My first term started on the Thursday 23rd September 1976 after the second common entrance examinations. It was not Prempeh dash-dash but I wanted to be admitted only to the Sofoline University. I got almost ninety percent of the contents of the prospectus plus a size 28 bucket. Weeks before, my father taught me how to eat with fork and knife, wear a tie, eat without my mouth making 'tschau-tschau' and how to organize myself, I mean neatness in everything. My mother bought me five 'supporters', which was called 'bonsuo' by Premconians. In order not to import with me lice and 'nsonkonsuo', I was given a real 'sakorra' and got new pillows.
I arrived around three O'clock in the afternoon at the administration block with a taxi from Asawasi, checked and saw that my house is Serwah. With my father on the other side of my trunk and the bucket in my right hand, we headed towards Serwah House, walking on the classroom corridor. As we go, we saw some tiny-tiny boys in white shirts and speaking English as if they are from overseas. My father told me, did you hear them? You should now talk with everybody here in English. Mmmh? Like these akasanoma children? I asked myself in my head. At long last we were at Serwah House and a man with a side burns came to my father and said he is the house prefect and will take care of me, everything in English. This was Senior Frimpong 'Bunsa'. My father advised me to be courteous, respectful and always speak English. I seemed to have lost myself in the horizon when my father left me alone at Sofoline. Senior Bunsa made a roll call at six O'clock and the supper of 'rice and tomato stew' (gas oil) made me happy again. We were twenty five form one boys in Serwah House. I started to make friends with those I knew were good in Twi. The rest of the student body arrived on Friday and through the weekend.
On the Saturday evening, Senior Kwame Sarpong Sei Siriboe let every form one boy in Serwah dance to a soul song he composed himself. You mention your 'nkwaseadin' and you dance. It was this time that I was baptized with the nkwaseadin; Joe Passarsa. Others were given the nicknames of their old brothers or relatives who were, or are still at Sofoline. I was very proud during the first Monday's morning assembly, to be part of Prempeh College. As the masters entered the stage in a procession, I said to myself; 'these are the men and women who make great men out of us'. The Headmaster Mr. Theodore Adjetey Osae (TAO), and his two assistant Headmasters, Mr. Asare Kwaa (Alpha) and Mr. Gyamerah were at the end of the procession. As an inquisitive form one boy sitting at the front of the student body, I always looked behind to see what those 'diplomatic guys' in blue shirts were doing under the gallery. They were the upper sixth formers. The faces of the highest three diplomats have not been erased from my mind. They are School Prefect (SP) Gyem of Butler House and his two assistants, Senior Twum Kwasi Agyemang of Serwah House and Senior Apenteng of Pearson House.
The first hymn at my first morning assembly was 'Lord behold us with Thy blessings once again assembled here ..'. I didn't know that the last hymn before they departed for the long vacation was 'God be with you till we meet again '. Some left for 'aburokyire' (aborofoo no nkyi), others went to weed their farms. When Rev. Takyi-Ansah (Oso) told us to sing the first hymn from the Methodist hymnbook, I thought it was special for form one boys; 'Oh for a thousand tongues to sing, Assist me to proclaim, The tidings of my God and King, The triumphs of His Grace'.
It was my first term when Alpha said; 'Since the Genesis of the term, some boys have been Exodusing themselves to town and I am going to use my Levitical powers to Deutronomise their Numbers'. It was my first term when art master, Mr. Samuel Owusu Koranteng (SOK) started to collect bottles from all form one boys. He praised us the 'kookooase boys' because he knew that collecting old bottles was our job. SOK once said, 'Draw a WOman and his wife! No No No cancel the WO'. It was during my first term when Senior Acquah Samuel Kwasi (S.K.) wished to be known and called Acquah Kwasi Samuel (K.S.)
Senior Addae-Baah (Pope) said that when he grew up he would be a pilot. Pope was in form two but was a member of the Senior Bonwire Kente Weavers. He was one of the best kente weavers on earth. We would have lost a great kente weaver if he had been a pilot. The question is, 'Did Pope want to grow up again before becoming a pilot?' Only Senior Addae-Baah could answer this question but who was to ask? Maybe Senior Asomani Ababio (Bimus) of G'berg could have asked this question.
'When your seniors sit in their dormitories and call me Alpha Alpha you join the chorus, but now that they are calling you Aboyie, you are coming to report! Aboyie, please go away from my office'. This was said by Mr. Asare Kwaa (Alpha) to Senior Seth Lartey. My first term at Sofoline let me doubt the biblical story about Zacheus (Sakio), that little man who climbed the mango (sycamore) tree when Christ was passing by. There was one Senior Babatunde Olabisi Zacheus, a native of Abeokuta who was in Serwah House. This senior was the tallest student and second to Mr. James Akorang Boamah (Adoram), the Bible Knowledge (BK) master, on the Prempeh College planet. My question is: "If Jesus comes the second time and lands in Abeokuta, will Senior Babatunde Olabisi Zacheus climb a mango tree in order to see him?"
During my first term, I could do everything that a real African could; read and write my vernacular language, good handling of cutlass and kotokro, healing with various herbs and knowing the birthday of Kwaku Ananse. I thought I would get a gold medal when we make a best African competition. I accepted defeat when I saw Senior Obibini Nana Yaw Owusu. He was in form five and wasn't 'agyaba' like me, but possessed better African qualities than me, in addition to his beautiful black skin. But he was not the one who read the Twi version of the Bible quotation during the carols night service. The "Yen Nkenkansem" was read by Senior Ohemeng Yankyerah Elvis (Y.E.). Yen nkenkansem became the nickname of Senior Y.E. after reading the Bible in Twi. Whilst I was proud in myself to be the best African, it was shameful to express myself as a real African. Senior Marfo-Sarbeng Paul of G'berg was nicknamed 'Abomuu' for saying,'Senior abomuu no asa', meaning 'the stew is finished (for those who still don't know what is abomuu). Senior Appiah Kwadwo Denteh was called 'bokiti' because his mind was African. There are lots of such 'Europeanize yourself properly' still going on at Prempeh College. Is Sofoline only a Europeanization camp?
It was during my first term when apparently the best 100 meters sprinter in the Greater Accra region came to sixth form at Sofoline. It was nobody than Senior Kenneth Lomotey (K. Lomo) from Tema Secondary School, who was in Aggrey House. The news went around that Prempeh College now has the best sprinter from Greater Accra. We were happy to have him. The only person who didn't want to hear of K. Lomo as the best sprinter was Senior Christopher Graham (Olele) who was the then best sprinter of Sofoline. K. Lomo had his own track-suit and trained very and sometimes alone. Those of us form one boys who spent the evenings at the school field in order to dodge being homoed always saw K. Lomo hopping, picking and sprinting. He never run a full hundred meters because nobody saw him doing that. He just sprinted up to twenty meters and would start doing something else with his body. And what about Olele? He trained harder than the school mechanic working on the school tractor. Olele even took some days to train somewhere in order to beat K. Lomo during the inter house athletic competition.
At long last that day came. Olele had already won his heatings. Even if K. Lomo had said that he would only run the finals, everybody would have accepted that. Olele was very nervous walking around and K. Lomo had Aggrey house and all non-Serwah students behind him. They got on the line. The only words we were hearing during this moment were 'Ole-Ole' and 'K. Lomo-K. Lomo'. The rest of the contestants were not existing anymore. 'On your marks, get set pee!!' All of the sprinters got a better start. They were running, running and running. All of a sudden one of the runners fell down, after running about thirty five meters. It was nobody than Senior Kenneth Lomotey (K. Lomo). Christopher Graham (Olele) won the hundred meters making a new record. I think he should have thanked K. Lomo because he instigated him (Olele) to train hard. From that day on, any act of running, whether in a film or at Kajetia, was known as K. LOMO.
Not only these interesting things happened during my first term at Prempeh College but also some sad stories. There was a form one boy in Serwah House, a 'kookooase' boy like me. He was Senior Acheampong Kwadwo Owoahene (K. O) from Ahwerewam near Mankranso in Ashanti Region. He was very helpful (not in terms of giving milk and corned beef) and one of the best boys in 1A. During the first term he was several times sent home to collect the rest of his school fees (85 Cedis per term). He was able to pay the fees for the first term. After the Christmas Carols night he told that he may not come back the next term because his senior brother who was paying his fees is going to marry and as such could not pay the fees any more. It was very sad and I cried with him because both of us were real cocoa farmers but had no Cocoa Marketing Board (CMB) scholarship. Senior Acheampong K. O. never returned to Prempeh College from the second term onwards due to lack of financial assistance. Anytime I am in Ghana and go to my village, I remember Senior K. O. Amanfoo, let us contribute to prevent such situations from continuing happening. There are lots of present students at Sofoline who cannot or must make sacrifices in order to get their school fees paid.
The Christmas Carols Service was the time I started to be happy in myself. I have taken the exams to defend my green shirt, have made friends, three months of farm-free Saturdays, have received many letters from girls who wanted to be my 'alomo'. You know, if you attend a secondary school, every woman want to have you as an in-law. But if you go to Prempeh College, every nice lady wants to be your 'alomo'. Well, there were a lot of 'tombays' from some girls but that's also part of it. It was at Sofoline that I started using the word, christmas tree. I only knew my usual 'bronya dua' with a whole plantain or paw-paw tree which we planted and decorated behind our houses. My first term at Sofoline equipped me with some behaviors and characters which alienated me from where I came from. I could do many things like the colonialist and I really wanted to be like him. I preferred tooth paste to chewing stick; happy to speak English but ashamed to speak my mother tongue; civilized to play cricket than oware and calling my father 'pop' instead of 'agya'. Yes, these were all experiences during my first term at Sofoline. It made me dislike my own culture, religion, language and my African manners. I must learn something in addition to what I learnt at Sofoline. This time not in a school but rather in my village, from the men and women who know the real Africa.
My first term ended on the 18th December 1976. Some friends left with chattered buses, some spent the Christmas overseas and I went to my village. I was somebody special because I was gradually seeing my culture with colonialist eyes. This is what we wished to achieve. But all the same; 'Remember your first term and keep it holy !!'
