The previous day his coming was announced by the Head Mistress at school assembly. Though we were all expecting him we got scared by his huge stature. We murmured as he walked grandly through the fields towards the school blocks. Certainly he will be an awful teacher we argued. Not another Mr Obeng again! One the students whinged. Mr Obeng was a quick tempered teacher who vented his frustration on students often.

Our regular class teacher Miss Agnes was sick and we were without a teacher. We spent most of our time idling on the school field. Occasionally we sneaked to the University of Ghana, main security gate to watch the Legon students’ uprising against the late Gen. Kutu Acheampong’s regime in the 1970s. They taunted Kutu with doleful songs. ‘Kutuuu, Kutuuu, Kutuuu. Kutuuu Kutu ye aboaa.’ (Kutu is a beast). They blocked the Accra-Madina road in front of the Legon police station. It was desperate situation for Kutu so policemen were drafted across the country. They swamped the Legon Police station in anticipation of quelling the riot.

The taunting went on despite the heavy police presence. The hapless policemen looked on as traffic was halted. Intermittently the police swooped on the students. The students generally dashed into the university campus with the speed of lightening. They regrouped and returned to create more chaos as soon as the police retreated. It was a ding dong affair. ‘Acheampong kortibortor dan … wanga sheeegee. (Acheampong the uncircumcised son of a whore, you are an imbecile). Kutu had enough of the petulant students. These scoundrels were fed three times a day by his government, ingrates! He unleashed the police on them with a brute force. During the turmoil a student by the name Agyei Barima was so unlucky. He got caught up in the brutalities. His funeral was held in grand style by the students to spite Kutu. Fleets of University of Ghana buses carted mourners to his funeral.

In that period of our juvenile lives we were like liberated spirits floating on the wind unconscious of the world corrupted by Kutu Acheampong and his henchmen. Teacher Kwesi’s arrival at University Staff Middle School, Legon brought some sanity particularly into my life. I became reformed and I faced life head on. It all happened after a personal encounter I had with him. In fact I became disenchanted after our class teacher Miss Agnes went away. Mr Obeng the Craft teacher’s appetite for lashing students sky rocketed. He used the canes more often on students than what they were meant for, weaving basket.

Then he came; Sir Kwesi the noble teacher. Initially we lived in perpetual fear of him. No student was ready to receive any bashing from his huge arms. I always imagined cane strokes from his profound arms descending on my tiny back. I lived in absolute trepidation. This fear was exacerbated when I received summon from him one afternoon. We were on the field wasting away our lives as usual. The excitements we got from watching the Legon students came to an abrupt end with the demise of Agyei Barima the ill-fated student. And Kutu was toppled in a military coup. It was Mercy one of my mates who brought the dreadful news. ‘Teacher Kwesi wants to see you. He is in the classroom’.

My leg wobbled unable to support my little frame when I got the message. My inclinations were to race into the nearby bush and pick my way home. My friends jeered at me for being the first would be victim. Amidst the turmoil, a lone sane voice came ringing. It was from my bosom friend Emmanuel Adzraku. ‘But you have done nothing wrong, just go and see him’

Sir Kwesi was engrossed with some papers on his desk when I entered the class. ‘Are you Kuma?’ His profound voice resonated. I answered in the affirmative. ‘Well done’ were the surprise expression that followed. I was amazed at the turn of events. I was more confused. I realised his attention was focused on an exam paper on top of the folds on his desk as he talked to me. Unknown to us, Sir Kwesi was given our end of term examination papers to mark when our class teacher fell sick. My exam paper caught his attention and that was why he sent for me. He was impressed with my performance because it was way ahead the class. He took an amazing interest in me subsequently. In fact it marked the birth of one more superb relationship I had with another teacher in my school life.

Although Teacher Kwesi looked frightening he was the exact opposite. He was pleasant and extremely kind. He gave me all the necessary support I needed after my encounter with him. I was often with him anytime he was on campus. Sometimes he invited me home during weekends. One day I was in the class and he came to me wearing his usual smiles. To my surprise he placed wads of folded cedi notes into my palm with an instruction ‘pay one tenth of it as tithe’. He was a very religious and a devout Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) church member. In the end he succeeded in converting me to Adventist Faith. A tag I wear with pride till today

He did something striking for me which I can hardly forget. He got me admission into college after I had problem with getting my first choice school. Though I came top of my school in the Common Entrance Examination and my grades could take me to any top class school in Ghana; bizarrely my name was not on the school list of my first choice school. Sir Kwesi did all within his grips to get me admission into my second choice school.

The most exciting thing is I have developed an excellent relation with Sir Kwesi till this day. His family is part of mine and vice versa. I visited him some few years ago when I was on a visit in Ghana from Britain and I was greeted with the same old sparkling smiles that rescued many from the murk. I will like to pay special homage to Sir Kwesi and all the noble teachers out there for their selflessness and dedication to duty in spite of the teething troubles they go through daily. In fact they have contributed immensely in transforming many lives in the country

Francis Kwaku Kuma

Koforidua Poly

kwakuhull@yahoo.com