I read with utter indignation the news item with the above heading posted on Ghana- web on the 28/09/2006. Indignation because no one will want to hear such negative stories being peddled about his alma mater on a constant basis. Indignation because such undignified acts are committed within communities where there are no standards of etiquette and where the moral fibre within the said community is in tatters. I do not want to believe that KNUST ( one of the best institutions of learning within Ghana and Africa) will be categorised as one of such morally-decadent societies. Some of us have been quiet about the recent spate of negative happenings on the KNUST campus, but this particular one cannot be allowed to go unnoticed. It is a vicious act perpetrated by a rather unscrupulous individual with a malicious intent and I condemn it in no uncertain terms.
There is no denying the fact that life on campus is one of the best experiences that one can ever have. I remember with nostalgia the nights when we used to go on “proce”; I remember with nostalgia the fun associated with rocking our bodies against those of the bevy of beautiful girls ( I was a ROYAL so you can imagine ) on campus ; I remember the nights when students of Katanga Hall come to the halls performing shame-defying stunts all in a bid to make us have a laugh; I remember Power Night ( a night of competition between the male halls of the three main universities); I remember with nostalgia the clapping of silver lids to shame females going into the halls in red dress ( we call it “kokoo” ); of course I remember with nostalgia BWT (an act where male students bare their arse to onlookers). Life on campus was fun and from hindsight, I would have regretted if I was not part of this unique culture. The great thing about all these is that the intent was to get students out under the shackles of the day to day drudgery of campus life; the monotony associated with burying oneself in his books.
That is why some of us are seriously against the decision by the university authorities to turn Katanga Hall into a postgraduate hall. I am not a Katangese but it is universally accepted that students of this hall make life on campus one of the most enjoyable. Campus life will be one hell of a place if there are no such students as Katangese, and Continentals ( students of unity hall) or Vandals. And for some of us when we reflect upon the achievements chalked by the likes of Dr Ekwow Spio Garbrah and Totobi Quakye in our national development, we have no option than to revere and venerate this great culture which they bequeathed unto generations after them. I understand Spio Garbrah was a Chief Vandal and yet he was one of the best students of his time. It is also a fact that some of the students who perform the stunts in our “processions” are undeniably the best in their respective classes. Now, if that is anything to go by (and it certainly is), then there is certainly nothing wrong with being a Katangese, a Continental or even a Vandal.
It is against this backdrop that the recent acts of indiscipline on our campuses is very disturbing. By what is happening on our campuses today, we are not only sending the name of our respective institutions into disrepute, but we are also obliterating the splendour of a beautiful culture well-nursed and nurtured over generations. And that presupposes that the powers-that-be on our campuses have got to have their sleeves up their elbows to deal with these acts of indiscipline.
To begin with, the activities of the errand boys (small boys)must be halted with a immediate effect. Undeniably these errand boys have been an indispensable asset in the lives of most of the students. They wash, cook, iron and run all sorts of errands for the students. In 2001, as the Welfare Officer of Queen’s Hall, we (in a bid to curb the rising tide of theft in the hall) decided to terminate the activities of these boys in the hall. The hue and cry that followed our decision was deafening. According to some (especially some of the female students), life was virtually unbearable. We had no option than to rescind that decision. So be it as it may these boys have become nothing but Frankenstein Monsters and the earlier we get rid of them, the better. In getting rid of these boys on our campuses, not only will we be leading the way in stopping child labour ( an African phenomenon), but we will also be restoring the sanity needed on our campuses as the sight of these kids in the halls can sometimes be embarrassing.
The second area which deserve urgent attention is the flagrant abuse of the core Ghanaian values of hospitality and discipline. The spate of indiscipline manifested by some of these so-called foreign students is disheartening. It will interest some to know that it is these foreign students who started the rather sad habit of snorting cocaine on campus; it is these students who started the habit of openly smoking in our halls; all the negative tendencies. Our students are only victims of a miasma of decadent habits spread by these students. The unfortunate thing is that because of the income the university authorities get from these students, they tend to turn a blind eye to their nefarious activities to the detriment of the atmosphere of tranquillity that we have always enjoyed on our campuses. Of course there are many of the foreign students who are industrious law-abiding students. I know a couple of ladies from Gambia who studied in the KNUST and are now making positive impacts in their country. That is the image we want to promote.
We do appreciate the fact that the presence of foreign students make our campuses cosmopolitan in nature; we do appreciate the financial contribution of these foreign students to the budgets of our universities. What we will not appreciate is a compromise of the core Ghanaian values of hospitality and good neighbourliness. What we will not appreciate is the admission of foreign students who will not attend lectures but stay in their rooms and smoke and drink; what we will certainly not appreciate is a bunch of misguided individuals, who under the guise of being students, are working to bring the e name of our great institutions into disrepute. Afterall the reason some of them come to Ghanaian universities is because of the reputation we have indefatigably worked to earn. So get rid of them if they want to rid us of that reputation.
As for the assertion that the said Nigerian student filmed the sexual intercourse in order to punish (in Ghanaian parlance “show”) the lady, the least said about it the better. Infact I do not want to buy that assertion in the light of the spate of yellow journalism in Ghana. But if what I know about some of our Nigerian brethren is anything to go by, then I may be inclined to believe that. This is because I have instances where some Nigerians have mistaken me for a fellow Nigerian and have therefore passed derogatory remarks about Ghanaians. Some of the comments give the indication that some Nigerians go about thinking that there is an unspoken competition between Ghana and Nigeria. That situation may have come about through football. But whatever may have precipitated this jealousy, let it be mentioned that the only competition between Ghana and Nigeria is the collective desire of the citizens of these two great nations to rid our countries of corruption, misadministration and the rising tide of the AIDS epidemic so that one day the great peoples of these lands can sit back and enjoy the favours bestowed upon them by God. Now, that is the competition.
So I dare say that if the intention behind that student’s act is really to ridicule the lady and Ghana in particular, then he is the only hair on the bald head. He has done nothing but to expose his ignorance and Prof Andam and his subordinates must leave no stone unturned in removing this social deviant from our midst. It also means a redefinition of our modus operandi in handling these so-called foreign students. As for the lady and other Ghanaian ladies in similar circumstances, this should serve as an “eye opener“. We will not tell you who to go out with, but you have to use your heads.
God bless the Gold Coast!!!
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