Chancellor Calls for National Event as Fourah Bay College Turns 200

The Chancellor of the University of Sierra Leone, P.C. Dr. Margaret Baio Gbanie IV, has called on the government and the people of Sierra Leone to recognise the 2027 bicentennial of Fourah Bay College (FBC) as a national event, describing the anniversary as “a defining moment in the country’s history.”

In a statement issued on 29th April 2026, the Chancellor argued that the college’s story is inseparable from the birth of modern Sierra Leone and West Africa. She appealed to the President, Dr Julius Maada Bio, who serves as the Visitor to the University of Sierra Leone, to endorse this epochal celebration as a national event.

“The history of Fourah Bay College is deeply woven into the very fabric of our nation and the wider region,” Dr. Gbanie said. “This bicentennial is not a private anniversary, it is a national milestone.” Quoting the 19th‑century theologian John Henry Newman, she said: “A university is a place of teaching universal knowledge.” She added: “For nearly two centuries, Fourah Bay has fulfilled this mission, producing graduates who shaped national and continental development.”

Established in 1827, FBC was the first Western‑style university in sub‑Saharan Africa. For more than a century, it served as the region’s intellectual hub, training religious leaders, academics, and civil servants from Nigeria to Ghana. The Chancellor drew a line from the college’s alumni to Africa’s liberation struggles. “The independence of Ghana is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of Africa,” she recalled Kwame Nkrumah’s famous words, adding: “FBC’s legacy is inseparable from that wider historical trajectory.”

Referencing Nelson Mandela, Dr. Baio Gbanie said: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world, and Fourah Bay College has long embodied that transformative power.” She also noted the college’s historic affiliation with Durham University, which made it a unique institution within the British Empire. Today, its alumni network spans the globe.

The Chancellor stressed that a state‑recognised celebration would unite Sierra Leoneans at home and in the diaspora, showcasing the country’s historic role as a regional intellectual powerhouse. “Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress,” she quoted Kofi Annan.

Dr. Baio Gbanie urged the government, development partners, alumni, and citizens to support national status for the bicentennial and to invest in preserving the institution’s legacy.

©️ Dr. Tonya Musa

Director of Communications and International Relations University of Sierra Leone