In the hall of fame of prestigious pre-University schools in Ghana,
Prempeh sits on top of the Golden Stool Mountain overlooking Achimota,
Mfantsipim, Holy Child, Wesley Girls and a host of other established
competitors. One thing is certain: it’s almost impossible to meet a
student, former and current, of culture-rich Prempeh College who is not
in love with the school. It’s a unique institution.
A two-month long exhibition organized by the Smithsonian Institute early
this year at the National Musuem of African History in Washington, D.C.
heralded the astute diplomatic skill and great leadership potential of
Asantehene Agyeman Prempeh I. For nearly a century - 1888 to 1970 -
Agyeman Prempeh I and his nephew Sir Osei Agyeman II ruled Asante, an
overreaching and economically savvy empire which at its apex covered an
area of 150,000 sq miles, one-and-a-half times bigger than modern Ghana.
Thus, besides being the premier post-primary institution north of Accra,
the name Prempeh exudes reverence and invokes strength and power.
It attracts competitive students from every region and has one of the
most diverse student bodies in the nation. At St. Joseph’s Boys School,
highly motivated students typically aspire to enter Prempeh, St.
Augustine’s, Opoku Ware and other first class boys schools. Yet Prempeh
is usually the pupils’ favorite. In my class at St. Joe’s, you could
not persuade me and sharp brains like Tony Asante (Amanfoo ’84) and
Chris Tamakloe (Amanfoo ’82) to attend any school other than the Varsity
of SofoLine. To others, including academic super stars like Oliver and
Eric Asiamah, Opoku Ware and Mfantsipim were the dream. All-male
schools were hip at St. Joe’s.
I visited Prempeh College for the first time at age 8 in 1973 to see my
brothers at Ramseyer and Aggrey. One of my brothers was a bully so
students at Aggrey would threaten to retaliate against me if I ever
enroll at Prempeh. Prior to choosing a secondary school, my family
moved to Asokwa, several blocks from up-and-coming Amass and a couple of
minutes drive from the University of Science & Technology. The
proximity to a comfortable new family villa in a posh residential area
coupled with Amass’ rising academic and athletic potential and hazing
threats from some unruly aboyie coppers at Aggrey tilted heavily against
the much-favored Prempeh. Hence my new kiddie philosophy: Amass Phobia
dash-dash.
Nevertheless my interest in Prempeh soared as I approached mid-teens and
learned more about the college I would not attend. I quickly noticed
that Amanfoo stood out among the pack. They seemed more calculating and
disciplined. At the Interco in Kumasi, arguably the most exciting and
colorful students’ sports festival in West Africa, while boisterous
Owass sings provocative songs like "Asomdwi wo Owass...na gyimii wo Sec
Tech" and intimidating Amass goes "Yenchele oh...Yenchele obiara...",
pompous Prempeh, pumps up their athletes "Aalooma ye yi wo
aye.....Ametepey..te-pey..te-pey..ee-ee-eh..Ametepey..." Some schools
go to the stadium to win not to fight.
When the Amass and Tech section run out of excitement, I’d head to the
Star Night Club wing of the Grand Stand to check out more uplifting
samamo. As overly stylish Owass labors with an improvised version of
Raphael Cameron’s No. 1 hit single "If you wanna be like Alo Joe, you
must then come to Owass..." Prempeh rocks the stadium with cheerful Twi
samano and urbane Ga gyama "Yaaba ooooh Prempeh...Yaaba
ooh-oh-oh......Jaafi..Jaafia..Anokwa training na wu wohrr...wo bo mo
den." Prempeh bo mo den but occasionally joins the amateur crowd and
trade insults with Osei Tutu or try to flatter women with meaningless
lyrics "Ye ne Munche be ye wedding" They must have realized that it was
a silly song because it didn’t last.
Now, what strikes me is that an Amanfoo who isn’t particularly
pro-Prempeh is as rare as an American without a sense of stubborn Yankee
complex (the United States is the only nation on earth with a heroic
past and a promising future). Besides the great sense of pride Amanfoo
have in Prempeh, the students are noticeably different in other
respects.
To learn how, let’s examine the impact of civil engineering of the
campus on the students’ personality. The school is built on one of the
largest campuses in Ghana, yet the administration structure, assembly
hall, classroom block and resident halls are constructed such that it
takes only seconds - yes, seconds - to commute between dormitories and
classrooms and other key facilities all of which are physically linked
by a fairly spacious, long corridor. In fact, a leisure walk from
Freeman to Serwah, the two houses at extreme ends of the main resident
quarters, would not take the average student more than three minutes to
complete. At co-ed Achimota, you’d spend more than five times as much
to stroll between two distant dorms, a record that surpasses making a
regular trip to St. Peter House from St. Andrew at Opoku Ware.
Now, how does civic planning of a college campus influence students’
academic and social life? If you get bored at Serwah you may hop next
door to hang out at Osei Tutu, join an argument at Freeman, play table
tennis at Ramseyer or even hustle some Ashtown form one students for
gari and milk at Butler. There is more interaction among students at
Prempeh or boys and girls in schools with similar architectural design.
Big plus: Among other benefits, it may be easier to form study groups.
Lodging at Pearson and preparing for the ‘A’ level exams in the Summer
of 1984 at the campus, with a long and inviting classroom block
consistently staring us right in the face, what would prevent me and
aggressive math students from Guggisberg, Osei Tutu and Aggrey to get
together and pae some past-quo? Indeed you might feel guilty if you
don’t. Just step out of the dorm to get some fresh air and the
concave-shaped classroom just looks at you. It’s seductive and
abnormal. Has anybody wondered about possible enigmatic factors that
shape Prempeh’s performance in the Annual Mathematics & Science
competition?
More frequent intermingling and communication among young men and women
create a broader, uninhibited atmosphere for fun play which, combined
with scholastic competition, cultivate fresh and fertile grounds for
creative thinking. Creativity transcends academe. It also resonates in
less subtle endeavors like composing samamo and organizing campus
fun-fairs. Prempeh is one college where every student - everyone - has
a nickname. Even those without unique nkwaseadin would have their
African names Latinized - Darkwa as Darkus, Nketia as Nketus, Adu as
Adious, et cetera. Many believe that the boys at Sofo Line U make fun
of each other more often and seriously than students at most campuses.
And my goodness, they have an instructor called Functions, a cool,
confident and self-centered man who treats every student - at Prempeh or
even at vacation classes - like an unwelcome house guest. Consider a
classroom scenario. Functions: "Hey, wo wabon. Wo wabon. Abonfoo no
nyinaa nko tena akyire." The man, Functions. I’m sure you’ll read more
about him on this home page.
All in memory of a young king who spent two-half-decades in exile to
keep his fragile, war-torn nation from further disintegration and his
noble successor who oversaw the return to peace and prosperity.
Handsome. Fearless. Fearsome. Asantehene Agyeman Prempeh I. Sir Osei
Agyeman Prempheh II. Prempeh College. The story of a famous
institution unfolds, half-a-century and counting.
