Archived Bulletins

MOHAMMED - A POEM

By Mohammed Osumanu
Ashesi Staff Member

The shocks, surprise, and scorn were readable on many faces.
Some wondered and soliloquized.
Everybody had questions on his or her lips
Others actually giggled.
Mohammed in undergraduate class?
Wonders will never end indeed!
Who does not know Mohammed?
Mohammed the school gardener,
Mohammed the cleaner of the school gutters,
Mohammed the messenger;
What! Can any good thing or person come from Samaria?
Yes, the Good Samaritan came from there.
The knowledge boasted of is limited.

Truly speaking, Mohammed's life till Lecture Hall One
Was a real meandering odyssey.
A native of Bawku, in upper East Region,
A resident of Nima, a notorious slum
Mohammed was one of the first laborers of Ashesi Foundation.
Graduated from gardener to gardener/cleaner,
From gardener/cleaner to gardener/assistant facility coordinator.
From assistant facility coordinator to assistant receptionist.
Makes others fret and fidget
Makes some doubt and murmur, but
this is not the end of the story ..........................

However, the mower is waiting in the lawn,
The sun has risen and the grass must be watered,
It is morning and the doors must be opened,
And the compound must be swept
It's 9-oclock; Prof Simmons and Mr. Ba are in lectures.
I don't want to miss their lectures.
They are very important people to me,
Because they found me when no where to be found,
They made me feel like am part of society.

Oh, it is noon and visitors must be waiting at the reception area.
The phone is ringing, "hallo, how may I help you?"
But before I, Mohammed, go for my duties
Know that
Before joining Ashesi Foundation
I had sat at a gate of the wealthy all night
While the whole world fell asleep
Listening to their snores
Staring into the darkness but seeing nothing
Hearing the loud voice of the dead silence
Bitten by numerous mosquitoes.
I had watched the clouds gather
I had heard the thunder rolled
And had seen the lightning
That preceded the rains that thrashed me at the gate
That rain that soaked me at the gate
All this for a pittance.

Oh! Life, run the full course of the prize
Oh! Allah, Keep me uplifted
That I may have words of encouragement for others.

About the author: Mohammed Osumanu became an Ashesi University staff member in 2000. Mohammed had not completed his secondary school education and joined Ashesi University as its grounds keeper. Since beginning employment at Ashesi he has been encouraged to complete his secondary school education with guidance from a tutor, and audit courses at Ashesi. Mohammed wrote this poem while auditing the Expository Writing course offered at Ashesi in the fall of 2003. We would like to thank Mohammed for agreeing to share this poem with the entire Ashesi community.

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