Kwasi Gyan-Apenteng: Identified his writing talent at 11

He was doted on by his grandmother to such an extent that the subject of our personality profile does not recall doing any house chores at home in his earliest years. Indeed, his Class One teacher felt compelled to stop teaching to allow him to be fed when his grandmother on many occasions sent food to him during school hours.

His father’s work took him to several parts of the country and so he recalls having attended primary schools in about three towns before going to the Akropong Presbyterian Middle School, popularly known as Salem. 

The contrast between Salem and his pampered start in life gave him a rude shock, but perhaps it was the desire to escape the brutal disciplinary regime at the school that led Mr Kwasi Gyan-Apenteng, our personality for this week, to a life of reading and writing.

Speaking to the Junior Graphic about his childhood at the Pan African Writers Association (PAWA) House, Mr Gyan-Apenteng, who is currently the President of the Ghana Association of Writers and member of the National Media Commission, said he hated the school and what passed for “discipline over there.”

 “It was nothing but bullying. The seniors bullied the juniors and the teachers bullied the students. At times we were beaten for no reason. Let me give you just one horrible example. As you know, Akuapem is rather cold and I was in Form One when President Lumumba was assassinated in the then Belgian Congo. Somehow, one of the teachers got angry that we were wearing pullovers when Lumumba had been killed. He said he wanted to whip the cold out of us and beat everybody in the school. I don’t think even Lumumba’s family wept as much as we did that morning,” he recalled.

Reflecting on his childhood, Mr Gyan-Apenteng believed that his short time at Salem shaped some of his attitudes for life, but not in the way people might think it did. 

He said the school ignited in him a profound hatred for injustice because people were often punished for doing nothing wrong. Sundays were the worst days, he said. 

“We were marched to the Akropong Presbyterian Church wearing our white drill suits. That was adult service where the preacher often went on for a long time about matters of life and death which meant nothing to 10 and 11-year-olds. Those sermons were like sleeping pills to a child, but if you slept or dozed you would be in serious trouble. If we chatted  among ourselves, there would be even more trouble. The alternative was to look at the girls  from the Girls’ Middle School who sat in a group to our right. That attracted even more beating than sleeping or talking,” he said.

But according to him, Salem had some good sides and good teachers, and one of the good teachers,  Mr Birikorang, was the one who encouraged him to write. 

One day, after watching a football match between two classes in the school, he decided to write a report on the event. After showing the report to his class teacher, the teacher was so impressed that he asked him to read it to the class and he was applauded overwhelmingly. 

That experience was enough to convince him that he had an interest in writing and so he started writing on any topic that he thought people would be interested in reading.

In fact, it was his love for writing that spurred him on to write a personal letter to the first President of Ghana, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah.  He was then only 11 years old. Indeed, without the knowledge of his parents or class teacher, this young boy wrote to commend President Nkrumah for his numerous articles on the African personality. And can you believe it? President Nkrumah responded to the letter - Yes that was a very happy day in his life. 

For someone who had been so pampered, after complaining about the harsh treatment at Salem to no avail, he left the school for Techiman where his parents were.

Today, he condemns such high-handed discipline on children, adding that it rather makes children timid and scared to defend themselves. 

At Techiman, Young Kwasi was enrolled at the Techiman L/A Middle School. 

According to Mr Gyan-Apenteng, teachers had a profound role in the development of his writing and cited one Mr Boakye Ansah for encouraging him to write. He sent one of his articles to the Ashanti Times, a newspaper for publication. 

“So, you know, I got my first byline when I was 11 years old. Can you imagine my pride in seeing my name in print?” he recalled.

Okuapemman Secondary School

Young Gyan-Apenteng chose Okuapemman School for his secondary education because he was familiar with the school, which is also in Akropong. 

“From the perspective of a Salem boy, Okuapemman was heaven and the height of sophistication,” he said. 

He loved the school, where he was vocal, outspoken and very popular. He recalled with nostalgia how he and a few students led a protest over the poor quality of food served in the dining hall. It was that protest, he recalled, that led to the establishment of the school’s weekly newspaper, OKUASS Weekly. He became the sports editor and  columnist of the magazine. 

He travelled to the United States of America briefly after OKUASS. On his return, Mr Gyan-Apenteng attended Apam Secondary School for his Sixth Form education and  entered the University of Ghana, Legon, where he took keen interest in writing and student politics and even in national affairs. 

He credits Dr Efua Sutherland, Dr Jawa Apronti, Prof Atukwei Okai among his literary mentors at Legon. He was once Secretary-General of the All-Africa Students Union (AASU).

Mr Gyan-Apenteng joined the Graphic Communications Group Limited, then the Graphic Corporation, as a Staff Writer in 1982 and rose through the ranks to become the Editor of The Mirror. After three years as editor, he left for the UK, where he became Deputy and acting Editor of the West Africa Magazine.

He is now a consultant in communications and culture and continues to write a column in the Mirror.