December 3, 2021
As a show of gratitude in recognition of the patriotic exploits of former History Lecturer of Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone, a Memorial Park has been dedicated to him at the new Eastern Technical University (ETU).
Dr. Alpha Mohamed Lavalie Memorial Park
Late Dr. Alpha Mohamed Lavalie did something unprecedented when rebels of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) were moving fast to overrun Kenema District. Unlike many other Sierra Leoneans who were forced to be Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in bushes, big towns or while others fled the country to become refugees and lived under harsh conditions, it was not to be so for Dr. Alphaa Mohamed Lavalie.
He took a path of confronting enemies whom he did not know had evil intentions to eliminate who ever attempted to stand in their way.
He left the comfort of the university and his cool and cozy quarter at Kortright and office to lay his life to free the people of the Eastern Region in particular and Sierra Leone as a whole from the claws of RUF rebels and their allies who were apparently members of the Sierra Leone Army (SLA). It is alleged the alliance killed him three years after the RUF intervention on 23 March 1991.
At a well-attended ceremony, the late Dr. Alpha Mohamed Lavalie Memorial Park was dedicated by his family in collaboration with the Administration of ETU in Kenema on Saturday 27 November 2021.
Speaking on the purpose of dedicating the park to the memory of the Late Dr. Alpha Mohamed Lavalie, Paramount Chief of Jahn Chiefdom, Kailahun District, P.C. Foday Musa Nyandebo Gbogboto II informed it is a genuine display of appreciation and honour to the tremendous sacrifice made by Dr. Alpha Lavalie at the Eastern Technical University (ETU) because of sacrificing his job at FBC and for also sacrificing his life to liberate his people from the unholy alliance between the RUF and the SLA which cost him his life on 8 February 1994. He described Dr. Alpha Lavalie as a grass root politician, a charismatic leader who was able to mobilize people to fight for their liberation and for installing firm democracy in Sierra Leone.
“He lived an exemplary life. He laid his life for his people. He worked for his people. We are therefore erecting this monument as a reminder to emulate his good works. He was to be the first president of Sierra Leone after the war, not Tejan Kabbah,” he informed.
Reading a Citation on behalf of Dr. Alpha Lavalie by Prof. Joe A.D. Alie titled; Dr. Alpha Mohamed Lavalie: Honoring a rare gem in Nongowa chiefdom, Kenema district, he said, “We are gathered here this morning to memorialize a legend, a rather unique individual, someone who put country above his own personal safety and convenience, a patriot through and through.”
He further said, “Nearly 28 years ago, a gigantic tree was violently uprooted in Nongowa Chiefdom (ngulu waa gulailo). This is how the Mende refer to the passing away of an icon and it is an apt description of the sudden death of Dr. Alpha Mohamed Lavalie. This fateful event occurred on 8 February 1994 some 15 kilometers north of Kenema city.”
Prof. Joe A. D. Alie described the death of late Dr. Lavalie as the fall of a big tree which has been providing shelter and protection for its people but is no more.
He stressed that it is better to remember somebody after his death for his good deeds while on earth because of touching the lives of many people.
“The late President Nelson Mandela of South Africa once remarked that “what counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.”
He chronicled the life of Dr. Alpha Mohamed Lavalie from his birth to his academic accomplishment until the force of patriotism led him to galvanise and mobilize men and women in the Eastern Region to form the Eastern Region Defence Committee (ERDC) and Dr. Alpha Lavalie easily became its undisputed leader with the late Chief Sam Hinga Norman being his second-in-command. The ERDC became to be known as Kamajor Movement.
“…But at a time when the general security situation in Sierra Leone was fast deteriorating. A devastating civil conflict, ignited by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels in March 1991, was running the country at an alarming rate. Filled with rage at the wanton destruction of lives and property in his homeland, Dr. Alpha Lavalie began to seriously consider the establishment of a people’s militia that would effectively confront these marauding rebels with the possibility of completely eliminating them.”
Prof. Alie went on, “The rebel war represented a classic of dastardly manifestation of the decay and rot that had characterized our national political life especially during the 1970s and 1980s. The war was as unprecedented as it was heinous. The unparalleled destructive behaviour of the RUF rebels aside, the “sobels’ that is, the rogue elements in the Sierra Leone Army, also displayed the crudest form of “Macbethan treachery” during the war. These soldiers who should have shut the door (i.e, protect the civilians) against the murderers (rebels), not bear the knives themselves, rather treacherously turned their guns against the very people whom they swore and were paid to protect. An unholy alliance had been struck between the RUF and the Sobels.”
Prof. Alie disclosed that the unholy alliance between the RUF and SLA prompted Dr. Alpha Lavalie and the other liberators to confront the marauding rebels and co.
“After much soul searching and consultations with many stakeholders, Dr Alpha Lavalie took the brave decision to leave his prestigious job in the university and return to his birthplace where, in collaboration with Regent Chief Sam Hinga Norman (a retired army captain) and others helped to mobilise a group of young and determined male fighters to defend their territory,” he reported.
“In the interim, Dr. Alpha Lavalie had travelled to the UK and other places to raise additional funds for his movement. For the initial training of the ERDC Units, Dr. Alpha Lavalie with his team utilized the dexterity and services of experienced Mende traditional hunters (Kamajoisia) who were believed to have mystical powers,” he stated.
He added the determination of Dr. Lavalie and his group was heavy blow to the rebels and cohorts.
“The successes of the ERDC seemed to frustrate the evil enterprises of the Sobels and believing that if they murdered Dr. Alpha Lavalie it would eventually annihilate the ERDC, the Sobels plotted his murder. They had previously assassinated the head of the Koranko traditional fighters who were collectively knowns as Tamaboro fighters, and with the death of their leader, the Tamaboro fighters vanished into thin air. However, the sobels grossly miscalculated the resolve of the ERDC units,” he said.
Prof. Joe. A.D. Alie however said that Dr Alpha Lavalie was killed on 8 February 1994 at Mano Junction close to a Military Regiment when his vehicle was involved in a gruesome road accident after hitting a roadside bomb and died almost immediately.
“His death was shocking but not entirely surprising. Earlier, the civil defence units in Kenema town had clashed with soldiers, resulting in some casualties. Contrary to the expectations of the Sobels, Dr. Lavalie’s demise acted as a powerful magnet that attracted more determined and highly motivated young men into the ERDC fighting machine,” he lamented.
Dr. Alpha Lavalie physically left Mother Earth many years ago, but his works and memories live on.
He concluded, “While we are still deeply saddened by the loss of a great son of the soil, we are buoyed with the fact that while he was alive, Dr Alpha Lavalie characteristically and pleasantly displayed Sengbe Pieh-like qualities, by heroically confronting his adversaries in the quest for freedom. He was an exceptional loyalists and bold politician who uncompromisingly upheld democratic principles and practices. He firmly believed in the philosophy and tenets of the SLPP and above all, Dr. Alpha Lavalie was a family man.
“These are therefore his legacy. And legacy, we are told, is not what’s left tomorrow when you are gone. It is what you give, create, impart and contribute today while you are here that then happens to live on. The American Country Music singer, Randy Travis, put it this way in his tract “Three Wooden Crosses”…it’s not what you take when you leave this world behind you; it’s what you leave behind you when you go.”
He said the commissioning of the Memorial Park by Dr Alpha Lavalie’s family, is an event that is fully supported by the elders and people of Nongowa and far beyond, as a testament to and an appreciation of Dr Alpha Lavalie’s valiant role in defending the country and especially the chiefdom of his birth.
“The Park should provide visitors with an atmosphere of natural beauty, peace for quiet meditation and a sense of dignity and honour to his memory,” he added.
Speaking on behalf of the Chiefs of Kenema District, Town Chief of Kenema Mohamed M.F. Ngombulango revealed they have offered a street in Kenema to be named after Dr. Alpha Lavalie.
The Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Lahai Lawrence Leema, likened himself to Dr. Lavalie and paid special tribute to fighters of democracy from Kenema District; Dr. Salia Jusu-Sheriff, G.K. Saffa, B.S. Massaquoi, P.P.B. Kebbie, to name a few.
“Don’t be afraid to do good work. I see myself like Dr. Alpha Lavalie. His legacy is not in vain,” he reminded them.
Dr. Alpha Lavalie was born on 1 May 1946 in Tissor, Nongowa Chiefdom, Kenema District, Eastern Sierra Leone. He received his primary school education in Hangha and early secondary schooling at the Government Secondary School, Kenema. For a variety of reasons, young Alpha was forced to leave school prematurely though with a burning desire to succeed academically in later years. Not surprisingly therefore, Alpha subsequently enrolled at Magburaka Teachers College where he attained the Teachers Certificate (TC). A 4-year scholastic sojourn at Fourah Bay College (FBC), University of Sierra Leone earned him the covetous Bachelor of Arts with Honours degree in History.
Alpha Lavalie was awarded a Master of Arts (MA) degree in History from the same institution and thereafter, joined the academic staff in the History Department. He taught me African History in my Intermediate Year.
His MA thesis, which chronicled the challenges faced by the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) during the autocratic rule of President Stevens, was a masterpiece. Alpha Lavalie subsequently elaborated on this theme for his Doctor of Philosophy (PHD) dissertation at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.
Dr. Alpha Lavalie was the first indigene of Nongowa Chiefdom to attain a Ph.D. He touched the lives of many people in Sierra Leone and abroad.