By Dr Alieu O Faal (younger brother)
This brief eulogy should be seen in the light of an avouchment of the exemplary life of an accomplished top civil servant, devout Muslim, exceptional family member, and a devoted parent who lived a well-meaning and dignified life full of praise and equally worthy of emulation.
As we celebrate the life of Alhaji Abdou Sara Janha who peacefully passed away on 18th May 2025 in the UK in the presence of his devoted wife, Aji Jojo Janha and children, we are grateful to Allah the Almighty for giving us a devoted grandfather, father, uncle, brother, and friend who left an indelible mark not only on the Janha Family but the wider civil service who helped to turn around the civil service into one of the most professional in the subregion. Our nation has suffered a great loss of outstanding intellectual guru with deep-seated reservoir of knowledge, humility, and wisdom. A huge branch of the Janha family tree has fallen!
Abdou Amadou Janha, commonly known as Sara Janha, was born in a family lineage deeply devoted to the teachings and spreading of Islam. He was named after our grandfather, Bai Abdou Janja who came to The Gambia in the 1860s as one of the leading warriors of Mam Abdoulai Niass, the father of Sheikh-ul-Islam, Baye Ibrahim Niass. Bai Abdou Janha is the brother of Mam Astou Janha who is the mother of Baye Niass. According to historical records, Mam Abdoulaye Niass stayed in The Gambia for more than ten years before boarding a ship to Fez in Morrocco to visit the mosque and burial ground of Sheikh Ahmad Tijan (1737-1815) founder of the Tijaniyya Sect in the 1780s. He left behind many of his followers including our grandfather, Mam Abdou Janha, to continue the work of teaching and translating the Qur’an.
Many of those followers finally settled in The Gambia and started building families while continuing the work of spreading Islam in the country. Mam Abdou Janha married the daughter of Mam Mayorro Secka, Mam Fatou Rakee Secka, and was blessed with three daughters and two sons. His eldest daughter, Jankeh Janha, died early while giving birth to her only son, Ngarry Bittaye who is the father of the prominent lawyer, Musa Bittaye.
Their other children were Alhaji Amadou Janha, the father of Abdou Sara Janha, Ya Astou Janha, named after the mother of Baye Niass, Babou Janha and my mother, Aji Amie Janha who was named after Mam Aminta Kah of Mam Mass Kah, the grandfather of Imam Ratib Cherno Alieu Mass Kah. The Kahs and the family of Mam Abdoulai Niass had a long history of friendliness and support dating back to the time our grandfather and Mam Abdoulaye Niass were offered protection from the French colonialists who banished Mam Abdoulaye with his followers from Niorro Niassene in Senegal.
Alhaji Abdou Janha (Sara) and his siblings – Ebou Janha his elder brother, Haddy, Maimuna, twin sisters, and Tayib Janha, the youngest brother – were raised at No 8 Hill Street in Half-Die by his grandmother, Mam Sai Bittaye after the untimely passing away of their mother, Fatou Ebou Secka who was the only daughter of their grandmother, Ya Sai Bittaye, who did exceptionally well in raising five young kids who were deprived of motherly love at a very early age.
Raising small children in the hazardous and hostile environment of Half-Die in the 1940s was no mean task especially when young children were exposed to all forms of childhood delinquencies from bad or evil friends, dangerous beach boys, indiscipline gang members and other forms of societal hazards with unprotected youthful vulnerabilities that were prevalent in Half-Die. He once told me that his elder brother, Ebou Janha, provided the shield that protected him and his other siblings from falling on the wrong path.
Through the guidance of a devoted grandma and an over-protective brother, Abdou Janha completed his high school education with flying colours before setting on a long journey of educational pursuits that took him to prestigious institutions of higher learning in the US, the UK and Asia. His outstanding academic excellence gave him the edge to start a brilliant and successful career in the civil service.
Abdou Sara Janha began his remarkable career in the diplomatic missions before his meteoric rise from assistant secretary, under-secretary, deputy permanent secretary, permanent secretary, head of the National Investment Board and achieving the unique opportunity as secretary general and head of the civil service under the government of Sir Dawda Jawara. His impressively congested CV also include all the international assignments and consultancies he undertook for both regional and international organisations such as the UN, World Bank and those of specific African governments specialised assignments.
As secretary general, Abdou spearheaded a transformative agenda that enhanced the professionalism of the civil service which raised the efficiency bar in the public service. He was credited among other things for establishing stringent academic benchmarks for certain level of occupational responsibility within the government hierarchy which obviously enhanced the competence levels in the civil services. The development of a Civil Service Code of Conduct was initiated under his watch.
According to his protégé, Mr Abdoulie ‘Bax’ Touray, “Abdou Janha embodies the very best of public service – selflessness without fanfare, leadership without arrogance and vision without personal gain.” How poignant is his honest assessment of working for a long number of years with Sara Janha! For those of us who worked in the commissions of inquiries that were established in 1995 immediately following the 1994 coup d’etat, we held Sara Janha in high esteem given the clean record he maintained as secretary general.
Sara Janha as the most powerful civil servant in the country, has never been accused of swindling millions of taxpayer’s monies from the Central Bank through small pieces of notes ordering the governor to pay on demand neither has he ever been proven to be a signatory to the various bank accounts of the government’s public corporations without limits. His legacy in office exemplifies a dedicated, selfless, patriotic public servant who always put his country first. Such qualities epitomised all the essential values and good manners his grandmother instilled in them during those difficult years he endured in Half-Die.
Today, we can celebrate this proud legacy of selflessness in the face of unbridled power, quality leadership devoid of personal gain, humility amidst widespread arrogance in public office and putting people’s hopes and aspirations before self-enrichment. The care he gave to the family is a constant reminder to all of us that he always valued the doctrine that blood is thicker than water. From the families of Mam Mayoro Secka, Mam Abdou Janha, Mam Jankeh Janha, Alhaji Amadou Janha, Aja Mam Astou Janha, Mam Babou Janha, Aja Amie Janha all of blessed memory who now lost a son with deep reservoir of wisdom, knowledge, filial piety and strong love for family. We pray that Allah grant Alhaji Abdou Jannah Firrdaus and continue to guide and bless the family he leaves behind. Amen!
