"who triggered a legacy of great luminosity, sustained by a historical significance, the outcome of an outstanding academic achievement"     Benjamin Kyeremateng

Kyeremateng: I'm the 10th of my dad's 20 kids (the younger of my mum's 2 boys). Born and bred in Kumasi, I started off as a "psyto" pupil at Oforikrom L/A Primary School; moved to Christian Preparatory School for about a year-and-a-half (to shrug shoulders with the "dada mma"); and went back to "psyto" (Aboabo L/A Middle A) for about 6 months. I entered Prempeh College in Oct. of 1984. I did 6th form at St. Augustine's College, Cape Coast; and obtained my bachelor's degree (BSc. Administration) from the Univ. of Ghana, Legon in 1997.

prempeh.org: What made you choose Prempeh?

Kyeremateng: On my big brother's advice. He attended OT and KUHIS. I strongly believe he had always wanted to attend Prempeh. Twelve years older and better experienced than I was, his advice was taken without any challenge from anybody in the family. Besides, he had such powerful, persuasive evidence to back his brotherly advice. I'll always be grateful to him. His advice and encouragement changed my life forever, and, obviously, helped bring out the best in me.

prempeh.org: What memories have you retained from your junior years?

Kyeremateng: I have both bad and good memories. First, the bad ones: I began form 1 at a time that Ghana had barely started recovering from the shocks of massive bush fires, famine, Nigeria-based returnees, and all those socio-economic hardships in the 80's. Since two of my favorite 'sporting events' took place in the dormitory and dining hall, I'm not sure I'll ever forget the fact that I didn't get to sleep on a bed until I was in form 3. How can I ever forget all the poor food that the best efforts of the matron could put on the dining table? Not so surprising at that time, there weren't enough plastic plates to go round all the 18 or so students assigned to each table (it wasn't until form 2 or so that students were made to bring their own plates to the dining hall to solve that problem). And this whole "homoing" thing - I always found it both abusive and uncivilized for any so-called senior to maltreat any junior (mostly for no apparent reason, or … just for fun). Thank God that obnoxious practice wasn't an official school policy. I remember those caught maltreating others were severely punished by the school authorities. On the good side, oh! I have more than time will allow me to say. The beautiful buildings…The golden-stool-like aerial view…The ability to move from house to classroom, to assembly hall, to dining hall, etc. without getting soaked by the rain (sorry, Katanga classroom block!)...The exquisite landscape and trees…Free exeat from 9am to 5pm on Saturdays (weekend fufu was constant for me!)…The school's rich culture, values and discipline…The hardworking staff members…All the wonderful people. Those memories, I'm certain, shall live with me forever!

prempeh.org: So, who were your best friends at Prempeh?

Kyeremateng: Having been to about 6 different schools in Ghana, you can bet I've made friends with a lot of people. Interestingly, a good number of my close friends are Amanfoo. I'm still in constant touch with such good friends as Fred Asare (Freeman), Yaw Atuahene (Aggrey), John Afoakwa (Aggrey), Osei Boateng (Serwaa), Harold Ofori (Pearson), and Agyei Poku (Pearson). Sad to say, I've lost touch with such good, old friends as Kwabena Kuffour, Kwabena Frempong, Takyi Kwadwo, Kofi Arko, Augustine Yeboah, Paa Joe Mensah, Alfred Anim-Mensah, Anthony Amankwaa-Boadu, Emmanuel Kwarteng, Jeff Osei, John Gyasi, Asante Yaw P., Edward Agyare, Owusu Sekyere, Kwame Ahenkora, Yaw Boadu, Nkwakwaahene, Mark Sarpong, Oppong Duah ... the list is endless!

prempeh.org: The Pearson House experience - Sir, can you give us your view of the whole House program and typical Pearsonian way of life - from Prefects and their selection, the Housemasters, to participation in sports events, house chores and other significant social history of that house during your period there? What made it stand out from the rest?

Kyeremateng: Pearson was a great house by every measure. The dormitories, bath-house, common room, flower beds, and the general surroundings were kept safe, clean and beautiful. There was a very cordial relationship among students and housemasters, although we had our fair share of 'homoing' and the like. The house produced such great athletes as Adiyiah (Classic), Adega (Babylonia), Asante Yaw P. (Jafia), and Henry Hagan, just to mention a few. It was also a 'Brain Power House.' A few outstanding names that quickly come to mind are Nana Ceasar and Adu Tutu Amankwaa...Kyeremateng was also in Pearson House (laugh). It simply was a great privilege to be a Pearsonian.

prempeh.org: What about the whole Prempeh academic program from the time you entered to the time you left? What were our main strengths in those days?.

Kyeremateng: I entered Prempeh College with a lot of expectations. Among many others, I expected the school academic program to prepare students not only for the WAEC-required GCE exams, but also for the more challenging life in the real world outside the four walls of the school. I'm glad to say that I had more than I expected from Prempeh. The school had just come out of an 'aluta' (students revolt) under Headmaster Atiemo when I went to Prempeh - there was another 'aluta' in my 4th year under Headmaster Sackey. Plus, Ghana was still going through very hard times. One would logically expect all those adverse factors to have negative effects on the morale of the tutors. But, to my astonishment, they always wore beautiful smiles on their faces. They always gave of their best. They instilled academic, social and spiritual discipline in students. As a matter of fact, it only got better and better as the years went by. The academic structure and atmosphere were so good that by the time I started writing the GCE O' Level exams, a good portion of the syllabi for all 8 courses had been covered in class. I'm not sure how the school authorities planned the academic programs; but they really did a good job, and deserve my commendation. I remember Headmaster Sackey say several times that one had aggregate 1 right upon entering Prempeh. All that one had to do was work hard to upgrade to aggregate 1 with distinction. On the issue of strengths, I'd say Prempeh was better known for the successes chalked in the sciences than in the arts. That's when one judges by the GCE results statistics over the years.

prempeh.org: Who were your favorite teachers and how did they inspire you?

Kyeremateng: First of all, I must say that all the people that taught me at Prempeh were the best Ghana had to offer. However, a few of them were simply outstanding. If I had to choose only one person, Mr. Akuoko (English) would be the one. I liked him for his deep sense of discipline and humor, as well as his dedication and thoroughness. Others like Mr. Baidoo and Mr. Osei (Commerce & Accounting), Mr. Osei Tutu (Economics), Mrs. Brenya (Biology), Mrs. Adomah (Geography), Mrs. Kyere (English), Mr. Mensah (Music), Mr. Opoku and Mr. Amoako-Antwi (Math), Mr. Kontoh (History), Mrs. Sossu-Kumassah (Literature), Mr. Ankamah and Paa Solo (French), just to mention a few, all made learning both easy and fun. Of course, Headmaster R. T. Sackey never taught me in a classroom setting; but his daily 'short sermons' which usually came after the regular morning sermon, did greatly inspire me. He would talk about any topic from the good old days (but cautioned students not to live on Prempeh's past glories) to the school motto (Character and Integrity). In hindsight, I realize that he was simply trying to present great challenges to those of us who cared to listen to those 'boring' sermons.

prempeh.org: Senior, you were very highly regarded by both your peers and the teaching staff alike owing to your academic excellence - you were always on top of your class. Tell us about that.

Kyeremateng: That's a long story. I'll try to be brief, though. I believe the Biblical parable about the talents is my life story. Until age 13, I'd always believed God was unfair to me, though I was brought up in a Christian home and believed strongly in God. My perception stemmed from the fact that I was born with the sickle cell disease. I've suffered (and still suffer) a lot of setbacks in life as a direct result of the disease. But, when at 13, I finally accepted my health condition as given, and decided that the least I could do for myself was not to sit down and gripe over my 'one talent' (i.e. poor health condition), but to make the most of my 'ten talents' (i.e. academic excellence), I began to literally bury myself in books. I received significant understanding and support from my family. I left the not-so-good public school system for what was perceived at the time to better prepare pupils - the private school system. To my disappointment, the school's policy was to present only final year (stage 7) pupils for the Common Entrance Exams. Eager to go to secondary school earlier than the school would allow me to, I left in the first term of stage 6 to register for both the Middle School Leaving Certificate and the Common Entrance Exams in a public school. Needless to say I excelled in both exams. I made my academic presence felt at Prempeh when for the first two terms I topped my class. But, thanks to sickle cell crisis, I couldn't take the 3rd term exams. For that reason, I didn't receive the Best Student Award in my first ever Speech & Prize Giving Day at Prempeh. The prize went to the guy that took the 2nd position in the first two terms, and the first position in my absence. Well, I regained control in form 2, and for all the subsequent terms, I topped my class and was nicknamed OBINFO by my mates (coincidentally my 'home name' is OBENG). I'm glad to say I made the school in general and the Business class in particular very, very proud when I made grade 1 in seven, and grade 2 in one of my eight papers in the GCE O' Level Exams. That wasn't only outstanding, but also historic. But, I try to take Mr. Sackey's advice not to live on past glories in all further studies I've undertaken since then.

prempeh.org: Perhaps several people may have accosted you about why, endowed with such a brilliant mind, you didn't opt for a career in the sciences. In those days, and probably still today, science students were deemed "brilliant" while mainly the non-science students were unfairly stereotyped as "the undesirables." That view, however myopic, was deeply ingrained in the psyche of most Prempeh students and staff. What did/do you think about that? Do you think Prempeh is/was a science-biased school?

Kyeremateng: Facts are sacred; opinions are free! I may not have the most popular opinion on this Science/Arts bias issue, but I'm glad I have a safety net: It's my opinion! I don't think the school, as matter of express or implied policy/practice, was Science-biased. I believe the Fine Art students had as many drawing boards as the Chemistry students had test tubes. I believe the authorities recruited Arts/Business tutors who were as good as Science tutors. If any Arts/Business student complained, I just saw him as the man with the one talent in Christ's parable. If a Science student showed off as intellectually superior to his Arts/Business counterpart simply because he was reading Science, I simply pitied him and wrote him off as ignorant and sick of superiority complex. I believe the problem had to do with the caliber of students who read Science as compared to those who read Arts/Business. As you rightly pointed out, the psyche of the average Ghanaian was (and probably still is): "If you're academically endowed, you MUST read Science. The average and the not-so-good students can find their seats in the Arts/Business class." Therefore, almost all good students opted for Science while the average or not-so-good students opted for Arts/Business. I submit that students should be encouraged to undertake courses that help them to fully unearth their natural talents and abilities, irrespective of their level of academic performance. After all, there's more to job satisfaction than money and titles.

prempeh.org: So why did you select Business when you knew that Prempeh had no 6th Form Business program? Were you prepared to write SC/GCE O-Level Business Exams and then continue somewhere else for A-Level Business 6th Form course?

Kyeremateng: That's a good question. A little background may help answer your question. See, for the first couple of years that I was at Prempeh, there was no separate Business program either at O' Level or A' Level. At form 4, students majored either in Science or Arts. My class (the Class of 1989) was the second batch of students for the Business program at O' Level. The first batch of O' Level Business students had to either come back to Prempeh to read Arts in sixth form, or find some other school that had sixth form Business program. There wasn't any A' Level Business program at Prempeh. My decision to read Business (instead of Science, as most people would expect) was purely based on my circumstances. Growing up a sickle cell patient (and, consequently, having to request several days off from school every single term) did significantly influence every major decision I made in life. I figured at that age I'd fare far better if I pursued business administration with emphasis on private entrepreneurship. "Be your own boss," I'd say to myself several times in the day. In fact, that dream still looms high on my mind. To answer the second part of your question, at the time of choosing my major in form 4, I knew I was going to leave Prempeh since I planned on reading Business at the university. Based on the little information I had at the time, I knew I had to read Business in 6th form before I would be allowed to read Business at the university. I got to know later on in 6th form that that wasn't necessarily the case. As a matter of fact, a few of my mates at the School of Administration had read Science all their secondary school days. Does Prempeh now have academic counselors? Well, I sure could have used the guidance of one.

prempeh.org:That was until your distinguished Prempeh academic record and GCE O-Level results compelled Headmaster R.T. Sackey and the Board of Governors to establish a 6th Form Business program, primarily for your benefit. Please tell us about that.

Kyeremateng: If my memory serves me right, it was after the mock exams that we heard any talk about 6th form Business program. The logical conclusion everybody drew was that my track record must have played a very significant role in that move by the school authorities. I was very much excited about the whole idea, although I had a little problem with the timing.

prempeh.org: Please tell us about your choice of Sixth Form school and why you chose it..

Kyeremateng: I wish you had not gone there! Well, if you guessed I ran away from what I foresaw as the potential teething problems of Prempeh's 6th form Business program, you're right! You surely will agree with me that great things usually have very humble and challenging beginnings. That those challenges usually take a few to several years to resolve cannot be overstated. Simply put, I wasn't the least ready to be used as a 'guinea pig.' Hence my 'escape' to St. Augustine's College. Arguably, the long-established Business program at Augusco had taken deeper, stronger roots. Reports that reached me from my mates that went back to Prempeh confirmed my worst fears.

prempeh.org: It was the wish of the entire Prempeh administration to do everything to get you to matriculate in Prempeh's new Sixth Form Business School. Were there any financial or material rewards offered you by Prempeh (i.e., The Headmaster) to get you to "try" the new Kyeremateng-inspired Prempeh Sixth Form Business College? What promises, if any, did the Headmaster make to you? Did he lure you with the Senior Prefectship? And did such promises tilt your head towards Sofoline somewhat?.

Kyeremateng: No. There wasn't any express or implied offer by the headmaster or any other tutor to get me to come back to Prempeh. I never had any one-on-one discussion with Mr. Sackey or any tutor about prefectship, or any other position, for that matter. Evidently, no one expected me to 'run away' as I did. Not even my mates and closest friends knew anything about my plans of leaving.

prempeh.org: Not only were the Headmaster and staff disappointed in your choice of leaving Prempeh, most of the students were crestfallen, though your decision to continue elsewhere provided an argument for detractors who criticized the school for being unfriendly to non-science students. Some students were saying, "yes, Kyeremateng turned his back on us; it serves Prempeh right. It should teach the Administration a lesson!"

Kyeremateng: That's one of the reasons I regret my decision not to go back to Prempeh's 6th form. People made their own conclusions - erroneous, though as they were. Several innocent people, including some tutors, and the school in general, were accused of pushing me out of the door. As already indicated, my decision to continue my secondary school education elsewhere had absolutely nothing to do with the perceived unfair treatment of non-Science students. It was purely personal.

prempeh.org: What about your Pearson Housemaster. Did he influence you in any manner? Did he offer any advise concerning your choice of a Sixth Form School?

Kyeremateng: No, he didn't. And, for obvious reasons, I never brought my choice of 6th form up for discussion.

prempeh.org: Senior, how did you like Augustine's Sixth form?

Kyeremateng: Everything I expected it to be. I had very professional, knowledgeable, highly skilled and dedicated tutors for all my courses - just as I'd hoped to get at Prempeh. They were simply amazing. Plus, I had the golden opportunity to do my own little thing in 'private.' In general, nobody really knew anything about my past academic records (except for the headmaster and Osei Boateng, my mate at Prempeh). Within a short period of time, my 6th form Business classmates and a few tutors began to feel my presence. But, it wasn't like the whole school was looking up to me to pull another one. So, it was very easy for me to put Mr. Sackey's advice into practice: FORGET ABOUT PAST GLORIES. When I once again excelled in the WAEC exams, most of the students were asking: "Who the heck is that Kyeremateng?" I was long gone by then!

prempeh.org: You did repeat the O-Level feat at the A-level also. Did Headmaster Sackey congratulate you for your achievements (4 A's in 4 subjects at the A-Level) at Cape Coast? How did you find the A-levels at St. Augustine's, as compared to the Prempeh's "Slaughter House" experience?

Kyeremateng: The runaway boy will do anything to avoid meeting the headmaster. I don't remember meeting Mr. Sackey face to face since I left Prempeh. Doing O' Levels at Prempeh was great. Doing A' Levels at Augusco was equally great. It's very hard to compare two great schools. That's not to say I didn't miss Prempeh for those 2 years that I was at Augusco. I always did.

prempeh.org: What information did you receive from your friends who remained at Prempeh for the new 6th Form Business program? Based on what you heard, was the "pioneer" 6th Form Business class of '89/90' happy at Prempeh?.

Kyeremateng: Without mentioning names, or going into any details, the Honorable Pioneers had a harrowing experience - depending on whom you talk to. I only hope they understand their experience to be normal and expected, though. After all, they made history. I salute them!

prempeh.org: Did you have any regrets about not staying at Prempeh? Were there any incidents at Prempeh or Ashanti Region as a whole that vindicated your choice of Cape Coast School?.

Kyeremateng: Some regrets. I'll talk about that later. My decision to go to Cape Coast was my parents' worst nightmare. They had always wanted me to stay in Ashanti Region for reason of my poor health. So, all along, I'd decided to go to Opoku Ware (OWASS) 6th form until Prempeh's Business 6th form announcement was made. That was just before exam candidates selected 6th form schools. I wasn't sure I could go to OWASS. My fear was that it was very possible for Prempeh and OWASS to reach a "gentleman's agreement" to release me (OWASS was a very good neighbor of ours, as you know). That was when I began to seriously consider a 'far away' school. Convinced that I could always go scouting the coastal schools with a very good results slip, and to hint no one about my intentions of leaving, I selected Prempeh for 1st, 2nd and 3rd sixth form schools (see, I didn't want to disrupt the 6th form Business program!) And to my relief, I got admission to Augusco using my results slip. Once again, I didn't return to Prempeh's Business program simply because I was afraid of the likely initial problems inherent in any new venture. Yes, I had some regrets for not staying at Prempeh College. My regrets stem from the fact that a few people (some tutors included) got into trouble over my departure. Innocent people were wrongly accused of urging me not to come back to Prempeh. A very close friend of mine was compelled to do me a big favor by spreading the news that Kyeremateng would be coming to school next week, when I had disclosed my runaway plans to him at the very last minute (Prempeh's lower 6 program started a week or so before Augusco's). I spent the next several weeks fighting a big psychological battle: That of letting down the school…That of taking the easy way out… That of letting the headmaster send a master (with the school car) to come get me from home after school had started for about a week and I hadn't shown up. Well I got over those psychological issues over time, after convincing myself that most rationale beings would do pretty much the same.

prempeh.org: How about Senior (Headmaster) Reuben Tetteh Sackey. Tell us about what you think about the man who never stopped bragging about your achievements.

Kyeremateng: That man was great! There had been an 'aluta' against Headmaster Atiemo that, apparently, caused him to leave just before I went to form 1. Prempeh had an acting headmaster from the ministries until Mr. Sackey arrived on the scene in 2nd term, I believe. He was my headmaster for all the 5 years that I spent at Prempeh. It's rather unfortunate that just a year before I left the school, there was another 'aluta' and Mr. Sackey's residence was vandalized. We're not talking about 'aluta' here, but I'd like to say that Augusco made an 'A+' when we staged an 'aluta' against the school authorities in upper 6. Not even a single stone was thrown. No insults were hurled at any master. It was done in broad daylight. And, believe me, students had almost every demand met. Back to my impressions about Mr. Sackey: He was a big time disciplinarian, although, I think he occasionally carried it too far. He openly showed great love for Prempeh College. He took great pride in being an Amanfoo. He just couldn't help but tell us stories about Prempeh's past achievements, and, in the process challenged our generation to higher achievements.

prempeh.org: Do you keep in touch with him? When was the last time you saw him?

Kyeremateng: No. I'm not exactly sure the last time I saw him. I believe it was when I went to the school for my O' Level certificate.

prempeh.org: In retrospect, what do you think of all the opportunists you might have had as friends over the years, whose only wish was to use you for academic - mainly exam ("apor") - purposes?

Kyeremateng: I count myself very lucky in the sense that I can't point to even one person who became an opportunist friend. Maybe, I was too naïve then to detect any opportunistic tendencies; but, so far as I can remember, all my friendships were based on symbiotic principles, shared values and common interests.

prempeh.org: What about your University days. Amanfoo are aware that you were a top student there also. Please tell us about your undergraduate education..

Kyeremateng: After leaving Augusco on 'aluta' note, I entered the Univ. of Ghana, Legon on another 'aluta' note (needless to say there were several incidents of 'aluta' during the short time that I spent at Legon - students, lecturers, university workers all took their 'deserving' turns). I finally had one of my life-long dreams come true when I entered the School of Administration. Even though it was obvious that a handful of the lecturers didn't love their jobs, or were understandably dissatisfied with their work conditions (the school was closed down for a whole academic year when lecturers and the Rawlings administration couldn't reach an agreement on lecturers remunerations!), I still think I had one of my best moments as a student. Academic and social programs were structured to fully unearth and polish students' abilities/skills, and also to prepare students for the real corporate world. I did try to stay on course of my academic career until the year before I graduated. I was attacked by a devastating eye disease that threatened to send me completely blind. I was even more devastated to learn from the eye doctors that the disease that had quietly but quickly caused a total retinal detachment in my right eye, and a practically total, irreparable lost vision, was a complication of the sickle cell disease. What is worse, the left eye had also been attacked. You can only imagine the depth of emotional abyss that I fell into; and the challenge of not only recovering physically and emotionally, but also that of staying active on top of the rigorous academic program. Not to bore you with the details of treatment in Ghana, UK and US, I should say between Feb. 1996 and now, I've had a total of five eye surgeries (3 in the right and 2 in the left) - all in an effort to have some use of the right one, and prevent the same mishap in the left). In spite of all the resultant challenges, I'm proud to say that I left Legon with a respectable GPA. Thank God I didn't quit or defer my course (I seriously considered those options).

prempeh.org: Is there anything you wish you could have done differently?.

Kyeremateng: No, my life has been perfect. Just kidding! Looking back (with a 20/20 vision), I wish I had read science at O' Level. My only reason is that I wouldn't have had to leave Prempeh for any other place on earth for 6th form education. As I indicated earlier, I still could have entered the School of Administration to acquire all the entrepreneurial skills I needed to achieve my career goals. Occasionally, I must admit, I feel less of an Amanfoo because I didn't do all my secondary school education at Prempeh.

prempeh.org: What about your future goals?

Kyeremateng: Sadly, I've had to 'hang my academic gloves' while I work with my doctors here in the US to stabilize my eye condition. As a matter of fact, I have another eye surgery coming up pretty soon. I plan on going into MBA, work for some time (for somebody), and set up my own business. Where? In Ghana? US? I don't know yet.

prempeh.org: Thank you so much, Sir, for this interview. Since Prempeh was founded in 1949, our academic fathers never deemed it necessary to introduce Business curriculum at the 6th Form level until 40 years later - 1989 - when, owing to your outstanding academic achievement at the GCE O-Levels, a hurried A-Level Business program was established at Prempeh. It is our hope that the school will keep such vital records so you can be remembered for a very long time. Your footprint was so vital.

More importantly, Sir, we wish you great health. We pray for a miraculous restoration of your vision. Every good man who reads this article will come to a suffocating silence upon learning of your blindness. Out of the suffocating silence, however, there still rises the head, the voice crying in the wilderness, man's indomitable need to seek out his fellow men right to the end, speak to his peers and find in companionship his solace. Sir, yours is a story which depicts man's metaphysical predicament of continual, uncertain expectation, captured with a nobility of style and solemn splendour. May you - and all Amanfoo - live to be 100. Thank you.

Kyeremateng: Thanks for having me. Long live, Mother Prempeh!