Report of the Keynote Lecture of the 2004 Congress
April 10, 2004
(posted May 5 2004)
From the onset, the day promised to be unpredictable. Dispersed clouds were battling with the sun for ownership of the sky.
Suspicions that we were in for the usual late start was confirmed when as at 5 minutes to the start of the programme, the guest speaker and a handful of students were around. Apparently, the speaker after 14 years of practice in London had learnt something about the true meaning of 9:00 GMT as Gereenwich Mean Time. Back in his motherland 47 years without British, and we had already distorted it to mean 'Ghanaman Time'. But God being so good and human expediency being charitable, the audience began filling in almost in an orchestrated grouping of not less than five. Thus by 9:15am, the larger perhaps wiser majority were seated; our first achievement? starting late!
Some of the members of the planning committee with Dr. K.A.B. Akosah (center), after his keynote
lecture at the Amanadehyee Congress on saturday, March 20, 2004. On the immediate left of Dr. Akosah is the MC of the event, Odehyee Fobi.
With adherence second only to the Hippocratical oaths of doctors, the lectures began with a short prayer. An over zealous Amanfoo MC in a face saving measure opined albeit subjectively that students are the icons of society. All of us were found tellingly paradoxical this statement was in due time when the guest speaker was introduced. We saw an Amanfoo in apolitical suit, a handsome man, former GMA President and the President of the old boys association and now the boss of G.H.S. (Ghana Health Services). Prof. Akosa expectedly didn't waste time in appraising our time ethics which set the tone for the lecture on the theme, "Political tolerance and discipline, the role of the tertiary student".
Prof. Akosa described how tolerance imbuing institution like the university had become such a ferocious place of ethnic and sentimental friction to the extent that Daniel and the lions could perhaps even not be able to co-exist. He wondered if we were being taught the practicalities of living in a world where tolerance is the key to mutual existence and whether our lecturers themselves were tolerant of dissenting views from students. And considering that acts of intolerance are often perpetuated by students (icons of society) one wonders what the future holds for us. He mentioned that other cultures have developed by virtue of tolerance and thus it behooves on us to take a cue in order to be true icons of society.
Discipline next came under the the lensed view of the pathologist. He could not forget how indiscipline had ensured the back tracking of schools like PRESEC, MFANTSIPIM and PREMPEH COLLEGE. He outlined measures the association is taking to ensure that Prempeh gets back to where it belongs.
On the thorny issue of this year's elections, he urged students to ensure a free and fair election.
Soon it was time for questions and Prof Akosa's answers ranged from what the old boys are doing to effectively link the current students, the young Amanfoo with the old ones in a global village. The Adehyee asked what the old boys are doing to ensure a unique AMANADEHYEE. Some of the questions and contributions were woefully deviating but we had to accept them all in the name of tolerance. All said and done, the lecture was a successful one and really achieved the intents and purposes. Only if we could have more of such educational fora in our nation.
