Kwesi Andam Hall

It is unfortunate but it is true that Ghana is not a country with long tradition of honouring her heroes. But, whether we like it or not, a nation without heroes is no nation.

Honouring the heroes doesn’t have to be as expensive as it turned out to be at the last days of the previous government. A good honour can be related to “the showing of courtesy”; ‘it should cost very little and pay very much”. Honours are necessary symbolisms to remind ourselves, less we for get, of the selfless acts and sacrifices the heroes made so that others can benefit. Honours are necessary public display of the values the society so much cherishes; the values the society wishes the younger generation to emulate. If the nation cannot honour her heroes, what other language does she have to convey the values of the society to the younger generation?

Professor Kwesi Andam completed his first degree in Civil Engineering at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). KNUST was thus, an institution which gave him so much, and it was an institution he was so much determined to impact. Professor Andam returned to KNUST after his postgraduate studies at University of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK. He did so at a time when conditions in the country were as unbearable as any one could imagine.

Prof Andam left University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne with a PHD in structural engineering, with special skill in computer applications in structural engineering. At the time, computer applications in civil and structural engineering, as we know today, was just picking up at the world stage. Dr. Andam could have secured a lucrative position with some of the top universities, engineering institutions or companies around the globe. Instead, he chose to come home. When he came, he was determined to stay, no matter what, and stay he did.

Prof. Andam did not confine himself to the academic world. His determination to bring home the awareness of technology as the key to socio-economic development and advancement of Ghana as a developing country was second to none. He indulged in the activities of the Ghana Institution of Engineers, and eventually became its president.

When he became a vice chancellor of KNUST, he made sure he did not forget the poor and under privileged high school graduates from the rural areas. He was determined to pave the way for a reasonable number of graduates from rural underprivileged schools to gain admission to the university. Hence, his establishment of admission quota for graduates from those schools. With this action, Prof Andam, unlike the politicians who just play with empty “promises of fish”, he was showing the rural folks “how to fish” for better future. We may all have our opinions on this matter, but no one can dispute the good intentions of the action.

As a lecturer, a head of department, a dean and a vice chancellor, he was determined and dedicated to genuine courses he believed would impact on the lives of others. He was hard working and never gave up so easily on a genuine course. There is no doubt that Prof Andam would have gone on to do much more for his country. It was so unfortunate that he left so early. But when God decides, who can dispute.

Prof Andam never forgot his Christian faith. I remember my meeting with him at Sydney, Australia, just about a year before his sudden death. He was attending a conference of world educators. After a three-day flight from Ghana through London to Australia, followed by a hectic three-day conference, he still insisted on rushing to Ghana just after the conference to attend a meeting of a Christian Business Group at Akosombo.

Prof Andam might not have been an angel. He might not have been without faults. But he was a man of vision. Through his visionary thinking he was able to impact positively on KNUST than any of those who came before him. The least the university can do is to honour his outstanding contributions with his name on a landmark of great significance within the university campus: Let us not forget this great man of our time.

As a structural engineer Prof. Andam’s admiration of architectural beauties was beyond description. I stood beside him and watched his enthusiasm grew as he took pictures of the Sydney Opera House. How befitting would it be if the “The Great Hall” was to be renamed: “KWESI ANDAM HALL”.

By Ohene Karikari-Yeboah Director Maiden Geotechnics Australia