2007 may be our Year of Wonder; Amanfoo all over the world are doing extremely well.
Consider these future quiz questions: 1) Which Ghanaian Head of State was the first to be elected Chairman of the AU? 2) Which
Ghanaian Head of State was the first to be
awarded a State visit by The Queen of England? 3) Who was the president of Ghana when the nation celebrated its Golden Jubilee, also known as Ghana@50?
In case you do not know the answer to any of these, we will provide you the answers later.
But, for now, this:
Dr. Asamoa-Baah
The first great achievement of the year for an Amanfoo was Dr. Anarfi Asamoa-Baah becoming second-in-command at
The World Health Organization. Dr. Asamoa-Baah is now Deputy-Director General of the WHO. He was promoted from Assistant Director-General
in charge of Infectious Diseases to a full Deputy Director-General. This means he is in line to become the next Director-General of the world body.
Yussif Chibsah (G'berg '96), Sports Prefect '96, who left Asante Kotoko last year
and considered retiring from the game
altogether, opted to play in Israel, where he is playing for FC Nazareth. This is Nazareth we are talking about -- the birthplace of
our Messiah. May he return with a lot of blessings.
This is the same Chibsah who was Olympic Games captain, World Cup reserve player, Farmer of the Year, Chief Operating Officer of his own NGO,
professional accountant with degree in Accounting, Prempeh Sports Prefect, among many outstanding accomplishments,
including a brief stint with Brescia of Italy.
He got married to a beautiful bride at Prempeh Assembly Hall and disappeared, never to be heard from again. Only recently
did we track him via email.
Dr. Busia
Dr. Kofi Busia (Pearson '80), formerly of The University of Middlesex, who established the St Luke Natural Health Clinic in Community 20 (Lashibi)
of the Tema metroplis to provide holistic, affordable healthcare based purely on the
use of well-researched medicinal plants to treat a wide range of diseases, also
founded the Ghana Association of Medical Herbalists and became its first President.
However, just as he was beginning to make in-roads in Ghana, he was selected on top of
a group of doctors and pharmacists in the sub-region after a gruelling interview in
Burkina Faso as the Professional Officer for Traditional Medicine in the Primary
Health Care and Disease Control Division of the West Africa Health Organisation -- an
organisation of ECOWAS.
He therefore resigned from the University of Ghana to
join this organisation with the sole responsibility of helping to promote rational
herbal practice within the sub-region. He arrived in Bobo Dioulasso where the Organization is
headquartered, on the 19th of January, 2007 to begin this new and challenging
endeavour.
President Kufuor is welcomed by his wife upon his arrival from Addis Ababa
President John Kufuor (Butler '58) was in January unanimously elected Chairman of the African Union (AU) at its Eighth Ordinary
Session, at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He took over from Congolese President Sassou Nguesso.
Alpha Oumar Konare, A.U.'s Chief Executive, had told reporters in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa: "By consensus vote President (John) Kufuor of Ghana has been elected to the presidency of the African Union"
President Kufuor said the decision of the African leaders, was a mark of confidence in the continued commitment of Ghana in its efforts within the Region's common struggle for respect for human rights, dignity, good governance and the eradication of poverty.
"I deem it an honour not for me personally but also for the Government and people of Ghana. It is with great humility and high sense of responsibility that I accept your decision."
Senior Arnold (right)
Senior Arnold Asafu-Adjei (Freeman '87) and Justin Opare Addo (Butler '87) were the brains behind the Black Stars-Nigeria match in February.
The two Amanfoo combined their brains to organize and promote the match between the Stars and the Eagles, which Ghana won by a remarkable 4-1 margin, the first time
we have triumphed over our neighbourly rivals in a long time. Congratulations to Seniors Justin and Arnold for making this victory possible.
Sports master Isaac A. Lartey (G'berg '82), the 1982 Sports Prefect, has been appointed by the Ghana Football
Association as premier league match commissioner. He spent most of the year refereeing most of the matches as fourth official.
Senior Justin (extreme left)
He compile reports of the matches including reports of the referees performances and forward them to the GFA after each game.
Recall that Mr. Lartey is also the Ashanti Regional Football Chief Development Officer. He is in charge of the GFA's four-year development
plan aimed at unearthing talents at the grassroots. His task is to usher players from the Ashanti Region into the National Under
17 team, the Black Starlets.
Lawyer Kodua (Class of '62) declared his intention to run for President again. Mr. Koduah, who is practising law at
his firm in Kumasi, disappeared from the radar in 1999/2000 when he lost
the NPP presidential primary by winning only about 4% of the votes. Having note been heard from in years, he resurfaced in February to declare his intention to run again.
On February 17, three young Amanfoo at KNUST were involved in a serious accident. One died on the spot and the other 2 are in a coma.
Ed Boateng
Senior Edward Boateng (Butler '82), Founder of the CNN Multichoice Africa Journalist Awards, has the awards program, which is the first
and most prestigious of its kind in Africa, still running. The awards are "putting African journalists on the global map by awarding them for exemplary performance."
Ed is a man who has been the driving force behind CNN's penetration in Africa and was awarded a special citation by Turner himself (in 1997) for the job he has done
Senior Boateng is still managing director of the Global Media Alliance, an international communications
company specialising in Public relations, TV production and corporate management. The company has branch offices in Ghana,
South Africa, Nigeria, London and the US. He is also a senior advisor to TBS and sits on several boards in Africa.
Dean Abenyega
Dr. E. Tsiri Abenyega, Dean of the KNUST Medical School was featured in an article in the New England Journal of Medicine; he
contributed to a discussion on health sector crisis in the country. Herewith the article.
In March, Nana Kumawuhene, Barima Asumadu Sakyi II (Pearson '62) celebrated the annual Papa festival with pomp and pageantry.
Contrary to speculations in the area that, the celebration of the festival would not take place due to the loss of the "Abamoo", the
soul and spirit of the Kumawu people about two years ago, the festival was celebrated in style.
President John Kufuor (Butler '58) led our nation to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of our independence.
Though the ceremony was outstanding on Independence Day, March 6, some people criticized the President for wearing a suit instead of a
traditional attire. But people close to the President countered by saying that he wore the suit for security reasons.
JA Kufuor says Ghana is moving forward
President John Kufuor (Butler '58) in March became the first Ghanaian leader to be offered a state visit by Queen Elizabeth.
When the President arrived at Buckingham Palace, there were several Ghanaians there to welcome him. Among the group of
admirers was Senior Tobias Klein (Aggrey 2003), who appeared in Prempeh uniform. The German native went all the way from
Berlin to Buckingham to welcome his fellow Amanfoo.
Tobias Klein was interviewed live on Ghana radio. When the interviewer asked him where he comes from, he replied "Me firi Ghana." Speaking live
to Ghanaians by phone, he went on to
say "Ma nante firi Berlin na maba ha." The interviewer burst into laughter, as depicted by the photo above.
Several people wondered why this white guy was there and why he was in Prempeh uniform. The answer is that he is one of us, and
his story is a masterpiece.
Kunta Kinte (G'berg 2006) and his brothers, including 2001 Entertainment Prefect Stone enjoyed great success with their top hip life hit One Gallon early in the year. The group
were unlucky not to win any award for the song at the Ghana Music Awards.
Click to watch their video.
Kwahuhene
Daasebre Akuamoah Boateng II, Kwahumanhene and President of the Kwahu
Traditional Council established a two billion cedis educational fund to offer scholarship to needy
school children in the area.
Douglas Nyame, also called Manchester United (OT 2004), who plays for Liberty University
in Virginia, a team that sent two players to the MLS this year, tried out for the PDL (Professional Development League)
in March. He was selected by Charlotsville to play for them.
As you may recall, the PDL is the pathway Senior Dominic
Oduro (Class of '99) took to the MLS, where he currently plies his trade with FC Dallas. Dominic played for the Richmond Kickers in the PDL
while he was a student at VCU.
Also in March, University of Dayton's soccer coach Dennis Currier came all the way to Sofoline to have several Prempeh players play for him in his quest to recruit
several Prempeh players.
Manchester United (OT 2004), left, and Chibsah Faisal (Aggrey 2004) in Virginia.
Having been a follower of our website for a long time, he came in with a specific request to meet
Ahmed Deedat Amoako (Aggrey 2006), Sampson Otoo (Aggrey 2006), Okei Stephen (OW 2006) and Ebenezer Amoah (Class of 2005).
All the aforementioned players, except the then injured Ahmed, impressed him immensely on the field. They are currently undergoing the admissions proccess.
If these guys make it there, then they will unite with our 2004 captain Chibsah Faisal (Aggrey 2004), who is shown in the photo on the right.
The recruitment of Prempeh players by foreign coaches became a difficult one for us: because the information about the players are
usually found on this website and the contact also initiated through this website, some coaches become apprehensive anytime they realize that
another coach is also considering a player of interest. We became compelled to avoid revealing any player-school contacts
until very late in the proccess.
Dr. Asenso-Okyere, the immediate-past don of the University of Ghana, has been appointed Director of Washington-based International Service
for National Agricultural Research (ISNAR).
Dean Lawson
The Ramseyeran Dr. A.L. Lawson, the dean of the Medical School of The University of Ghana, is stepping down after serving one term.
Prof. Agyemang Badu Akosa officially stepped down as Director-General of the Ghana Health
Service, after years of serving the country dilligently.
Handing over, he said, "today I am leaving the Service stronger in both personnel, delivery of service and commitment."
Before stepping down, he toured 7 regions with his successor to help him farmiliarize himself with the people in the Service, for which the successor (Dr. Sory)
thanked him.
The Council of the GHS asked him to serve a second term but he opted instead to go back to teaching
pathology at the University of Ghana Medical School. Dr. Djan Boahene, who is Chairman of the Council, said:
"This is a man who showed commitment to his job and ran round the country visiting every health facility, did
his job diligently and went about his duty professionally to the satisfaction of the Council and the Service."
Hotel Kufuor is now open
Napuwura Mohammed Dauda Jawula, Chief Director of the Ministry of Health, described Prof Akosa as a real colossus
in his own right who advocated for health wherever he went. He described him as the first principal architect of
regenerative health and "we will miss him". He said the Ghanaian populace would miss his rich advice of exercising,
eating more vegetables, kose and hausa koko and staying away from fatty and oily foods.
Prempeh and Yaa Asantewaa youth will always remember Dr. Akosa; not only is he usually the first to donate to our annual
Congresses but he also pioneered the Amanadehyee Health Walk.
African Regency Hotel, the hotel operated by Senior Chief Kufuor (Aggrey '82), which has been
nicknamed Hotel Kufuor by the press, finally opened in April.
Chief Kufuor
The hotel is locally called “Hotel Kufuor” due to the alleged involvement of President Kufuor in its purchase with the
suspicion that the President was the real owner of the hotel and that he was using his eldest son, Chief
Kufuor, to front for him.
However, a preliminary investigation by the independent anti-corruption agency, Commission on Human Rights
and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), exonerated the President from the transaction.
This is obviously a place where all Amanfoo can take their Adehyee ladies. The rate is $75 a night.
Speaking of Senior Kufuor, can anyone point him out in this 1978/79 Aggrey House photo? Take a big guess:
Aggrey Group Photo, 1978/79
Samuel Adade (G'berg 2002) anchored the Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) relay team to a distinguished
second place at the just ended 113th Penn Relays at Franklin Field in Philadelphia, Pa.
Adade receives baton
In a field of tough contenders dubbed " The Championship of America," the MTSU 4x200-meter relay of Juan Walker, Orlando Reid,
Sean Waller and Samuel Adade placed a remarkable second in a time of 1:22.81, behind only Florida State University.
The renowned 4x100-meter relay quartet of Walker-Reid-Waller-Adade appear in Trackwire Magazine's Dandy
Dozen rankings. They are ranked as the sixth best men's 4x100-meter relay team in the United States with a time of 39.57
Collins "Acorstic" Asante, (Freeman 2003) was adjudged the Best Sports Commentator in the whole of
Ghana in May for his outstanding work on the radio. He is currently affiliated with Angel
FM 96.1 MHz in Kumasi.
Martin "Apio" Osei Nyarko (Aggrey 2005), despite being hailed by the Bofoakwa FC Chairman that "they have signed the nation's best striker," never got enough opportunities at the club
to prove himself. He recently left the club and has since signed with a team in the Togolese league.
We will bring you more about his new team in the near future.
Dominic Oduro of FC Dallas has been invited to join the national Under-23 soccer team -- the Black Meteors. If all goes well between his US team and GFA he will be in Ghana to play in the Ghana vs. Nigeria game on June 2, 2007.
Dominic Oduro, Class of '99
The Meteors are currently preparing for their Olympic games qualifiers, with their first match against Nigeria.
Special congratulations to him. He has made us all proud.
Sampson Otoo (Aggrey 2006), former Prempeh goalkeeper, has been signed by Liberty Professionals
FC of the Ghana premier league.
He has since joined the club and moved into their club house in Accra.
Otoo was Ashanti's best goalkeeper during his school days. US universities coaches have visited him and have vigorously recruited him
in recent months. He was actually preparing for the SAT admission exams when Liberty took him.
And that is all we have for you for the first 4 months of the year. Please check here later for more.
