By Amin Kef Sesay
Three lecturers from the Institute of Public Administration Management (IPAM), within the Faculty of Management Sciences, have published four books which were launched on the 17th February 2021 at the Africa Young Voices Empire (AYV) Multi Complex Auditorium, on Wesley Street, in Freetown during an event which was tagged Triple Book Launch.
One of the books launched is titled : “The Effect of Fiscal Policy and Private Investment in Sierra Leone” ( SLWS) written by Dr. Duramani Lakkoh.
The other is, “Sierra Leone Private Investment and Financial Sector Development Trends and Statistics”(–iUniverse USA) again authored by Dr. Lakkoh.
“Sub-Saharan African Immigrants in United States: A Narrative Inquiry of Their Assimilation Experiences into Mainstream American Society” (SLWS) is the third written by Dr. Jesse Porter.
“English Language & Communication Skills–A reference Guide for First Year College Students” (SLWS) written by Michaela Denison-George was the fourth.
This occasion was graciously honored by dignitaries in the academia and society in order to celebrate and publish the work of these three lecturers and also to encourage others to do more as it is the mantra of University lecturers to publish or else perish.
Deputy Vice Chancellor of IPAM, Professor Nonie gave a brief description of Dr. Jesse Porter, disclosing that he is a Faculty Deen who is working so relentlessly, a man that does his work effectively and efficiently.
“He is a quiet achiever and also supervises post graduate and undergraduate dissertations,” he further described him adding that he is expecting more of such exposition as Dr. Porter has so far done.
The Vice Chancellor of the University of Sierra Leone, Professor Foday Sahr, on his part, stated that as the Principal of the University of Sierra Leone he is indeed happy to grace the occasion further stating that it is the first time in the history of the University of Sierra Leone to do a triple book launch which three of their colleagues are launching maintaining that they are celebrating them for jobs well done.
He said despite the challenges and pressures these three lecturers found ways to make themselves outstanding by penning down their ideas, did thorough research and brought out outstanding publications which must be a trigger for other lecturers to do more.
In his final statement he said for a lecturer not to perish they need to publish also expressing hope that the publications will not be only useful for students in the University of Sierra Leone but also for other Universities and colleges in the country.
Pro Chancellor of the University of Sierra Leone, Professor Hector G Morgan, said the book launch has been a fight between multiple topics that have been crossing the minds of the authors yet they had to make a choice of the ones which they focused on and with the support from family members it has been a success.
He said the University appreciates high and concentrated work published adding that the authors can be assured that they have added significantly to their total score for promotion.
In his brief summary on the three books published, he recommended that Mrs. George’s book must be used in all preliminary stages in Universities as well as Dr. Porter’s which, he said, is based on a global problem as well as societal values in the country, Sub-Saharan Africa and the diaspora also commending Dr. Lakkoh’s technical writings for those who acquire wealth from the country’s local resources.
The Publisher of Sierra Leone Writers Series, Professor Osman Sankoh aka Mallam O said their role is to review books and make sure they are well in place before publishing. He underscored that some publishers are named as vanity publishers because their aim is to have the money and never review.
Prof. Sankoh said together with his wife they are ready and willing to review books written by Sierra Leoneans as well as to fund them for publication. He informed the audience that after his first publication as a Mathematician and Statistician many people looked up to him as a father of writing and they started submitting their manuscripts for reviewing and editing.
A representative from the Ministry of Higher and Technical Education thanked the three authors whose books were launched. He highlighted the points the authors want to show case in their writings.
First of he spoke on the book titled “Sub-Saharan Immigrants in the United States” authored by Prof .Jesse Porter . He recommended his work as a great one as he juxtaposes the new wave of immigrants to the earlier ones.
The other book titled, “A Time Series Analysis from Fiscal Policies” authored by Dr. Lakkoh, he said, is set out to attack two fundamentals in encouraging sound fiscal policies that will boost the private sector as well as the Government side. He noted that the author has helped the inter-theoretical debate among the various schools of thought on fiscal policies. He expressed hope that the book will be of great essence to economists and financial experts.
Dilating on the third book titled, “English Language and Good Communications Skills” authored by Mrs. Michaela Dennison George, he said he is happy that her work is geared towards the improvement of students’ knowledge in various institutions on the English language.
He finally celebrated all the authors and encouraged others that are hiding their writing skills and knowledge to bring them out.
The authors finally disclosed how they arrived at titling their books and what inspired them to write on these three sensitive topics
