‘From Sir Kwesi with Love’: The story of a wonderful Teacher

We were at the leisure area in front of the school when we saw him passed; a very tall; fine looking gentleman with an imposing presence. The previous day his coming was announced at 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! Amon moaned.

Miss Agnes was still sick and we were without a teacher. We spent most of our time idling on the fields. Occasionally we sneaked to the Legon main gate to watch the Legon students on demonstration against late Gen. Kutu Acheampong’s regime. They sung taunting songs which were so enjoyable. ‘Kutuuu, Kutuuu, Kutuuu. Kutuuu Kutu ye aboaa.’ (Kutu is a beast). They blocked the Accra-Madina road in front of the police station. It was desperate situation for Kutu so policemen were drafted across the country. They swamped the Legon 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 they swooped on the protesters. The students generally dashed into the secured walls of the 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. He fed the scoundrels three times a day, the ingrates!

He unleashed the police on the students with a brute force. During the mayhem a student by the name Agyei Barima was so unlucky. He got caught up in the brutalities. His funeral was held in grand style. Fleets of Legon buses carted mourners to his funeral. As the buses passed by soulful dirges filled the air; ‘Agyei Barima your death was painful, it was untimely. Ghosts are unpleasant spirits else we will escort you on your journey’.

We were like liberated spirits floating on the wind unconscious of the world corrupted by Kutu and his henchmen. Teacher Kwesi’s arrival brought some sanity particularly into my life. I was reformed and I faced life head on. It all happened after a personal encounter I had with him. This led to the fulfilment of the dream initiated by Miss Agnes. I became bored and disillusioned after she went away as the hostilities of the teachers became rife. Mr Obeng the Craft teacher’s appetite for bashing sky rocketed. He used the canes more often on students than what they were meant for. Then he came; Sir Kwesi the giant teacher. 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 university students came to an abrupt end with the demise of Agyei Barima. And Kutu was toppled in a military coup hatched by his own henchmen. It was Mercy who brought the dreadful news. She came running from the direction of our classroom to deliver the worst message. ‘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. Run fast and far away from the monster. Home was a stone throw away. But mum was at home; I was not afraid of her but my dad was dreadful. Mum had a ‘slippery mouth’ so he will definitely know I escaped from school. He hardly compromise on truancy. I was in dilemma. I was torn between escaping from the monstrous teacher and face the wrath of my dad or respond to the writ and be a sacrificial lamb. My friends jeered at me for being the first victim. Amon was the most awful culprit. Amidst the turmoil, a lone sane voice came ringing. It was from my bosom friend Emma. ‘But you have done nothing wrong, just go and see him’

I mustered courage and heeded to the call. I was scared and expected the worst. I stood in front of his desk when I entered the class. I sweated profusely and it dripped freely onto my uniform. He was engrossed with some papers on his desk. He raised his head after some few minutes and looked at me; I was suffocating. ‘Are you Kwei Kuma?’ His deep voice resounded. I felt a sharp pain in my bowels. I answered in the affirmative. ‘Well done’ were the surprise phrase that followed. I was amazed at the turn of events. I was more confused.

I realised his attention was focused on a paper on top of the folds on his desk as he talked to me. Unknown to the class teacher Kwesi was given our exam papers to mark when Miss Agnes went away. My exam paper caught his attention and that was why he sent for me. I was so of relieved. He was so impressed with my performance he said. My marks were way ahead the class he continued. He took an extraordinary interest in me after the encounter. In fact it marked the birth of another wonderful relationship I had with another teacher in my school life.

Although Teacher Kwesi looked frightening he was the exact opposite. He was so affable and extremely kind. He gave me all the necessary support I needed and showered me with loads of affections. 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 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 exams and my grades could take me to any top class school; bizarrely my name was not on the school list. Sir Kwesi did all within his grips to get me admission. I will have remained glued to the gloom but for his magnanimity.

The most exciting thing is I have developed an excellent relation with Sir Kwesi till this day. I visited him some few years ago when I was in town and I was greeted with the same old sparkling smiles that rescued me and many others from the murk. I will like to pay special homage to Sir Kwesi and all teachers 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 to blossom out of nothing.

Francis Kwaku Egu, UK

kwakuhull@yahoo.com