Fourah Bay College, situated in the hills overlooking Freetown, Sierra Leone, is one of Africa's oldest and most prestigious advanced institutions. Now a part of the University of Sierra Leone, FBC celebrates its 175th year in 2002. Over the course of the decade long war, FBC lost a significant number of students and lecturers, and much of the infrastructure of the campus was damaged or destroyed. Danny Hoffman spoke with Dr. Joe A.D. Alie, lecturer in the Department of History, about the college and its future in a post-war context.

Danny Hoffman: FBC is next year celebrating its 175th year. It is the oldest university in West Africa, and until the recent war it attracted students from around the continent. But during the war the university, like most of Sierra Leone, suffered terribly. I'm wondering now, as the war comes to an end and the university rebuilds, is the goal to rebuild the university as it once was, or do you think that in a post-war context there needs to be a different vision of what the university should be?

Joe Alie: That's a good question. The rebuilding will definitely take place, but things will never be the same again. You have to take into consideration the past ten years, what we've gone through as an institution and as a people. And definitely, if we are going to rebuild the university in post-war Sierra Leone we have to take this into consideration. That means, for instance, looking at our curriculum to see if there are things we could add, things like peace studies. I know already the university is working on that. We have tentatively established a peace studies unit, and it is hoped that this will be developed into an institute. We are linking with the University of Bradford in the UK - in fact, one of our colleagues is currently working at the university in Bradford to develop a curriculum. In January 2002, we are formally launching the peace studies unit here, and from then onward we'll go full swing. This is sponsored by DFID, the British institution responsible for international development.

DH: For a student coming to FBC, the peace institute would offer an academic opportunity that is certainly new, and fairly unique. I assume it would be an interdisciplinary approach. In a situation like Sierra Leone where we are entering a post-war context, though, I would think that for a lot of students one of their first concerns is going to be acquiring skills that will make them marketable in a more traditional sense: business, law, etc. How do you make something like peace studies attractive to a young person coming into the university, and what do you envision them doing with it once they have gone through this new program?

JA: Well, as you rightly pointed out, the peace studies program will be interdisciplinary. It cannot just be limited to humanities or social science students. In fact, we are hoping that with the support of the authorities, it could be a program offered to all students irrespective of discipline. A kind of introductory course, and those who want to specialize in a discipline could go on. But for all incoming students for the first year it should be made compulsory, because regardless of what discipline you find yourself in, you have to know something about peace studies, especially in our own context. I think it will be attractive in the sense that this will be a practical tool students will have to use even after college, no matter what circumstances you find yourself in - you're working up-country, working anywhere, you have to help to build the peace. And so if that is part of the discipline you have acquired at university that will go a long way toward making this a peaceful country. So it will have both its practical value, helping to build peace, and also I'm sure those who do it as a discipline will readily find a job, not just in Sierra Leone but also in many other places.

DH: One of the things that struck me in doing a little reading about the history of FBC, and about the history of the conflict in Sierra Leone was how many members of the leadership on all sides of the conflict have a connection to FBC - either as alumni, faculty, lecturers, researchers. Does that put a special burden on the university to act as an active part of the peace negotiations? What kinds of opportunities and what kinds of responsibilities do you think that brings?

JA: Yes, the university for better or for worse is represented on all sides of the conflict. It poses great challenges. One would imagine with that kind of thing that the university would have some influence over the actors. But I'm not sure this is the case because these are adults, they have their own free will. The university opens up their knowledge to do a lot of things, but what they do with that knowledge is entirely theirs. But at the same time I agree with you that given that background the university perhaps should be in a better position to influence the stake-holders in the peace process, be they on the government side, the RUF [Revolutionary United Front] or what have you. But I'm not sure we have really taken advantage of that in the past. Perhaps this is the time to start thinking very actively whether the university could use the influence it has had on its alumni to further the peace process.

DH: The other day when we were talking, you mentioned that there was a time when the FBC community made the decision to take up arms to defend the campus. It's an unusual role for a university to have to play. Were there discussions at that time about whether that was something that was necessary, or even the place of the university?

JA: Well, the university community decided to defend itself during the AFRC [Armed Forces Revolutionary Council] junta from May 1997 to February 1998. During that period, the whole country was in chaos, including the university, and there was a lot of armed robbery up at campus, and constant attacks on faculty members in their homes, their property being looted and that kind of thing. Appeals were made to the junta (we didn't have a choice, that was the government whether we liked it or not) to help defend the place, but it was becoming increasingly clear that they were not in full control of the situation. And so after a series of conversations and discussions following some attacks on faculty members, we decided that we would be our best defenders. So we formed a small militia up at campus to defend our property. I don't think it was strongly opposed by anybody, because there was a need for it. This was out of necessity. We didn't take pleasure in doing it, but we had to.

DH: I have one more question. In general, are you optimistic about the way FBC is headed? As the war seems to be over, are you generally positive about the direction FBC is going?

JA: Well, I can't say I'm totally happy. There is still a lot we can do as an institution. For instance, this university has not grown much in the past years - physically, its infrastructure and that kind of thing, which is posing a great challenge. This is the only university we have, the University of Sierra Leone, and the student intake is so small. A lot of students who qualify cannot be adequately absorbed, and some of us are getting worried that at some point some of these young people will get frustrated and that poses a great challenge to the peace process. We don't want to create another set of idle young men who will be potential material for mob action. So I think that's one of the things that I'm not very happy about. The university should think very seriously about addressing certain issues. You know, open up the university not just in terms of entry requirements but make courses more relevant to the needs of society so that when students leave with a BA or what have you they can find employment elsewhere. This is again another problem, and one of the criticisms of the university - that it is not very responsive to the needs of society, and I think that's another area that we need to look into. And generally make the teaching and learning environment conducive, not just for students but also for faculty, and that might perhaps encourage a lot of people to stay.

DH: Joe, thank you very much.

JA: You're welcome.

Danny Hoffman is a GSC Dissertation Fellow, currently researching and training in Sierra Leone on his project entitled "The Kamajors of Sierra Leone: New Magic and the War-Machine." He is a doctoral student in the Department of Cultural Anthropology at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.