By Foday Moriba Conteh
In celebration of its 19th year anniversary, the Equals Club at Fourah Bay College (FBC) held its Africana Thanksgiving Service on Friday, June 21st, and Sunday, June 23rd, 2024. The events included Muslim prayers at Hamdallah Mosque on Naimbana Street, followed by a Christian Africana service at Jarwlee Lewis Memorial Church at Adelaide Street. The theme of the celebrations was: “Unity in Diversity: Reaffirming Commitments, a Key to Exploits.”
Speaking to this medium, the Egalitarian of the Equals Club at Fourah Bay College (FBC), Alpha Bilal Koroma, said that the Equals Club originated at the Milton Margai campus (Bravo) during the 2002-2003 academic year and expanded to Fourah Bay College in 2004-2005, led by two-time Liberator Sengehpor Thomas, with the help of Chiefo Josephious Sawyer and Abdulai Janneh.
Alpha Bilal Koroma stated that the extension of the Equals Club to FBC aimed to strengthen the numerical presence of the General’s Entity at FBC, serving as a breeding ground for future politicians and providing a haven for students feeling marginalized by other groups.
He added that additional reasons for the extension included providing a pathway for boys to join the Liberals Brotherhood and acting as a rival club to the Skulls Club, also formed by Liberator Sengehpor Thomas.
Egalitarian Alpha Bilal Koroma pointed out that the club’s sacred symbol is the octopus, chosen for its representation of equality. The octopus uses its eight tentacles equally, symbolizing the club’s commitment to equality and unity.
He concluded by stating that the 19th Africana Thanksgiving Service not only celebrated the club’s anniversary but also reinforced its mission of unity and commitment to social and political issues within the student community.
The 19th-anniversary celebration concluded with a luncheon at the Prince of Wales School Hall in Kingtom. During the ceremony, the anniversary cake was cut, and the Exco of the Equals Club FBC presented certificates to the participating batches of the Inter-Batch & Battalion Football Gala, which took place on Sunday, June 16th, 2024, at the SLFA Playing Field. The Equals Elders Council was crowned champion of the Batches category, while Freetown Polytechnic emerged victorious in the Battalion category.
