By Mustapha Sesay
Former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo says he regrets “missing the lineage of those Nigerians that passed through Fourah Bay College.” He made the statement at a ceremony held at the Fourah Bay College Amphitheatre where he was conferred an honorary alumnus status. Gen. Obasanjo said he applied for an admission to Fourah Bay College in 1956 but at the same time sat to an exam for entry into a military academy in Nigeria, adding that he wished he had failed the military exam because it prevented him from entering Fourah Bay College. ”Better late than never” he said in his acceptance speech. He commended the university authorities for the conferment of the honorary status on him, pointing out that he received the award even though he was “not qualified” and promised to mobilize all FBC alumni in Nigerian with the object of supporting the college. General Obasanjo called on the college authorities to provide an education that would go beyond providing a “meal ticket” for graduates, adding that education in Africa should be transformed into a system that would produce job creators instead of job seekers. Earlier in his welcome remarks, Registrar of the University of Sierra Leone, Sorie N. Dumbuya said the occasion and its setting had a historical coincidence because the venue bore the name of the first student of Fourah Bay College who was a Nigerian named Samuel Adjai Crowther and where General Obansanjo was being awarded the status of first honorary alumnus of Fourah Bay College. In his statement, Pro-Chancellor of the University of Sierra Leone, Dr. Modupeh Taylor-Pearce said that “Fourah Bay College is not on trial” despite what many critics would say about the falling standards and dilapidated infrastructure of the college. He said the college was “on a pathway to excellence” and called on the alumni of Fourah Bay College to organize themselves wherever they were to support the college. The Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor of Fourah Bay College, Prof Sahr Gbamaja said graduates of FBC were ranked top in various sectors in the country and abroad, adding that the college’s academic staff had continued to excel in research and general leadership. He pointed out, however, that the college was in dire need of help in the area of infrastructure, among other things, and appealed to General Obasanjo to help give a facelift to the college. A signing of a special alumni register by General Olusegun Obasanjo formed the highlight of the occasion.
