Kufuor's Oxford Trip

Last week, the Ghanaian middle class was amusingly titillated by news items from the Presidency to the effect that President Kufuor had visited Oxford University to do precisely what nobody knew.

One report had it that he had been invited by the Association of Black Rhodes Scholars of Exeter College, his alma mater, to give, a speech. Another report said that he was in Exeter College to launch an Endowment Fund that he has instituted for Ghanaian students who gain admission into the College.

A third report had it that he was in Oxford University to address the Oxford Union.

Or was he in Oxford to do all three? And what would a sitting, outgoing lame duck President hoping to achieve outside his African country and on assignments such as these? In any case, we take issue with all three assignments, beginning with the Exeter College Endowment Fund. How much is the Fund, where did the money come from and who are the trustees, we would like to know.

As for the Oxford Union Address, those who do not know ought to know that the Oxford Union is the equivalent of the Students Representative Council (SRC) of Oxford University, even though it is a very prestigious world platform on which to speak. And by the way, what did President Kufuor say to the Oxford Union?

Our real beef however is with the so-called ?Association of Black Rhodes Scholars of Exeter College?, President Kufuor?s alleged hosts. Our information is that ever since the first Black Rhodes Scholar entered Hertford College, Oxford University, in 1907, there have never been more than ten Black Rhodes Scholars at Oxford University at any one time. Rhodes Scholars are distributed into all 39 of Oxford University Colleges, so at any one time, there can be no more than 10 Black Rhodes Scholars distributed among the 39 Oxford Colleges. The odds of 2 Black Rhodes Scholars in one Oxford University College are therefore about one in 3.9 million.

Rhodes Scholarships are generally for between 2-3 years, so even assuming that there was one Black Rhodes Scholar in Exeter College for 3 consecutive years, it would mean that the ?Association of Black Rhodes Scholars of Exeter College? would have a maximum of 3 members.

Even assuming that the Association is one for the Alumni of Black Rhodes Scholars of Exeter College, very authoritative sources knowledgeable about Oxford University have insisted that there cannot be more than ten of such alumni of the Association alive today. So at least, the Association that invited President Kufuor and for which he abandoned his Presidential duties has a membership of between 3 and 10.

For the rest of our comments on Kufuor?s Oxford Black Rhodes Scholars of Exeter College trip, we reproduce the comments of the column, ?Thoughts of Uncle JB? from the ?Ghanaian Lens? No. 195 of Thursday 1st November, 2007 at page 7. We have slightly edited the comments to conform to our editorial style.

Now read on-??

?The Irony of President Kufuor?s talk to Rhodes Scholars in Oxford Have you people heard that President Kufuor as part of his current visit to the United Kingdom gave a talk to some Black Rhodes Scholars?

Obviously, after Professor Mills, on his recent tour of the United States, delivered a lecture at the Bauder College in Atlanta and spent time at the prestigious Morehouse School of Medicine, President Kufuor succeeded in getting himself to appear before high brains as a way of shoring up his sunken image.

So President Kufuor had the chance to speak to some Rhodes Scholars but have you noticed how even the Daily Graphic has not reported on it?

The Ghanaian Times and Gina Blay?s Daily Guide reported on it but apart from a picture of President Kufuor speaking to some people, there was no story that accompanied the picture.

In fact, the picture in The Daily Guide was so squeezed-in that you would have to squint before making President Kufuor out.

Do you think that if President Kufuor had made any sense out there, Nehemia Owusu Achiaw would not have filed a front page story for the Daily Graphic?

The man let out weightless words and so Nehemia Owusu Achiaw apparently decided to be a gatekeeper and not throw light on the weightlessness of his boss.

Who does not remember how when Professor Atta Mills toured the United States, almost every word that fell from his lips was so heavy that it found space in the local media?

Of course, uncle JB is not about to compare the brain power of Professor Mills to that of President Kufuor because it would be so unfair to the President in view of the fact that his brain cells can never match that of learned Professor Mills.

But the irony of President Kufuor?s talk to the Rhodes Scholars is the fact that he is prepared to leave Ghana to go and talk to other Rhodes Scholars but he does not speak to Ghanaian Rhodes Scholars.

You are surprised huh? Don?t be. Uncle JB as usual is making you wonder where I get my information from isn?t it?

Well, if you are good at what you do and spend time researching, it would not be difficult for you to get to the level of uncle JB.

Uncle JB does not sit down for some people to drop fake documents on my lap; I go in search of very credible information and make sure that my documents are not fake.

There used to be three Rhodes Scholars in Ghana until one of them died.

The one who died was Fiifi Hesse. The two who are living are Fui Tsikata and Kwamena Ahwoi. Yes, for those of you who bought into the NPP?s nonsensical propaganda that the NDC is made up of riff-raffs, uncle JB is telling you that Kwamena Ahwoi is one of the three Ghanaians who are amongst the elite club of Rhodes Scholars.

Kwamena Ahwoi?s elder brother, Ato Ahwoi, is also a product of the prestigious Harvard University.

Like I was saying, President Kufuor can go to the United Kingdom and parade before Rhodes Scholars and pretend to be what he is not but he won?t speak to Fui Tsikata and Kwamena Ahwoi because here at home, his ignorance would be exposed by his fellow country men.

You see the double standards of President Kufuor?

Thank God that very soon his colourless reign would come to an end. As for Kwamena Ahwoi and Fui Tsikata, they certainly don?t need the recognition of a clueless person like President Kufuor to recognise them for them to walk around as Rhodes Scholars.

And for the records, Bill Clinton is also a Rhodes Scholar?.

Last week, the Ghanaian middle class was amusingly titillated by news items from the Presidency to the effect that President Kufuor had visited Oxford University to do precisely what nobody knew.

One report had it that he had been invited by the Association of Black Rhodes Scholars of Exeter College, his alma mater, to give, a speech. Another report said that he was in Exeter College to launch an Endowment Fund that he has instituted for Ghanaian students who gain admission into the College.

A third report had it that he was in Oxford University to address the Oxford Union.

Or was he in Oxford to do all three? And what would a sitting, outgoing lame duck President hoping to achieve outside his African country and on assignments such as these? In any case, we take issue with all three assignments, beginning with the Exeter College Endowment Fund. How much is the Fund, where did the money come from and who are the trustees, we would like to know.

As for the Oxford Union Address, those who do not know ought to know that the Oxford Union is the equivalent of the Students Representative Council (SRC) of Oxford University, even though it is a very prestigious world platform on which to speak. And by the way, what did President Kufuor say to the Oxford Union?

Our real beef however is with the so-called ?Association of Black Rhodes Scholars of Exeter College?, President Kufuor?s alleged hosts. Our information is that ever since the first Black Rhodes Scholar entered Hertford College, Oxford University, in 1907, there have never been more than ten Black Rhodes Scholars at Oxford University at any one time. Rhodes Scholars are distributed into all 39 of Oxford University Colleges, so at any one time, there can be no more than 10 Black Rhodes Scholars distributed among the 39 Oxford Colleges. The odds of 2 Black Rhodes Scholars in one Oxford University College are therefore about one in 3.9 million.

Rhodes Scholarships are generally for between 2-3 years, so even assuming that there was one Black Rhodes Scholar in Exeter College for 3 consecutive years, it would mean that the ?Association of Black Rhodes Scholars of Exeter College? would have a maximum of 3 members.

Even assuming that the Association is one for the Alumni of Black Rhodes Scholars of Exeter College, very authoritative sources knowledgeable about Oxford University have insisted that there cannot be more than ten of such alumni of the Association alive today. So at least, the Association that invited President Kufuor and for which he abandoned his Presidential duties has a membership of between 3 and 10.

For the rest of our comments on Kufuor?s Oxford Black Rhodes Scholars of Exeter College trip, we reproduce the comments of the column, ?Thoughts of Uncle JB? from the ?Ghanaian Lens? No. 195 of Thursday 1st November, 2007 at page 7. We have slightly edited the comments to conform to our editorial style.

Now read on-??

?The Irony of President Kufuor?s talk to Rhodes Scholars in Oxford Have you people heard that President Kufuor as part of his current visit to the United Kingdom gave a talk to some Black Rhodes Scholars?

Obviously, after Professor Mills, on his recent tour of the United States, delivered a lecture at the Bauder College in Atlanta and spent time at the prestigious Morehouse School of Medicine, President Kufuor succeeded in getting himself to appear before high brains as a way of shoring up his sunken image.

So President Kufuor had the chance to speak to some Rhodes Scholars but have you noticed how even the Daily Graphic has not reported on it?

The Ghanaian Times and Gina Blay?s Daily Guide reported on it but apart from a picture of President Kufuor speaking to some people, there was no story that accompanied the picture.

In fact, the picture in The Daily Guide was so squeezed-in that you would have to squint before making President Kufuor out.

Do you think that if President Kufuor had made any sense out there, Nehemia Owusu Achiaw would not have filed a front page story for the Daily Graphic?

The man let out weightless words and so Nehemia Owusu Achiaw apparently decided to be a gatekeeper and not throw light on the weightlessness of his boss.

Who does not remember how when Professor Atta Mills toured the United States, almost every word that fell from his lips was so heavy that it found space in the local media?

Of course, uncle JB is not about to compare the brain power of Professor Mills to that of President Kufuor because it would be so unfair to the President in view of the fact that his brain cells can never match that of learned Professor Mills.

But the irony of President Kufuor?s talk to the Rhodes Scholars is the fact that he is prepared to leave Ghana to go and talk to other Rhodes Scholars but he does not speak to Ghanaian Rhodes Scholars.

You are surprised huh? Don?t be. Uncle JB as usual is making you wonder where I get my information from isn?t it?

Well, if you are good at what you do and spend time researching, it would not be difficult for you to get to the level of uncle JB.

Uncle JB does not sit down for some people to drop fake documents on my lap; I go in search of very credible information and make sure that my documents are not fake.

There used to be three Rhodes Scholars in Ghana until one of them died.

The one who died was Fiifi Hesse. The two who are living are Fui Tsikata and Kwamena Ahwoi. Yes, for those of you who bought into the NPP?s nonsensical propaganda that the NDC is made up of riff-raffs, uncle JB is telling you that Kwamena Ahwoi is one of the three Ghanaians who are amongst the elite club of Rhodes Scholars.

Kwamena Ahwoi?s elder brother, Ato Ahwoi, is also a product of the prestigious Harvard University.

Like I was saying, President Kufuor can go to the United Kingdom and parade before Rhodes Scholars and pretend to be what he is not but he won?t speak to Fui Tsikata and Kwamena Ahwoi because here at home, his ignorance would be exposed by his fellow country men.

You see the double standards of President Kufuor?

Thank God that very soon his colourless reign would come to an end. As for Kwamena Ahwoi and Fui Tsikata, they certainly don?t need the recognition of a clueless person like President Kufuor to recognise them for them to walk around as Rhodes Scholars.

And for the records, Bill Clinton is also a Rhodes Scholar?.