Scholars petition President Koroma over Prof. Ibrahim Abdullah

His Excellency Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma

President of the Republic of Sierra Leone

Chancellor and Visitor to the University of Sierra Leone
State House
State Avenue
Freetown, Sierra Leone.

February 3, 2016


Dear President Koroma,

Ref: Concern at the Injustice Against Dr. Ibrahim Abdullah, Professor of History at Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone

We wish to express our grave concern at the unjust treatment of Dr. Ibrahim Abdullah by the administration of Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone. We are deeply shocked that a disagreement over the allocation of courses in his department was used by the University administration as an opportunity to change his employment from a tenured, pensionable position to a one­year contract. Even more troubling is that after his principled refusal to accept this egregious violation of the terms of his employment, his salary was summarily suspended, and he was threatened with dismissal by the Acting Vice Chancellor. The actions of the Vice Chancellor and other university administrators are out of step with the institution’s own laws, and antithetical to best practices elsewhere. The process by which these actions were adopted lacks transparency, and it shows no respect for Dr. Abdullah’s employment rights.

We find it difficult to comprehend why senior administrators at an understaffed institution like the University of Sierra Leone would try to get rid of one of their few highly qualified professors with an international reputation. Dr. Abdullah is a brilliant and well­known historian who has taught in Nigeria, United States and South Africa. His research and publications have made seminal contributions to the understanding of working class and youth development, culture and politics in West Africa. He strives for excellence in his research and teaching. He ensures that his courses introduce students to emerging scholarship in African Studies, provides the necessary readings, and encourages students to develop their academic abilities to the fullest. We believe Dr. Abdullah’s presence at Fourah Bay College contributes positively to the credibility of the institution, nationally and globally. This move by the University administrators to terminate his employment suggests that they do not fully appreciate Dr. Abdullah’s stature as a scholar of international standing or his admirable commitment to fostering academic excellence.

The narrative and documents pertaining to the current case provided by Dr. Abdullah reveal a university environment riddled with serious administrative, staffing, curriculum, and teaching problems. Dr. Abdullah has taught at Fourah Bay College for twelve years, during which time he has been promoted from Senior Lecturer to Associate Professor, and was even asked to be the head of the History and African Studies Department. It would be a travesty of justice to allow the administrators of the University to terminate his career or tarnish his hard­earned academic reputation.

It is our fervent hope that as Chancellor of, and Visitor to, the University, you will not support the unjust treatment of Dr. Abdullah. We call on you to use the authority vested in your office to ensure that the threat of termination of his employment is swiftly lifted, his salary reinstated, and his tenured, pensionable position restored.

Sincerely,

Jacques M. F. Depelchin
retired Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana (2013) Salvador­Bahia Brasil
jdepelchin41@gmail.com

Yusuf Bangura (PhD)
Former Research Coordinator
UN Research Institute for Social Development Geneva, Switzerland
bangura.ym@gmail.com

Arthur Abraham, PhD,
Emeritus Professor of History & Eminent Scholar, Virginia State University,
Va. 23806,
antarabraham98@gmail.com

Ismail Rashid,
Professor of History, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY 12604 [email]israshid@vassar.edu[/email]

G. Ugo Nwokeji,
Director of the Center for African Studies
& Associate Professor of African American Studies, University of California, Berkeley, [email]ugo@berkeley.edu[/email]

Professor Afua Cooper
James R. Johnston Chair in Black Canadian Studies Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia [email]afua.cooper@dal.ca[/email]

Professor Toyin Falola
Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities Department of History
University of Texas at Austin
toyinfalola@austin.utexas.edu

Prof. Osman Sankoh, Dsc
Executive Director
INDEPTH Network
Accra, Ghana osman.sankoh@indepth­network.org

McSam Dixon­Fyle,
Professor of History Depauw University [email]macdixon@depauw.edu[/email]

Michael Neocosmos (PhD)
Professor and Director UHURU ­
[Unit for the Humanities at Rhodes University] Faculty of Humanities, 1 Prince Alfred Road, PO Box 94, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa [email]michaelneocosmos@gmail.com[/email]

Stephen J. Rockel
Professor, Department of History University of Toronto,
Toronto, Canada [email]stephen.rockel@utoronto.ca[/email]

Dickson Eyoh, PhD
Associate Professor of Political Science and African Studies Director, African Studies Program
University of Toronto
Toronto, ON, Canada [email]dickson.eyoh@utoronto.ca[/email]

Zubairu Wai, PhD
Associate Professor of Political Science Lakehead University,
Thunder Bay, ON, Canada [email]zubawai@lakeheadu.ca[/email]

Professor Jacqueline Solway
International Development Studies
Trent University
Peterborough, Ontario CANADA K9J 7B8 [email]jsolway@trentu.ca[/email]

Nemata Blyden
Associate Professor of History and International Affairs Interim Director, Women’s Studies Program
George Washington University
Washington, DC [email]nemata@gwu.edu[/email]

Philip S. Zachernuk
Associate Professor
Department of History
Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada [email]Philip.Zachernuk@Dal.ca[/email]

Joseph J. Bangura
Associate Professor of History Director of African Studies Kalamazoo College
1200 Academy Street Kalamazoo, Michigan [email]bangura@kzoo.edu[/email]

Peter A. Dumbuya
Professor of History
Attorney at Law (Alabama)
Fort Valley State University 1005 State University Drive
Fort Valley, Georgia 31030/USA [email]dumbuyap@fvsu.edu[/email]

Martin Klein,
Professor Emeritus, Department of History, University of Toronto Toronto, ON, Canada [email]martin.klein@utoronto.ca[/email]

Li Anshan,
Professor of History Peking University, Beijing, China [email]anshanli@pku.edu.cn[/email]

Dr. Lansana Gberie,
[email]gberiel@gmail.com[/email]

Abdul Raufu Mustapha
Associate Professor of African Politics Queen Elizabeth House
University of Oxford
Oxford, United Kingdom [email]raufu.mustapha@qeh.ox.ac.uk[/email]

George Klay Kieh, Jr.
Professor of Political Science, University of West Georgia [email]gkieh@westga.edu[/email]

Jibrin Ibrahim
Professor of Political Science Babcock University
Ilishan, Nigeria [email]jibo72@gmail.com[/email]

Gibril R. Cole
Associate Professor Department of History Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, LA 70803 [email]gcole@lsu.edu[/email]

Emmanuel O. Akwetey
Executive Director, Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG) No. 24 Garden Road, Intersection, Okine Street Ambassadorial Enclave, East Legon
Accra, Ghana
eakwetey@ideg.org

Joey Power
Professor
History Department Ryerson University Toronto, ON [email]jpower@ryerson.ca[/email]

Handel Kashope Wright
Professor of Education
Director­ Centre for Culture, Identity and Education University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC
Canada
handel.wright@ubc.ca

Jennifer J. Yanco
Executive Director,
West African Research Association Boston University African Studies Center Boston, MA. USA
jjyanco@bu.edu
wara@bu.edu

Dr. David E. Skinner
Professor of History Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA, USA [email]dskinner@scu.edu[/email]

Fodei J. Batty, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Political Science Quinnipiac University
Hamden, CT, USA
fodeib@gmail.com

Tamba E. M’bayo, PhD
Assistant Professor

Department of History
West Virginia University Morgantown, WV [email]tembayo@mail.wvu.edu[/email]

Professor Thandika Mkandawire,
Professor and Chair, African Development, London School of Economics and Political Science London, UK
thandika@gmail.com

Sheikh Umarr Kamarah, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair
Department of Languages and Literature Virginia State University
Petersburg, VA, USA [email]skamarah@vsu.edu[/email]

Allen M. Howard,
Professor Emeritus, Department of History,
Rutgers University,
New Brunswick NJ 08901 USA. [email]ahoward@rci.rutgers.edu[/email]

Mohamed Saffa Lamin
Assistant Professor Department of Political Science Cardinal Stritch University Milwaukee, WI 53207 [email]mslamin02@gmail.com[/email]

Godwin R. Murunga
Senior Research Fellow
Institute for Development Studies University of Nairobi [email]gmurunga@gmail.com[/email]

Karuti Kanyinga
Associate Research Professor
Institute for Development Studies (IDS) University of Nairobi [email]karuti@south.co.ke[/email]

Jimi Adesina, PhD
Professor & South African Research Chair in Social Policy, College of Graduate Studies,
University of South Africa,
City of Tshwane, Republic of South Africa. [email]adesij@unisa.ac.za[/email]

Olufemi Taiwo
Professor
Africana Studies and Research Center Cornell University, Ithaca, NY [email]ot48@cornell.edu[/email]

Tim Shaw
Emeritus Professor, University of London & Visiting Professor,
University of Massachusetts
Boston, MA. USA [email]Timothy.Shaw@umb.edu[/email]

Reginald Cline­Cole
Senior Lecturer
School of History and Cultures University of Birmingham United Kingdom r.e.a.cline­cole@bham.ac.uk

Michael O. West
Professor, Sociology; Africana Studies; History Binghamton University
Binghamton, NY 13902, USA [email]mwest@binghamton.edu[/email]

Eurelino T. Coelho
Dean of Research and Post­Graduate Studies Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brasil [email]pppg@uefs.br[/email]

Laura Warren Hill
Assistant Professor of History and Africana Studies Bloomfield College Bloomfield, NJ 07003 [email]laura_hill@bloomfield.edu[/email]

Hon. Ian F. Hancock
Professor of English, University of Texas at Austin Austin, Texas [email]xulaj@mail.utexas.edu[/email]

George J. Sefa Dei
Professor, Social Justice Education OISE, University of Toronto Toronto, Ontario, Canada [email]gdei@oise.utoronto.ca[/email]

Robert M. Maxon
Professor of History West Virginia University Morgantown, WV USA [email]rmaxon@wvu.edu[/email]

Carolyn A. Brown
Associate Professor
Department of History
Rutgers ­ The State University of New Jersey [email]cbrown@panix.com[/email]

Ebrima Sall
Executive Secretary
Council for the Development of Social Research in Africa (CODESRIA) Dakar, Senegal
ebrima.sall@codesria.sn

Professor Ernest Wamba Dia Wamba
Former President,
Council for the Development of Social Research in Africa (CODESRIA) [email]ernestwdw@gmail.com[/email]

Paul Chiudza Banda
PhD Candidate,
History Department,
West Virginia University. [email]pbchiudzabanda@mix.wvu.edu[/email]

Sylvia Macauley, PhD
Professor & Chair
Department of Africana Studies California State University, Northridge [email]wiamac@yahoo.com[/email]

Gift Kayira
PhD Student
History Department West Virginia University [email]gwkayira@mix.wvu.edu[/email]

Horace Campbell
Professor of Political Science and African American Studies Syracuse University
hcmombara@gmail.com

David Johnson
Formerly Associate Professor of History The City College
City University of New York [email]micere@aol.com[/email]

Mahmood Mamdani
Professor and Executive Director
Makerere Institute of Social Research Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
& Herbert Lehman Professor of Government Columbia University, New York City [email]mm1124@columbia.edu[/email]

LaRay Denzer
Program of African Studies Northwestern University Evanston, IL 60208 [email]laray.denzer@northwestern.edu[/email]

William Reno
Professor of Political Science & Director, Program of African Studies Northwestern University
Evanston, IL 60208 [email]reno@northwestern.edu[/email]

Lars Rudebeck
Professor of Political Science Centre for Sustainable Development Uppsala University, Sweden [email]Lars.Rudebeck@csduppsala.uu.se[/email]

Alfred Zack­Williams
Professor Emeritus in Sociology University of Central Lancashire, UK [email]abzw1427@gmail.com[/email]

Abdul Rahman Lamin, Ph.D.
Social and Human Sciences Specialist UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON) United Nations Avenue
Gigiri, Nairobi, Kenya
ar.lamin@unesco.org

Fredline A. O. M’Cormack­Hale
Associate Professor
School of Diplomacy and International Relations Seton Hall University
South Orange, NJ 07079 fredline.m’cormack­hale@shu.edu

Marèma Touré Thiam (PhD)
Chief of Section (SHS)
Human and Social Sciences Multisectorial Regional Office for the Sahel in Dakar
Enceinte Ngor Diarama Daka m.toure­thiam@unesco.org

Professor Adebayo Olukoshi,
Director for Africa and West Asia,
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
olukoshi@gmail.com

Ahmad Sikainga
Professor,
History Department, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, US [email]sikainga.1@osu.edu[/email]

Dr. Kate Meagher
Associate Professor in Development Studies Department of International Development London School of Economics [email]k.meagher@lse.ac.uk[/email]

Edward Kissi, Ph.D
Associate Professor of History Africana Studies Department University of South Florida Tampa, FL 33620­5550 [email]ekissi@usf.edu[/email]

Funmi Olonisakin, Ph.D
Founding Director, African Leadership Center King College London [email]funmiolonisakin@runbox.com[/email]

Teresa Barnes
Associate Professor
History, and Gender & Women's Studies University of Illinois Urbana­Champaign Urbana, IL
tbarnes2@illinois.edu

Abdul Tejan­Cole
Executive Director
Open Society Initiative for West Africa B.P. 008 Dakar­Fann, Senegal [email]atcole@osiwa.org[/email]