By Andrew Keili
FREETOWN, Apr. 11 (232news.com) – I have been stuck by what I consider the unfair criticism and ridicule levelled at Dominion Christian University. Some people doing such may have no leg to stand on, as they themselves might be enmeshed knee-deep in corruption.
On the face of it, Dominion might seem the villain, but a careful consideration of the facts would indicate that the now-infamous “mango tree convocation” and other “infractions” of Dominion may actually vindicate Dominion. Consider the following facts I have gathered from my investigations and from someone purporting to be a Dominion spokesman at Bottom Mango (why do the guys like mango trees?). I have put myself in Dominion’s shoes to come up with the case for the defence:
1. With COVID restrictions in place, Dominion considered it safer to hold their convocation outdoors; hence the reason for cancelling the earlier hall booking.
2. Dominion considers convocations to be dull affairs with Chancellors and academics giving boring speeches. They wanted to “jazz” things up a bit by shouting the acclamation “Yea Dominion yea”. Also, introducing the awardees in such a dramatic manner was justified. For one particular graduate with a large protruding stomach, the Chancellor had to lay emphasis on the fact that the size of the man in this case was directly proportional to the ranking of the degree.
3. Dominion claims that TEC should not be the only accreditation institution. After all Dominion is also registered under the Western Area Rural District Council (WARDC) and the Corporate Affairs Commission as a Business entity, which allows them to operate. Is Education not a business?
4. Dominion chose to operate from Waterloo and nowhere else. Just think of the honour it has bestowed on Waterloo, a town not renowned for academic excellence but for crime and an industry for dismantling stolen cars (thousand apologies, Chairman Kasho!).
5. The purported spokesman shed some light on the corruption angle by stating, “We are not corrupt and we are not circumventing the system. We have our own system. Let the TEC go to h-ll with their “norshi norshi” certification talk. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder! Are we the only ones practising with false certificates and honours? What of all the people who engender honours given to them in this country for doing sweet nothing? What of the dozens of organizations who give out these scurrilous awards? What of the other suspect universities that have awarded PhD degrees to big men in this country undercover? At least, we did ours in the open under the mango tree- a true symbol of our agricultural potential in this country. Bo le den lef we ya!
On the one hand, some of these assertions can be defended but on the other hand it is difficult to defend others. The one thing I don’t like however in this Dominion saga is the “outing” of other institutions, which may be in the same soup- misery lines company! This has definitely made some “big men” jittery. I understand that PhD. degree certificates that were adorning tables and walls in top offices have been placed in Bank vaults for now and some “Doctors” are no longer placing these titles before their names. Questions have been asked about how some people got their PhDs and the accreditation status of some universities. The Head of the African Graduate University (AGU), Professor Mohamed Yamba Bangura has come out with guns blazing to defend his institution and distance himself from Dominion. I don’t know much about his university or Dominion but am compelled to wonder why people should register for a Bachelors or Masters degrees in some of these universities when they can, with the same effort (or lack thereof) get their PhD?
This Dominion issue and the whole issue of certification will come out in the wash. I don’t however agree with a notable Dominion graduate who (on condition of anonymity) has suggested they should set up their own Tertiary Education (TEC). I don’t think my friend, Professor Alghali will be pleased about this. He will see red (em em green) under the circumstances!
But what is it in our psyche that impels people to want to be called “Doctor” at all costs? Some of our illiterate folks do not even know what this means. The story is told of one learned Mende man from Kailahun of a certain party (no prizes for guessing which) with three degrees. imploring major stakeholders in a court barrie meeting to choose him as the party candidate for MP, as the President was likely to make him a Minister in preference to his opponent who had none (those were the days when only MPs could be made Ministers). A wise old man asked him – “If you have three degrees and our brother has none, why don’t you give him one? Case closed! The greedy degree holder lost their vote and went home with his degrees between his legs!
My friend who got his Engineering degree under the Chinese at Magbass must be quaking in his boots as people have started scrutinising degrees. He need not worry as his is only a first degree.
For now, Dominion rules, I would like to end by making one last suggestion to Professor Ezekiel Bangura, Founder, Chancellor and International Director of Dominion Christian University. Now that they have started chasing you, Professor, I would like to suggest that you consider holding your next convocation in a Poro bush for men and Bondo bush (with a female Chancellor) for women in Kailahun. As long as the recipients agree to be initiated, no Police or TEC spy (Damm them!) will come chasing you.
Ok, Ok, let us get serious for a moment and ponder the views of some academics who have a valid point or two to make. My friend Stephen Fomba in a recent article made a compelling case for why we should care about the recent spate of academic scandals. He wrote: “Such academic charlatans are dangerous to our society, because they undermine the legitimacy and reputation of our academic systems and insult those of us who sat in classes for thousands of hours, read hundreds of books and thousands of academic articles, spent years conducting research and writing dissertations…….”
The Academic Staff Association of the University of Sierra Leone (ASA-USL) in its Press Release makes the case clearly to explain the extent of the ire of academics: “ASA-USL is perturbed that the apparent unregulated nature of the award of degrees by fake institutions and the use of academic titles by their awardees seriously undermine the credibility of Sierra Leone’s education system thereby impeding international recognition of academic awards from trustworthy universities in Sierra Leone.”
ASA’s solution is draconian: “ASA further demands an immediate and thorough investigation of public officials holding and benefitting from such awards-they must be sacked with immediate effect and the law made to take its course as practical steps are taken towards sanitising our education system and restoring international Trust…”.
I will end by quoting from a keen observer of the Sierra Leone social scene who spoke to me on condition of anonymity (under an orange tree)- “Let him that has no sin cast the first stone. This is a country of fraudsters, many of whom are now calling for Prof Ezekiel’s scalp. Lecturers who sell grades, electricity thieves, fraudulent lawyers, exam cheats, corrupt civil servants and politicians are all calling for Ezekiel’s head to be brought on a platter like John the Baptist’s. I am not condoning what has happened but let us take a good look at ourselves first.”
Anyway, let me end this Dominion talk. My application is still pending! Yea Dominion yea! Yea Dominion Yea!
Ponder my thoughts
