A Tribute to Prof. Ebenezer Kweku Awotwi

By Mfantsipim Old Boys Association (MOBA 66).

We met as greenhorns on the 8^th of September 1961 at the great Mfantsipim School, Cape Coast. Many of us – arriving on the Kwabotwe Hill, and shy like deserted orphans from the hinterland – were strangers in the midst of the 101 boys assembled that academic year from all corners of the country. Luckily for the legion of eleven Sekondi boys – including Noble Biney (now a Chartered Accountant), Kojo Asmah (a Businessman), Emmanuel Tawiah (a Medical Doctor), Kofi Newman (a Quantity Surveyor), Robert Myers (a Medical Doctor), and Ebenezer K. Awotwi (a Professor) – they had emerged together, the largest selection of any school, from the Ketan Methodist Middle School – Sekondi.

One of our earliest recollections was a “Giants’ Race” soon after our arrival on Kwabotwe Hill. The race was meant for the tiniest greenhorns in the group. It was quite a fanfare, offering an opportunity to spot and groom potential sprinters for the school athletics team. It was a spectacle and a joy watching these tiny greenhorns groping inside oversized jerseys meant for seniors. When the race took off, you could see the arms of the large jerseys fluttering along on skinny legs; but the runners themselves, wobbling inside the jerseys, were hardly visible.

The “giants” struggling and sweating it out in the spotlight included our Moba 66 President William Sam, and the veritable “King Brown” himself. As it happened, King Brown was not in the top three in the competition; but as time went on, he sharpened his sporting skills in Table tennis and Lawn tennis, and represented his house, Balmer / Acquaah.

The nickname, King Brown, by which Awotwi was readily identified, evolved, during our first year, from the name of the famous Afro American boxer, King Brown, the Black Bomber. The “Black Bomber” had to be dropped; Awotwi was a flyweight by nature’s design, and much too amicable and gentle to bomb anyone. The “King Brown”, however, remained an icon of wit to this day.

In the Sixth Form Physics studying group, Samuel Gaisie recalled that there was a rule that nobody was allowed to sleep until all the assigned exercises were finished. But when, as it happened, some in the group seemed on the verge of dozing off, Awotwi would, craftily, factor a joke into the physics equations; and, with the resulting explosion of laughter, the sleepy heads bounced back to complete the task at hand.

Awotwi was a pioneer in the formation of the MOBA 66 year group in 1974; and became our life Vice-President before he left Ghana to attend Iowa State University (ISU) in Ames, Iowa, USA. He pursued his PhD studies in Animal Reproductive Physiology from 1977-1982. Also at ISU at that time was with our mate, Dr William Amanfu. King Brown carried out his studies with determination, scoring A’s in a good many courses. He used his intellectual discipline as a Teaching Assistant within the Department of Animal Science – ISU.

Whilst at ISU, he was an active member of the small Ghanaian students’ community, and also served in the African Students Union. He would meet new students from Ghana at the Des Moines airport when he heard of their arrival. His jokes at parties of the two groups often enlivened the get-togethers.

In Iowa, the winters and wind chills were severe – sometimes at -15 C. It was about this time that his “motorway” began. But this did not in any way dampen his spirits. He teased his own moustache and beard when they froze. In Fanti, he quipped, “The beard and the moustache are so close to the lips that, when they got back to Ghana, they should be able to tell their own stories about their suffering in Ames, Iowa.”

Back in Ghana, he continued his sporting activities, including lawn tennis and soccer. A few years back, when we beat Adisco at the Mfantsipim / Adisadel Games – at the El Wak Stadium, Burma Camp – Awotwi played in that competition, sporting jersey number 5.

Since 2007, our year group has thrown a series of get-togethers to celebrate our 60 years in age. At a party at M.T. Paintsil’s residence in Tema, King Brown unexpectedly mounted the floor, and waved a stern finger at us: “I’m warning all of you,” he said. “The fact that we began Mfantsipim together doesn’t mean we are retiring together. If you are 60 today, fine; but keep that to yourself. Don’t get me into trouble. You don’t know what age I put on my job application.”

It was hilarious. Our rib cages cracked from the laughter. Someone shouted out, “Awotwi, what age did you put on your application?” He shot back, “No, I won’t tell you. Mind your own business!”

Our mate, N.O. Lomoko, once teased, “Awotwi, with your wife being a Ga, all Gas are your in-laws. You will have to atone to us for your misdeeds …” Without a pause, Awotwi retorted, “Right! Set up a kangaroo court to try me.”

His jokes were spontaneous and they fitted any occasion. The favourite one about the three insurance salesmen could possibly scorch these pages, so we’d let that be. Not only were we at ease in his company, he always left us an ingredient to live by. Never a dull moment with him, his humour flowed naturally, and endlessly into every conversation. When asked what subject he taught at Legon, he replied, “Mboasem”, his answer (in Fanti) of the course he taught at Legon – Animal Science.

In his company, all the electrodes were in place – and they would need just a passing breeze to spark his wit. Sometimes his humour was therapeutic: anyone angling for a fight was readily diffused with a disabling blow from a joke. And at the end of it all, we were at ease like true brothers. One day, when Anis Haffar hosted a party for the group at McCarthy Hill, his wife confessed, “I can’t believe this. You guys are like blood brothers. I’ve never seen such closeness and affection in any year group.”

A good essence of that communal affection, by the way, came from the heart and spirit of King Brown. When you toss in the humour of J.D. Hayfron, L.T.B.O. Amissah, T.C.L. Brew, C.K. Eshun, and the rectitude of Ernest Banning and others, we feel blessed indeed.

Wise beyond his years, Awotwi’s wit always flowed easily. His strengths were rooted in a steely sense of purpose, and, especially, in the capacity to inspire humility and modesty – two key qualities of true leadership. Those strengths elevated him personally from humble beginnings at Sekondi and Mfantsipim to a full Professor at Ghana’s towering centre of learning, the University of Ghana, Legon. Till his passing, he shared his skills with the younger generation elevating their own standing to emulate the example he himself set as a caring teacher.

Alas, here lies King Brown; our very special King of Comedy; when comes another? We pray for God’s everlasting mercy and guidance on this journey from which no traveler returns.

May the Good Lord grant his wife, Esther, the children, and the entire family, strength to bear this irreparable loss.

King Brown, our dear brother, Rest in Peace.

[First published, 4th May, 2009]

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