By Dr. Tonya Musa
Fourah Bay College (FBC), University of Sierra Leone, today marked 199 years of academic excellence with a flag-raising ceremony at its Mount Aureol campus. The event brought together staff, alumni, students, and well-wishers to celebrate the college’s enduring legacy.
Deputy Vice Chancellor Professor Andrew described the occasion as a historic threshold, saying that it was not merely a date on the academic calendar but a moment to mark 199 years of FBC’s existence, with the next flag-raising ceremony set to herald the college’s bicentenary. He highlighted the world into which FBC was born, a time when the industrial revolution was reshaping economies and the transatlantic slave trade had recently been abolished, and noted that the college became the “Athens of West Africa” through orderliness and vision.
Professor Andrew praised FBC’s alumni for their profound impact, explaining that they had written Africa’s history as architects of independence, framers of constitutions, judges of the highest benches, and writers giving voice to the African soul. He acknowledged the challenges the college has overcome, including war, economic hardship, and a global pandemic, and emphasized that its history remains a loud testament to resilience.
The flag raised at the ceremony, known as the “countdown flag,” officially launches preparations for the bicentenary celebration in 2027, and Professor Andrew said it would serve as a global declaration that FBC is not a relic but a force to be reckoned with. He outlined an ambitious roadmap of projects to support the bicentenary, including improving infrastructure and campus security through perimeter fencing, increasing water security by raising the Bathurst Dam and developing boreholes and rainwater harvesting systems, and launching a water bottling initiative to capitalize on the college’s proximity to natural springs.
He also announced plans to erect a permanent monument to commemorate the bicentenary and undertake a comprehensive campus beautification program. In addition, FBC will modernize its operations through digitization, develop a sustainable alternative energy source to facilitate virtual lectures and reduce reliance on the national grid, and establish an education endowment fund to support research, academic development, and scholarships for students and staff.
Professor Andrew concluded by calling on the private sector, the government, alumni, and the diaspora to support these initiatives and invest in the college as it prepares to step into its third century of academic excellence.
