Francis Hinga Maada Lahai (Dr Dynamite)

Francis Hinga Maada Lahai (Dr Dynamite) was born on 24 April, 1963 in Moyamba, Sierra Leone to Late Samuel Saidu Lahai, a mende, Christian, Forest Officer from Njama Kowa, Moyamba and Fatmata Lahai, (nee Dumbuya of the Paramount chieftaincy family: Samura Fombo), a Muslim, Temne/Susu/Loko of Kamalo, Sanda Loko Chiefdom, Bombali District.

Education: He lost his father at a tender age of 8 yrs but committed to complete his education. Encouraged by his mother, uncles and brothers and helped by a British philanthropist and Diplomat, Mike Downham, he grew up in Bo and attended the Christ the King College, where he completed Advanced Levels with distinction in 1981, and gained the much coveted and competitive scholarship to the SouthEastern University, Nanjing, People’s Republic of China and earned a Bachelor of Engineering in 1987.

Mr Lahai is a symbol of excellence, hard work and determination. He has worked his way from humble backgrounds, paid his own tuition and is today a seasoned and expert projects manager with a Bachelor of Civil and Building Engineering (BEng, 1987), a Master of Business Administration (MBA, 2012), working on an MSc (Water, Waste and the Environment), Loughborough University, UK and a Master of Mining technology (MEng), IAMTECH, Sierra Leone. Besides these masters degrees, he holds more than 30 diplomas and certificates in International Environmental law, procurement, customer service and logistics from the George Schultz Foreign Service Institute, USA (Long Distance) and IPAM, making him an all-rounder manager.

Francis Lahai has to his experience expertise in the latest computing software like Auto CAD 2010, MS Excel 2010, MS Word 2010, MS Outlook/Internet, MS PowerPoint 2010, Prima Vera Project Planner, MS Project 2010, Eviews, SPSS etc. He has written and published several articles in engineering, the environment protection, climate change and Water and Sanitation etc.

Work Experience: He has 26 years’ experience working in Asia and Africa in an increasingly responsible position from Consulting Civil Engineer to Engineering manager. He has volunteered for the United Nations (2011-2013) on environmental, roads and construction projects; for the United States State Department for nine years(2001-2011) and was civil engineer on the largest diplomatic facility in West Africa; for SL Roads Authority (SLRA), Edward Davies and Associates, Guma Valley Water Co, African Minerals, London Mining and various multinationals as Project Manager on roads, railway and civil works. He trains Sierra Leonean engineers for the highest standards in Engineering and is a registered professional engineer, Sierra Leone Institution of Engineers (SLIE). Maada is an avid reader and believes in the principles of continuous development and quality improvement, ISO 9001. He has several awards, including the Benjamin Franklin award (Abidjan, US State Department; Tenki Ya, London Mining etc) for good workmanship and innovation.

National Service: Francis Lahai has contributed immensely to the development of the home country in several areas, such as the design and construction of several of Sierra Leone’s buildings, highways and roads (Bo-Taiama, Clinetown-Wellington, Freetown CBD streets, Brookfields streets and Panlap Kamakwie roads), development of Sierra Leone’s railways and mines, employment of youths and community development in Freetown, Bombali, Bo, Port Loko and Moyamba. He is an expert trainer of young engineers and a Registered Professional Engineer (P.E.) of the Sierra Leone Institution of Engineers, supports youth football and galas all over the country.

Languages Spoken: Francis H. Lahai speaks several languages: Mende, Temne, Krio, English, Mandarin Chinese and  French excellently and has understanding of Japanese.

International Experiences: Overseas, Mr Francis Lahai was student union Secretary General and later President of the General Union of African Students in China (GUASC), Nanjing Branch and has extensive experience in foreign affairs working with the United States State Department, has helped the Sierra Leonean communities in Ivory Coast, Ghana, China and Burundi as Sierra Leone Community Secretary General and President for 10 years in Abidjan. He sustained a broken finger while helping Sierra Leonean women in Abidjan, and has been a source of cohesion among his countrymen, being multi-ethnic.

Political: Mr Lahai is a liberal democrat. Though he supports the Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) and is a Grand Chief Patron for several years, he believes that we are all God’s children and all Sierra Leoneans, that the development of Sierra Leone can only be achieved in a spirit of tolerance and teamwork and he is therefore willing to accommodate the ideas of other parties (APC, RUFP, PDP, UNPP etc) when these will contribute to national development. He also believes that development will only come to Sierra Leone in a meaningful manner when all ethnicity and regional biases are banned from public investments and the country is seen as united in the drive for industrialisation.

Family: Francis Hinga Lahai (Dr Dynamite ) is a Christian, an elder at the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Church, is married to Ashmiru Jeneba Lahai (nee Amadu) and have two children: Christiana Mayeanoh Lahai (18) and Emmanuel Francis Lahai (14). His brothers and sisters are many and include Albert T Lahai (Kpakui), late Dr Moses R. Lahai, Late Samuel Lahai, Rev. Jane (Leigh) Lahai, Franklyn Lahai, Late Simeon Lahai, Sgt. Henry Lahai (Tyson, USA), Martin Kamara (JFK School) and Osman Dumbuya (BSL). The Lahai, Dumbuya and Kamara families have contributed immensely to Sierra Leone’s development and will continue to do so, even sometimes at peril to some of them.

IS THIS A LEADER WHO INSPIRES? WHAT CAN WE DO TOGETHER?