Usman Nyallay, Grade 11
UWCEA Arusha Campus
Inspiration, motivation, satisfaction and a sense of idealism are all the things which I believe every reader will be looking for when reading a particular book and Robert Wellesley Cole’s autobiography ‘kossoh town boy’ is first to recon with as it stands as an inspiring and amazing book which entails a lot of information on himself and his society (Sierra Leone).
Most autobiographies are more personal but Ajeh’s is one with a less personal aim. The book like most books written by Africans has an African setting.
This book was first published in 1960 by the Cambridge university press in the Great Britain.
The author who was a descendant to the krios of Sierra Leone was born on the 7th march 1907 to a civil engineer named Wilfred Cole hailing from the egbas and ijebus of Nigeria who were captured as slaves and later brought to Sierra Leone after the slave trade was abolished. The name Ajeh is a family name which was given to every male child in Robert’s family meaning ‘man of steel’. He started school at the Government model school (primary) and moved on to its secondary which was the first Government secondary school that was later changed to the Prince of Wales school and later went to the C.M.S. Grammar school before moving to the Fourah bay college which is the first training institution for Africans by the church missionary society in 1815 and was affiliated with the Durham university since 1876, he later became a medical doctor after graduating from the university of Newcastle. He was the first Sierra Leonean medical doctor to be part of the royal college of surgeons in England. He co-founded the society for cultural advancement of Africa in 1943, was the president of the league of coloured peoples from 1947-49, the director of west African students’ union and a founder member of the west African society, an editor of the society’s journal Africana as well as a key figure in the independence movement of Sierra Leone. He later died on the 31st October 1995 in Marylebone, Sierra Leone.
In this book the author looks back on the days of his childhood in Freetown Sierra Leone. The story is being told in a Leone. The way full of humour. In this book we see the gradual development of a boy from kossoh town with his rough edges, foibles and nuances, grimaces and gaucheries which was gradually moulded by his parents and teachers until he developed leadership qualities.
I was fortunate to read this perfect and amazing book in my junior high school days at prince of Wales precisely in JHS2 (Grade 8 international standard).it was one of the books we were to study for our literature course. I love this book undoubtably because it gives information on how Sierra Leone was during colonial days, the establishment of learning institutions in our country, the start of an era in which west Africans (Sierra Leoneans) were been appointed to superior posts examples are the appointment of the authors father as the superintendent of the water works and that of Samuel Adjaye Crowther’s consecration as the bishop of the Niger diocese and more. A very significant point addressed in the book is the release of the 50000 slaves termed ‘liberated Africans or reborn Africans’ between 1807 and 1863 when the slave trade was outlawed.
The most outstanding moments for me in this book can be seen in the following chapters cocoon in the sun and family life. In the former the author says his greatest pride is when people will stop him on the streets and say: ‘you are the living image of your father!’ and proceed to tell him what a brilliant student he was (Robert’s father) and most especially what a good man he was. Here as well the author also draws back when especially an interfering person would stop his father on the way to say ‘I saw your son doing so and so ’as the so and so were the very last things he wished his father to know about. In the latter he describes his father as a disciplinarian and a Christian but never forced the Forster children to church and even when they opted to, he would seek for the consent of their parents first before granting their wish and this is a moment which I sincerely respect as he (Mr Wilfred Cole) shows signs of a good leader to his family with such an act.
I don’t clearly relate to this book in anyways but I try to understand the values of Ajeh’s story as it has immensely helped me to be able to improve my knowledge of the Aceh’s colonial days, give me knowledge about the krios of Sierra Leone, insight me about the foundation of my school (prince of Wales) and most importantly given me a sense of leadership looking at the character of his father (Robert).
This book is one with a very high recommendation not only from me but from others who have read it as well and every passionate reader should be interested in grasping the content of this amazing autobiography. Are you a reader? then definitely you are a learner and you want a new book to engage yourself with then Robert’s Kossoh town boy should be your ultimate choice.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert-Benjamin-Ajeh-Wellesley-Cole
Image Courtesy: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Benjamin_Ageh_Wellesley_Cole
Most autobiographies are more personal but Ajeh’s is one with a less personal aim. The book like most books written by Africans has an African setting.
This book was first published in 1960 by the Cambridge university press in the Great Britain.
The author who was a descendant to the krios of Sierra Leone was born on the 7th march 1907 to a civil engineer named Wilfred Cole hailing from the egbas and ijebus of Nigeria who were captured as slaves and later brought to Sierra Leone after the slave trade was abolished. The name Ajeh is a family name which was given to every male child in Robert’s family meaning ‘man of steel’. He started school at the Government model school (primary) and moved on to its secondary which was the first Government secondary school that was later changed to the Prince of Wales school and later went to the C.M.S. Grammar school before moving to the Fourah bay college which is the first training institution for Africans by the church missionary society in 1815 and was affiliated with the Durham university since 1876, he later became a medical doctor after graduating from the university of Newcastle. He was the first Sierra Leonean medical doctor to be part of the royal college of surgeons in England. He co-founded the society for cultural advancement of Africa in 1943, was the president of the league of coloured peoples from 1947-49, the director of west African students’ union and a founder member of the west African society, an editor of the society’s journal Africana as well as a key figure in the independence movement of Sierra Leone. He later died on the 31st October 1995 in Marylebone, Sierra Leone.
In this book the author looks back on the days of his childhood in Freetown Sierra Leone. The story is being told in a Leone. The way full of humour. In this book we see the gradual development of a boy from kossoh town with his rough edges, foibles and nuances, grimaces and gaucheries which was gradually moulded by his parents and teachers until he developed leadership qualities.
I was fortunate to read this perfect and amazing book in my junior high school days at prince of Wales precisely in JHS2 (Grade 8 international standard).it was one of the books we were to study for our literature course. I love this book undoubtably because it gives information on how Sierra Leone was during colonial days, the establishment of learning institutions in our country, the start of an era in which west Africans (Sierra Leoneans) were been appointed to superior posts examples are the appointment of the authors father as the superintendent of the water works and that of Samuel Adjaye Crowther’s consecration as the bishop of the Niger diocese and more. A very significant point addressed in the book is the release of the 50000 slaves termed ‘liberated Africans or reborn Africans’ between 1807 and 1863 when the slave trade was outlawed.
The most outstanding moments for me in this book can be seen in the following chapters cocoon in the sun and family life. In the former the author says his greatest pride is when people will stop him on the streets and say: ‘you are the living image of your father!’ and proceed to tell him what a brilliant student he was (Robert’s father) and most especially what a good man he was. Here as well the author also draws back when especially an interfering person would stop his father on the way to say ‘I saw your son doing so and so ’as the so and so were the very last things he wished his father to know about. In the latter he describes his father as a disciplinarian and a Christian but never forced the Forster children to church and even when they opted to, he would seek for the consent of their parents first before granting their wish and this is a moment which I sincerely respect as he (Mr Wilfred Cole) shows signs of a good leader to his family with such an act.
I don’t clearly relate to this book in anyways but I try to understand the values of Ajeh’s story as it has immensely helped me to be able to improve my knowledge of the Aceh’s colonial days, give me knowledge about the krios of Sierra Leone, insight me about the foundation of my school (prince of Wales) and most importantly given me a sense of leadership looking at the character of his father (Robert).
This book is one with a very high recommendation not only from me but from others who have read it as well and every passionate reader should be interested in grasping the content of this amazing autobiography. Are you a reader? then definitely you are a learner and you want a new book to engage yourself with then Robert’s Kossoh town boy should be your ultimate choice.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert-Benjamin-Ajeh-Wellesley-Cole
Image Courtesy: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Benjamin_Ageh_Wellesley_Cole
www.unitedworldwide.co