Please tell us your full name including your Ghanaian name.
I am called Emmanuel Kwame Ambrose Asamoah.

Let us know about your age, hometown, family, etc.
I am 48, was born on 31st March 1956. I was born and bred in Accra. My father is Elijah Asamoah, who was an accountant after the Burma war. My mother is Josephine Croffie, an administrative assistant at the Ministry of Education and she went to the Ministry of Lands and resources. I was in family of 2 boys and 2 girls.

Tell us about your own nuclear family.
My wife is Regina, we married in December 1983. I have 5 girls or 5 favorites. I may have smashed my boys into pieces. I am around enough boys. (Laughter) They are Natasha (female for Nathan, meaning Gift from God), Elizura (God is my rock), Belfrieda (God is my satisfaction), Elvaria (God is truth) and Logeeza (blessings from God). All the names are from the bible.

Please tell us about your move up the educational ladder
I first went to Accra new town experimental school and then proceeded to Aburi Presby Middle Boys School (Amanfo). I then entered Presec from 23rd September 1969 to 2nd July 1974. (You sure remember the dates pretty well). I continued at Presby Training College at Akropong from 1974 to 1976. I taught at Kinbu Boys/ Accra Royal Boys School from 76-79. In October 1979, I went to (UCEW) Winneba where I did Art till 1982.
I returned to Presec in 1982. I have been teaching here ever since and became housemaster in 1983 (Labone House) and in 1997 became Senior Housemaster.

What about Presec? Do you have any memories, old, bitter, sweet, nice, naughty?
I came into the school a fat boy and was nicknamed “Jumbo the baby elephant”. Three of us came from Aburi Boys (Amanfo) and surveyed the campus. The others were Francis Ababio and Samuel Tettey Banfro. I remember they were 25 ninos from my school that year, a record that has not been broken.

Are you sure? Because I know a lot of boys come into Presec every year from St. Andrews.
Oh yeah, apart from them. But I am not sure. I believe that 25 is the record for any other school.

Let’s continue from the Presec part.
The work
Work wasn’t too difficult then. Weeding was the main punishment, it wasn’t regular work. The Aburi boys knew how to weed so weeding was no punishment for us. We changed the face of punishment in Presec and writing of lines became the thing.
We also used to trot to Kwabenya every Saturday morning, Shepe Shepe. Our sports master was speaking one time when presenting a trophy to Engmann House for winning the inter-house athletics competition. It was B. T. Akrong and he was stammering and he happened to mention “Shepe Shepe” and it became the name for jogging.
Academics
I did Art, Mathematics, English, History, Religious Knowledge, Fine Art, etc. There was no congestion then, only about 800 students. Everyone was a boarder, only one student chose to be day. There was no Labone House in my time. I was in Kwansa and then got moved to Engmann in Form 3 when Labone House was added. During my time, Presec wasn’t always on top, about the time, I was leaving, and that was when Presec was coming out.
Sports
I was also a sportsman. I played hockey and volleyball for the school. We won a number of competitions. There was Interco during our time and we had everything at the Accra Sports Stadium. These days there is a gala for various sports, but in our time, we had a league. I played at the national hockey pitch and the Accra sports stadium.
Scripture Union
We had SU in those times. It gathered the largest crowds like it does today. We had SU rallies with other schools as well. I discovered my leadership skills at SU, I was asked to preach once. Presec only got sixth form when I was in Form 3. I was a cell leader and a Red Cross leader.
Listen oo Listen oo!
I was the quiet type. I became popular from playing volleyball. I was a friend to all. I remember Mr. Klaye, Mr. B. T. Akrong, E. K. Anum (English); he gave most students our foundation in English. Mr. Klaye was the Geography and Kwansa House master.

Talk about your post as a Presec headmaster
In November 1982, I went to the dining hall as a master on duty. Motown students had come to the school with their assistant headmaster who had joined Presec’s staff. Smoking of herbs increased abundantly when they came in. So I told the students to live the school’s rules and regulations and they hooted at me. Me? Being hooted at? They were saying, “U dey rush!” So I grabbed one boy and made him stand up. “What are they saying?” I said. They say, “U dey rush!” It wasn’t a term in my time so I didn’t understand. I then made a statement. “From now on, we will see you will be rush in this school.” Ever since then, students have been rushing away from me.
I have actually relaxed with the way I was. When I was a housemaster in Labone, I inherited hooligans who carried knives around. It was the noisiest house. I made them understand that they had to live in an atmosphere of discipline. They didn’t listen, so I had to apply iron fists. I had to spread my tentacles to cover the whole school. I move anywhere at anytime, and I enjoy my night operations!

What about that incident in 1999 that got you invalid for sometime?
I will tell you. In 1999, we caught some boys in the possession of live ammunition and Indian hemp and they were sacked. A parent came around on a rainy day to pick up his son (Mr. Atta). I stepped at the edge of a gutter and my leg went in and I feel forward. I broke both right fibula and tibia. I came to a halt. I had a rest for 6 months. Around that same time, Mr. Kotey had gone to do a 9 month programme in Europe. Discipline fell into trouble. The teachers had to come beg me to come back to work. The students were saying that Mr. Asamoah’s accident was painful but they got their freedom.
The students call me Polar. I preached a lot, so I was nicknamed Bad Jesus in the early 90’s, which became Polar later.

Talk about discipline as a whole in Presec and compare it to that in your time as a student.
Discipline is now worse than my time. During my time, those students were matured. Now, they go to extreme situations now because they are irresponsible and immature. Mr. Asibeytse was once visiting his house, and the students would pull a string from the common room to dorm A and hang on it empty tins. All this happened in the dark, so Mr. Asibeytse wouldn’t see. This was in clerk house, the early 70’s. He would walk into this booby trap and the tins would clang and students would run around. (Laughter)
As for Mr. Klaye, he was smart. He would come into the dorm and feel the pulse of the students and realize those who were not asleep and had been running around. And then, he disciplines them. These days, the students shout “Apae o!”
Students hide under beds and I know all their tricks. On a particular speech day, a tall boy hid in a locker (cupboard) in Labone House. I think they still have them these days. So I was doing my usual rounds and heard some heavy breathing in House six, opened this locker and found him ‘sound’ asleep. I mean, the boy was snoring. (Laughter)
In my time, the school tried to make the students wear Motown sandals. The 73 boys didn’t want them, because they were Motown and they didn’t want to pay. They felt like they were being cheated. The Kwansa house decided to sleep on top of the bath house (demonstration).
I remember when I was in form 1 and 2, we used to eat Aboodoo and palava sauce on Friday evenings. One time, the students decided not to eat and students hooted at Mr. Datsa. So he was like, “Hooting at me?” He moved a few steps forward and then the Aboodoo came flying at him!
My siblings were in Madina schooling and word went round that some students were planning to stone me. My mother came to tell me to cool down and I told her that I decided to build future leaders and nothing was going to stop me. So I went to assembly and announced this and said I knew the plot and the students involved. Since then, no one has come. This was in 84-85.

Do you recall the shooting incident in Presec around 1999?
Yes, we were going to vacate on the 20th and this happened on the 19th. This was in the pre Christmas period. Firing of knockouts and bangers had been banned. So I heard some and then heard one which sounded like a gunshot. 2 minutes later, students run to my house. The gunshot seemed to have been fired from around where Mr. Asamoah Dapaah is now, the then Goase. The boy was sleeping in the Riis Common room. He was targeted. This happened about 5 minutes to 11pm. We sent the boy to the Police hospital where he was given a wheel chair and told that because he was a Presec student, he couldn’t be treated there. We were baffled. He was sent to SSNIT hospital and put on a stretcher. He was taken to the Korle Bu emergency ward where there were already a lot of accident cases. I put on some gloves and took care of him with the doctors; I spent 36 continuous hours caring for this boy.

How did you get into computing?
There was this World Bank project in 1997. They wanted 3 teachers from Presec to train in IT who were going to in turn train teachers and students alike. I went for this course with Mr. Denkyira and Mr. Robert Owusu. I remember one of the first computers I used. You had to insert a cassette to operate it. After that, another project came up, organized by GACLAD. I remember there was a list of 24 things I had to know to go for this conference but I couldn’t recognize them. Mr. Owusu would tell me, “You remember this thing we did for the headmaster, this is it” and at the end of the day, I had ticked all 24! This was in 1998. I jotted everything I learnt in that two weeks. I remember at first, I would do, “A wor he, B wor he” on the computer. I got a machine after the first project and after my evening rounds, I would learn about the computer. Scan disk was one of the first few things I learnt. I am now the head of the IT department in Presec.

What has been your life outside of Presec? How has it been like?
Since the first time I preached in Presec, I have never looked back. I have been and am involved with a number of churches. I work with youth in various churches and some have become reverends. I have been working more with the Baptist church. From 1994-1999, a friend of mine and myself started the Adenta Baptist Church at Housing Down. From 6 families, it has grown and now they have their own premises. The intention was to start for Housing Down as there was none at the time. Now, I am at the Charismatic Evangelical Ministry (Chari) at Haatso. We just opened our new temple on 15th of August 2004. I have been there for 4 years and have been consecrated a pastor there. I would be ordained in December and I am in charge of the Bible School.

What about Eastwood Anaba, I hear he is an Odadee?
Yes. He is the spiritual father of Rev. Steve Mensah, head pastor of Chari. Steve’s twin, Stanley is the deputy pastor. Eastwood has his own church in the north of Ghana.

Do you have any other engagements outside Presec?
A group of Odadees who finished in 1991 started a youth ministry called Chosen Generation Ministries and I am the patron. Kofi Adovor started it and he is in the States now. The main aim is to build up future leaders, career guidance and counseling programmes. I give motivational talks and I am a marriage counselor as well.

What are your comments about Presec, as to where it stands these days?
Discipline wise, I don’t like where we are. I am not satisfied. The situation here is better than other boys’ schools though. This academic year, intake of students is being cut down. We normally pick the best village boys, where we take grade 12 as opposed to grade 6 in Accra and so on.

What happened prefects? I have been talking to a few of the current Presecans, and they feel prefects are not being empowered to instill discipline.
Some prefects were mishandling the juniors. We had to stop them from setting boundaries of punishment. They started lashing out of anger, and instead of correcting the students, they were rather hurting them. There is too much irresponsibility. It is a difficult task these days to select prefects. But yet we must have prefects. There is also a lack of support from staff. They say there is no direct reward from disciplining students. They want incentives, etc.

Can you tell us about your Odadee activity and involvement?
I am in touch with a lot of my mates. My class, 74-76 meets regularly, every month at the Presby head office in Accra. I will say this: The Odadee has been in deep slumber and is now waking to wash his face. People are now organizing, at least at year group levels. About 10-15% of Odadee have been on the move. I take advantage of Presec admissions to get Odadee on board. A lot of Odadees come to the school looking for placements for their wards. People who have been very dormant are coming up. There were a lot at the Fun games.
These days we have PTA’s according the houses. The situation in the school is bad; students have been running out of the dorms through the wooden planks so we are cementing them all. Now, Akro has a 3-Star bath house. (What about 5 star?) No, it is just a 3-Star now. The Odadee are also constructing a new basketball court (79 year group). I have been crying in my heart for the past two years for Odadees to come and paint their dorms.

What about the classroom blocks?
Each Odadee should come and paint his dorm and his classroom block.

What are your hobbies and pastimes?
I like writing, writing about discipline. I like to watch action movies as well; I always want to know what is behind the scenes. I have influenced my favorites (girls) and they can watch horror movies without being afraid. I enjoy Ghanaian movies which follow certain stories but not Nigerian which are one way. I also like watching sports (gymnastics, soccer, volleyball, basketball, car racing). I would want to participate in Formula One. I enjoy it. I also like futuristic films (Sci-fi). That influence came from the Book of Revelations which spurred my interest.
I am also the patron of the IT, SU, Calvary Road Incorporated, and Art clubs. I started organizing the Greater Accra inter-schools art competition. The first one was in Accra Girls, where Achimota was first and Presec unfortunately ‘last’.

Do you have any shout outs for old students of Presec?
Yeah, send some to Michael Pobee (74) in the US, Augustus Tete-Cobblah (74), Kofi Honu (89), Eric Nyanteh (89), Godfred Ananse (89), Moses Asare of the UK (88) and Solomon Brobby (88).