Concord Times (Freetown)
Ibrahim Jaffa Condeh
10 April 2008
Freetown — What does the future hold for the children of Sierra Leone when school aged children are too preoccupied with videogames to attend school? When children are more interested in playing the latest virtual football game or adventure title like the Matrix, how are the valuable lessons learned in schools to be taught?
In an interview with Emmanuel Bangura, the owner of a videogame center on Kissy Rd told Concord Times that PlayStation is a very good business that generates up to Le120, 000 or more in a day. He started his business with only one videogame unit, but has since expanded to five, all due to the obsession of the students who live and go to school in the area.
"Out of this business I have even purchased a car", he said.
The business runs in two shifts which mirrors the school schedule. The first shift of children comes between 8 in the morning and 12:30 in the afternoon, when they have to go to school. The next shift of children, having just completed their morning classes, takes over from 1PM to 6PM, or whenever Mr. Bangura closes his shop. Some children will even pay up to Le20,000 to play for the whole day and not go to school.
The videogame system runs on two gallons of fuel per day, when NPA is not running, and Mr. Bangura's business is still booming.
The center is always full of children from different schools in the area. The children love the game and some consider the video version to be on par with English Premier League, Seria A and La Liga. The images that appear on the rented TV screen are the same teams, players, sounds and atmosphere as the real thing. Only the children are in control.
Ibrahim Kargbo, a student from the Albert Academy School, told Concord Times that his love for the game is extreme. When he goes without playing this game for even a day, he cannot study well. "I want to go to the PlayStation to have a fun fest before going to have studies at night", he said.
Abdulai Bah, who lives around Campbell St., said the game is not only played by school aged people, but office workers, too. They come to the center on the weekend and have a good time playing the game. Some even play for three hours and some pay for the whole day.
Mr. Bangura said that the PlayStation games consol is the main instrument for the center and without this his business would fail. The television projects the action and the game pad, used to control the players and the pitch, bring the players who range from 8 to 30 years of age into the action.
The center is always full of the noise of impassioned gamers lamenting a missed target or celebrating game winning score. Some players even bite against each other and at times arguments break out.
Mohammed Samura, of St. Edwards Secondary School, said that his love of the game is beginning to fade. His father opened a PlayStation center in the area where he is residing. "Now I have time to study more than before. My father would beat me for spending my transportation money on the center, instead of going to school. He would have to stop me from going to the center for my own good. I can say now that I am tired of playing at the center", he said.
There is an estimated 800 PlayStation centers across Freetown. All of them filled with students and adults interested in having fun and wasting some time.
Distinguishing the difference between work time and playtime is not easy and it is the education of young students, the future of Sierra Leone, which suffers.
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