Dr. Abdul .J. Sankoh: Inspiring Africa’s Future Leaders

Excellence and outstanding contributions to the profession is what is required to be named a Fellow of the American Statistical Association (ASA), the nation's preeminent statistical society founded in Boston in 1839. Individuals must have established a very solid reputation and have contributed immensely to the advancement of Statistics during the course of their career be it in academia, government and/or industry.

Such extraordinary recognition was recently bestowed on Sierra Leonean Abdul J. Sankoh after his peers who have followed his professional career over the years nominated him for his many contributions as a researcher, teacher, consultant and his services to the association and the statistical profession.

Being recognized as an outstanding scholar, spokesperson for the Statistical profession as well as a model for young statisticians, speak volumes of the character of someone who has been described as the “quiet storm” by his colleagues, members of his community and the profession he has diligently served.

Like others around the world who have made their mark in their own careers and have made the small West African country proud, AJ as he is fondly called, continues to affirm that though small, Sierra Leone is the place where the academically competent, intellectually capable are born.

Born to Mamoud Kaba Sankoh and Saffie Kamara in 1958, he is one of many children raised at Tawuya-Munu in the Mansongbla Munu Chiefdom in Kambia District. He was one of the first students to attend the first and only elementary school in his village founded by his late uncle, M.A. Sankoh who also paid teachers' salaries for years. The elementary school is now part of the Roman Catholic (R.C.) mission.

Through the kindness of another uncle, Paramount Chief Bai Kelfa I, Sankoh later transferred to the Sierra Leone Muslim Brotherhood Primary School (SLMB) in Rokupr, 24 miles away from his village where he studied and sat 1970/71 Selective Entrance Examinations (SEE). His excellent result afforded him the opportunity to attend Kolenten as a boarding home student on government scholarship.

Five years later, upon completing his secondary education and graduating top of his class, he proceeded to Njala University College (NUC) where he successfully completed his undergraduate education with a bachelor's degree in mathematics and a minor in physics.

He is “one of the brightest stars Kolenten has ever produced when it comes to academic achievement. He combines academic brilliance with a singular focus on attaining goals, be it academic excellence or professional advancement in his field of endeavor,” said Ibrahim Sorie Yansaneh – Chief of Cost–of-Living Division at the United Nations in New York.

“Besides his solid academic and professional achievements, Dr. Sankoh also epitomizes the virtues of humility and altruism in his dealings with family, friends, and community. On a personal level, he is a very empathetic person, who is fully cognizant of the responsibilities that come with success,” Dr. Yansaneh recently told me on the phone.

Both gentlemen have had their academic and professional careers run eerily parallel since their secondary school days at Kolenten and their undergraduate education at NUC graduating with the class of 1980. Both also taught at their alma mater; Yansaneh as an untrained and unqualified (UU) teacher immediately after his GCE O' Levels and Sankoh as a trained and qualified teacher upon graduating from university.

AJ's exceptional academic abilities seemed to have been noticed by his teachers as well. “Abdul Sankoh is a highly motivated and intellectually gifted student my teacher colleagues and I met and taught at Kolenten Secondary School in Kambia in the 1970's,” said Dr. Hamid Charm a former teacher. His interactions with AJ go beyond the teacher-student relationship extending to more than a decade-long active membership of their alumni association – the Old Kolenten Student's Association (OKSA) here in the USA.

“This intrinsically motivated, hardworking, unassuming, respectful young man exhibited a yearning and hunger for learning that I have not seen in learners anywhere in all my thirty-something years of work in education in Sierra Leone and in the US. I am therefore not surprised by the academic and career successes that he has achieved over the years. He has always held his own turf, remarkably distinguishing himself with grace and humility as he has now done in the field of statistics in the USA” continued Dr. Charm, a School Counselor with the Rochester City School District.

For English professor Gibreel Kamara, “AJ is not only the prototypical quintessential man but the paragon of modesty. Underneath his unassuming, simple and uneventful personality lies a truly important man.” As I wondered what “truly important” meant for a man whose presence is sometimes diminished by his quiet and gentle demeanour, my gaze was firmly fixed on the professor hoping more information was forthcoming. Dr. Kamara never disappointed as he jumped right in.

“Well, each of us in this world is but a blimp in the radar of the universe. In other words, every one of us in the scheme of the cosmos is actually relatively insignificant, but on planet earth, every person is important. However, the kind of importance that matters comes not from what we think of ourselves or the paraphernalia we have robed ourselves with, such as the garments we wear, the academic credentials we have garnered. These things are no doubt essential, but they merely benefit just who directly owns them. That AJ today proudly stands as a Fellow of the American Statistical Associations is a great accomplishment but the honor extends to Sierra Leone and all Sierra Leoneans. His presence in this prestigious association places Sierra Leone on the world stage once more. This is what qualifies AJ as a person who is truly important. Thus, the measure of our true importance is on how our efforts positively impact others. Certainly, this bespeaks of the character of Abdul Sankoh,” professor Kamara answered his new student from Philadelphia.

“While the achievement will cause some of us to shout from mountain tops, I must admit that knowing the man though, he would rather go unnoticed. He will simply credit this fortune to his and our beloved Kolenten Secondary School and Sierra Leone. It is his fidelity to others, Kolenten and Sierra Leone that has engendered him the respect of all those who cross his path,” Dr. Kamara continued.

As quiet and unpretentious as he is, he would undoubtedly have preferred to remain anonymous whilst continuing to be of service to his community in his own way. Yes, it could have been possible but the writer in me tells me such a story deserves to be told for it could serve as an inspiration to many others of similar background both at home and in the Diaspora.

In a nation where poverty rate remains high and getting a decent education becomes difficult each and every day, it is very important for students to realize that with hard work and determination, they too can rise above their many challenges. Yes, they can rise past their current predicament to the top of their class and professions. As a matter of fact, they can fly Sierra Leone's flag higher in the skies. But until then, this Kambia native has made his family, alma mater, township and country proud. Unquestionably, he has lived and fulfilled the promise to always let the light of Kolenten shine brightly beyond Kambia's eastern borders and the shores of Sierra Leone - “Luceat Lux Nostra.” Such a feat is worthy of our admiration and commendations.

For Yansaneh who has known him since their high school days, nothing surprises him about AJ. In fact, he believes AJ possesses the optimal combination of high academic strength, professional excellence and personal virtue that is worthy of emulation by all Sierra Leoneans, particularly the younger generation currently facing daunting prospects not unlike those he faced in his youth.

Academic brilliance on a “shy but self-confident student” was what Dr. Bampia Bangura recognized at a very early stage when he noted that “with just a small push from anyone, young Abdul Sankoh would perform wonders in the area of mathematics and the sciences. Thus, I called him aside and reminded him that because of his great fundamental skills in mathematics he would do extremely well if he continued to study hard.” His hard work and singular focus on his studies as well as the “small push” from Dr. Bangura has today yielded an illustrious Statistician and Fellow of the ASA.

“For those of us who had the opportunity to teach him, we knew it was not a matter of if, but a matter of when it would happen,” underscored Dr. Bangura who upon completion of his doctoral studies from the USA also taught AJ at Njala University and supervised his student teaching experience.

Dr. Sankoh arrived in the US on a teaching assistant grant in 1981 to pursue a master's degree program in mathematics at the University of Toledo (part of the Ohio State University System). Upon completion of the MS in applied mathematics at UT, he was admitted at the Department of Statistics, SUNY Buffalo, again on another teaching assistant where he graduated with a Master of Arts (MA) in 1984 and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in 1990.

While members of his community and colleagues are proud of his accomplishments, his contributions to his community through his Alma mater and his ability to remain humble despite his considerable success, 53 year old AJ credits his community and colleagues for all that they have taught him in becoming a better husband, parent, community member, leader, employee and friend.