BY MOHAMED M. SESAY (LUCKY)
The country’s Chief Minister has been a Blessing and redeemer to Sierra Leone’s oldest Tertiary Institution the “Great Fourah Bay College”, the Citadel of learning”, “the reservoir of knowledge” and once the Athens of West Africa. Weeks back, the Chief Minister Jacob Jusu Saffa aided Fourah Bay College with astronomical water facilities.
Be in touch with one of the astute Ministers in Adama Sillah’s Student Union Government, the visionary Minister of Water Resources Minkailu Sama and the Foreign Affairs Minister Abdulia J. Kanneh were in constant excogitation as to how they could remedy the perennial challenges face by the University.
That fruitful excogitation precipitated circumstantial grounds for the Fourah Bay College Student Union Government to have a meeting with the Chief Minister in anticipation of soliciting the Chief Minister’s support in providing therapy for the challenges faced by students.
Among the challenges highlighted by the delegation were, lack of students’ bus, poor water facility. The transportation challenge at Sierra Leone’s finest University seems to be a genetic trace as every family Member of this great University must have felt it. As the saying goes, “he who feels it knows it”. The Chief Minister himself attended Fourah Bay College and because he felt that challenge during their days, prompted the challenges to linger in his mind.
The Chief Minister going down memory lane, made no hesitant in giving an indelible assurance to the delegation of a quick but sustainable fix of the Transportation and water challenge of the University.
Few weeks later, Jacob Jusu Saffa translated his promise into a tangible reality by making a historic and timely donation eleven (11) Milla Tanks with eight-thousand litres capacity to students utilizing the hostels. This was an inerasable glad tiding to students taking into cognizance of the history attached to Fourah Bay College and its water challenge.
That generous donation by the Chief Minister was also appreciated by the Students Union government because such gesture from the Chief Minister will also add feathers on the caps of the current Student Union Government.
It is indeed an undisputable truth that the provision of the eleven Milla Tanks will definitely help ameliorate the availability of water supply to students especially those in hostels. As part of the permanent fix to the water shortage on campus, Jacob Jusu Saffa has also facilitated the digging of boreholes on campus.
Another inherited challenge of Fourah Bay College which is just natural for every student to inherit is the transportation. Over the years, buses available to the university have never attempted to address the growing number of student population of the university. This could just happen in a magical situation for two mini buses to salvage over ten thousand stranded students going for lectures.
With the timely intervention of the Chief Minister, the instability of transportation lacuna at Fourah Bay College is speedily stabilizing. The batches of student subjected to heed to the ideal of “CANAL” due to the marathon queue coupled with unconscious fisticuffs for transportation, is also vanishing speedily.
In addressing the aging transportation lacuna, Jacob Jusu Saffa was quick to strike a tentative deal with one of the Transportation Company dubbed as the Sierra Star. The deployment of four Sierra Star buses at Model junction transporting students to and from campus is a true redemption for students. The tentative deployment of the four Sierra Star Buses is not sustainable but that will remedy the existing situation until new buses are purchased for the only leading university that produces academic seers and prophets.
The provision of ultramodern computers for the internet cafe on campus further justifies the description that Chief Minister Saffa is a multiple redeemer of Fourah Bay College. Technological advancement has become an inevitable component in learning institutions across the globe. My Fourah Bay College has been known for focusing only on theoretical aspect of leaning other than practical and technology. Generations have successfully gone through the crucibles of education at Fourah Bay College without even see a computer with their naked eyes not alone touch a keyboard of a computer. Thus, the provision of Ultramodern Computers for the Internet Café, will aid students in the digital world.
It will be an injustice if I fail to commend the Adama Sillah’s Leadership regarding gains she has made within this shortest time. She has really done will by opening doors that are very hard to open for the greater good of the student body at Fourah Bay College. The Foreign Affairs Minister and the Minister of Water Resources are folks that Adama Sillah made no mistake in giving them the mandate to delivery for their counterparts. The gains made by Minister Minkailu Sama have actually been inimitable to others. His name has gone down memory lane for ensuring that Fourah Bay College is water sufficient.
