By Fatmata Jengbe
Dr. Alhaji U N’jai, Founder and Chief Strategist for Project 1808, Inc. delivered a lecture on Wednesday 8th February 2023 to four hundred (400) Corps of the National Youth Service Orientation Training on “Patriotism for Nation Building”.
The lecture was part of a twenty-one (21) day orientation course at the Army Peace Mission Training Center at Hastings, Freetown facilitated by the National Youth Service (NYS), an agency of the Ministry of Youth Affairs.
Dr. N’jai has been a Chief Guest Lecturer for the NYS orientation training scheme since it began in 2018 with its first batch of two hundred (200) Corps.
While delivering his lecture, Dr. N’jai described “Patriotism as the corner stone and pillar for nation building.” He said a fundamental move by many developed countries around the world has been the practice of imbibing the culture and idea of patriotism in the minds of their citizens. He admonished the students to learn or revisit history in order to understand the idea of patriotism which will prevent the act of operating blindly or in a vacuum “When we talk about patriotism, we have to know that history matters. In Sierra Leone and across Africa, the reason why we are enjoying certain freedoms and doing certain things is because some people did something before us, made major sacrifices or laid the legacies for us to be here,” he said.
Dr. Alhaji N’jai, who is also a lecturer at the University of Sierra Leone, described patriotism as a tool that could be used to promote total liberation and self-empowerment. He encouraged the Corps to emulate the spirit of courage and leadership portrayed by Sengbe Pieh (Joseph Cinque), a key historic figure in Sierra Leone’s and anti-slavery history. Dr. N’jai outlined history, language, and psychological factors, as the drivers of patriotism, while stating that self-doubt, self-hate are major impediments to patriotism.
Speaking on the aspect of Leadership, the Founder and Chief Strategist of Project 1808, Inc. termed leadership as a means of service. “Leadership is about serving one’s society and understanding the aspect of service and its duties. That is why this program is called youth service,” he added. He implored the Corps to be agents of change within their communities and society, stating that change starts small. “Change doesn’t require big input of resources. It is the little actions that can create big changes,” he reiterated.
Dr. N’jai delved in several other areas of patriotism and leadership; referencing impacts made by past and present Pan African Leaders from within and outside the African continent.
He highlighted the roles played by major Sierra Leoneans such as Africanus Horton, Bai Bureh, ITA Wallace Johnson, Constance Agatha Cummings-John, Madam Yoko, Davidson Sylvester Nicol, Sir Milton Augustus Margai, amongst many others. Dr. N’jai therefore urged the Corps to “learn about the past, get inspiration, reflect on the present predicaments and mistakes, and then build hope for the future.”
The Director of Programs, Recruitment and Training at the NYS, Sylvester Bewie, while presenting a certificate of participation over the years to Dr. N’jai, described him as a pillar to the NYS scheme since its inception. Bewie acknowledged the role of the Founder and Chief Strategist of Project 1808 to academia in Sierra Leone; stating “these are the people we must emulate and celebrate because he has contributed greatly to knowledge and the development of this country.” Bewie said the rationale behind the youth service scheme is to provide the agency for young people through capacity building and as well as have practical job experiences. This is also the goal of Project 1808 Inc, a Sierra Leonean non-profit Community Based Organization (CBO) that was established in 2011 with a mission to create thriving children, youths, adults, and communities by providing tools for technical, leadership, entrepreneurial, and greater resourcefulness.
Mayiella Sesay a graduate from the Institute for Public Administration and Management said it has been a great experience in gaining knowledge about the role of youth in promoting national development. She expressed the view that lectures like the one delivered by Dr. N’jai and others are very good for nation building.
Also, Moses Mohamed Sellay a graduate from Njala University said he has been strongly influenced to be a change agent based on the trainings and experiences from the NYS training centre. He said a takeaway from Dr. N’jai’s lecture was the idea to reflect on one’s culture and reclaim one’s history for self-emancipation.
