forest which Pujehun shares with Liberia is one of Africa’s top 5 biologically diverse forests regarding medicinal plant varieties and wildlife.
Also, the Tiwai Island in Barrie Chiefdom together with Lake Mape and Mabesi are among Africa’s top tourist potentials if developed.
The District also has high river navigation potentials – with the Wanjei, Moa, and Mano Rivers linked to the Atlantic Ocean on one end and to several tributaries that are navigable to several villages and tourism destinations in Sierra Leone and Liberia.
Pujehun District is also home to the Vai Script, Africa’s oldest indigenous form of writing. Pujehun is also home to Sulaimana Ernest Rogers – one of Sierra Leone’s three top legendary musicians – the other two are Salia Koroma and Ebenezer Calendar.
Editor’s Note: This story is from the Facebook page of Sidie Sheriff, a reputable Social Scientist with a razor sharp mind for analyzing contemporary social and economic issues with stints of historical perspectives on social media.