By Asmieu Bah
Not for the first time a students' union election at Fourah Bay College has created a furore. So much so that the college administration has had to postpone it for fear of violence which seemed quite palpable as the contest got closer. And here is the irony:
According to records Fourah Bay College is the oldest Western-style institution of higher learning in sub Saharan Africa; hence its prestigious history as the beacon of academic excellence on the continent. It produced West Africa’s first lawyers, engineers, journalists and many more trailblazers.
Because of its presence here, Sierra Leone commanded enormous respect in the world of academic; hence the title “Athens of West Africa”.
Sadly, it would seem this proud institution has been stripped of all the laurels it used to have as a result of moral decadence and the unenviable performance of its present-day students.
Students' Union politics should serve as springboard or a breeding ground for the country’s future leaders. Meaning, like the central government, they should seek and protect the interest of citizens in their own case the students.
The union should also serve as a vehicle to channel students’ wants and grievances in relation to the college administration and the central government.
In my four years at FBC we voted only once for a students' union president. That was in 2008 which elected Alhaji Abu Komeh. The last time students had voted was in 2004 for Michael Charlie Hinga. Komeh's election, like Hinga's was fraught with violence and vandalism of college property including the very hostels where the vandals lived. But the orgy hit a crescendo in our time. The post election violence on campus was unprecedented in the history of the college, involving students to students. The announcement of results saw total hell let loose on campus with students entering rooms of losing candidate and his supporters and destroying their valuables with their books, assignment papers and dissertations torn. Human faecal products were splattered all over the place. Windows and doors smashed.
That was the despicable human action of those who should be the country’s future leaders. The action of those students in 2008 left the country in shock and disbelief leaving the administration with no option but to close the hostels and evict the inhabitants.
Five years on the hostels are still in bad shape with conditions unfit for human habitation. Thanks to the Arab Development Bank that has signed a grant agreement with the government to bring to life and standard of the dilapidated hostels.
Elections subsequent to the one that elected Abu Komeh were a damp squib. The one that elected Adams Timbo and Minkailu Koroma were described as Kangaroo elections. They did not even meet the basest democratic practice.
But back to what prompted this article. Two weeks ago, or so, with just two days to election, the division created on campus between the Black and White camps (the Auradicals and the Generals), led to tension. The division which has eaten into the college’s fabric, has rather disastrously taken regional and tribal divides mirroring the country's body politic.
A presidential debate organised by the college administration for the candidates to show their intellect was thwarted. No sooner did the debate begin than students started wreaking havoc to disrupt the process. Guests and peaceful students had to run for cover as chaos and pandemonium engulfed the area. Consequently, the administration called off the contest and are yet to announce a new date for the election.
It begs the question what is happening in our society. The university which should serve as a training ground for the country’s future leaders has turned into an orchestra of mayhem. University life is supposed to be the most interesting in one’s life. The present crop of students must realise that the country relies on their youthfulness.
This is June and the college has still not released grades for the first semester exams. Effective classes for the second semester are yet to kick start properly. Students attend classes at the amphitheatre not out of pleasure but because there are not enough classrooms. In this time and age, students scramble over chairs and desks, and fight over classrooms as to who should first enter the class. These are the issues that the students should ask the administration to address.
They have missed out on another opportunity to chart a new dawn for student unionism. They have allowed mediocrity, myopia and tribalism considerations to becloud their judgement.
How will FBC students look in the eyes of students of other colleges even locally let alone elsewhere on the continent. An institution that had many firsts, has now been reduced to a laughing stock, it is sad for the country’s history. As things stand FBC is at the crossroads.
