By Hassan I. Conteh

 The saying by Sierra Leoneans that White people will never teach African people how to make cars, ships, planes, trains, etc. has never a room in this age of 21st century.

This is because innovation is being driven by fresh thinking by leaders and young Africans in most countries and it is a promising sign on the continent to become a manufacturing hub.

Asia used to be very poor than Europe because citizens of most Asia countries like China, Singapore, Dubai, Qatar, Malaysia, had limited economic, social and cultural opportunities to enjoy and Asians then couldn’t get the required education–in science and technology–to develop their nations.

But today, they have jumped on the bandwagon of Western nations’ technology appetite and science revolution.

China, under its great leader Mao Zedong, opened itself to Japan as modern schools were set up in China to teach Chinese students with practical skills to make machines, toys, and other things.

The Qing dynasty, by early 1960s, sent thousands of Chinese students to study abroad, particularly in Japan and Canada.

In July, 1968, a new directive from Mao published in the People’s Daily, explained what kind of higher education China should have: “It is still necessary to have universities: here I refer mainly to colleges of science and engineering.

However, it is essential to shorten the length of schooling, revolutionize  education, put proletarian policies in command and take the road of the Shanghai Machine Tools Plant in training technicians from the workers and peasants with practical experience and they should return to production after a few years’ study,’’ Mao addressed his people.

This statement is culled from The Canadian Journal of Higher Education, vol x-1,1980 by William G. Saywell.

Other Asia countries do not sit back, Dubai, by 1950 hadn’t paved road, according to Richard Schafer, a US Chicago sociologist professor, in his Sociology: A Brief Introduction; ninth edition.

But today, the Arab nations, Dubai and Qatar, Singapore are not only developing in terms of their economics but their citizens can now manufacture many sorts of things themselves.

Surely, such investment pays a lot as citizens minds are fully engaged on practical learning. That was the path that China had sailed through which now makes it being a fastest growing tech-nation in the world and the fastest growing economy.

Since Western hegemonic barriers on technology development are relaxing, Africans’ dream of championing her own course in the race to innovation is becoming a reality. And, now, ‘Africa magic in the air’ is swooshing the continent.

The new innovation in technology in most Africa countries is hitting the continent with leaders and young people taking a lead role.

President Paul Kagame, a retired soldier, of Rwanda is investing heavily on Rwandans to get today’s problem solving knowledge in science and technology.

Rwandans now manufacture different tech products, drones, and various innovative machines that help solve problems in society.

A Rwandan entrepreneur, Eric Rutayisire is the founder and CEO of Charis UAS, an unmanned aerial vehicles company. The drone technology company provides services to various industries, including agriculture, construction, media production and others. The young African drone maker, Eric, explains his challenges at the initial stage: “Many were skeptical about a young African building such technology and many told me it was going to fail,’’.

Nigeria is not leaving behind as it has been manufacturing motor vehicles in the continent.

Nigerians now make motors, assemble private cars, and produce several things with plenty sound engineers.

A renowned Hollywood movie actor, Jim Iyke, is founder and owner of IVM Innoson, a vehicle manufacturing company based in Nigeria.

IVM produces cars of different models with the aim to satisfying the needs of the many car users in Africa.

His vision is woven in the company with the slogan, Innoson, Pride of African Roads.

But Sierra Leoneans have yet to see a turn around on Africa innovation move.

The country is lost on Africa dream agenda on fashion innovation, science and technology.

The glories of the British former colony are clogged up by politics of greed and hate among people.

Sierra Leone was the first country in Africa to have a primary school in 1794 and a university, Fourah Bay College, in 1827. History told us that Fourah Bay College became the hub of higher learning in modern sub-Saharan after the fall of an education centre in Timbuktu, Mali.

Sierra Leone was first in West Africa where Motor Vehicles were introduced in 1912. Today, 101 years on, we still don’t only know how to recycle panel metals into car body types, but our motor engineers are unable, most times, to repair broken down cars.

Look thousands of them being parked along road sidewalks, abandoned vehicles, across Sierra Leone, mostly in urban towns.

Our school science labs have now become interior dustbins with completely no activity going on there.

We still keep our 19th century old technology teachers in classrooms who continue to strenuously teach students ‘ferocious and non-ferocious’ metal topics with chalks on blackboards.

Our science students are in a mad rush to enter the nursing profession. Yet, since the era of the great warrior, Bai Bureh, when Sierra Leone was blessed with the first hospital, Princess Christian Maternity Hospital (PCMH), built in 1892, popularly known as cottage, in the sub-region, yet, we could not make as little as a needle and syringe today.

We don’t work to set up places where medical devices and drugs could be produced; neither do we have medical researchers. Kenyans, Rwandans, Nigerians do have many scientists who are contributing meaningfully in their countries and making the world a better place to live.

The art of innovation in science and technology in Sierra Leone has been killed by our politicians who are on one another’s knife-throats in a bid to amass more resources. Our politicians don’t work hard to remove the shame on us as Sierra Leoneans for being behind other nations we had long ago outshone during the British colonial rule.

We don’t have innovative music composers, reliable internet services and latest modern music studios, and successive governments don’t get to pour more money in getting the whole arts industry matching up with fellow African nations.

Can Sierra Leoneans fashion out electric guitars; least to talk of wooden guitars these days? “We don’t dance to our music but to Nigerians’ songs, we don’t love one another as Sierra Leoneans,” says a passenger on a ‘poda-poda’ on July 5, 2023. He added: “When you go to night clubs you only hear Nigerian songs.”

And that man’s view is the dominant blame shared among many Sierra Leoneans if one gets to talk to many on the streets.

Take for example, I argued, when Emerson Bockarie released ‘No Stress’ music in 2021, it was played almost all over at central business capital of Freetown by some DVD music cassette sellers.

But the question, I asked the young man also, was that do our musicians still sing nice-danced to songs like the days of 2004-2006 ? No, I told him.

The keen desire by young coming up innovators is dying as they lack support by private Sierra Leonean millionaires and help from the government.

Caught in this bitter past and present hopeless situation, one would like to ask, what does the future hold for us as Sierra Leoneans ?

Maybe, we need a rethinking approach in education or else the readings of yesterday glories are a shame on us as we continue to be ‘stare-rers’ of others and outside beggars.

Author: Hassan I. Conteh is a graduate of Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone; with a bachelor honours degree in Mass Communication (graduated April 22, 2017).