He read verociously—Prof Akilakpa Sawyerr

When Young Georgie was nine, he lost his father, Lawyer Akilagpa Sawyerr tragically while he was swimming at the beach. His mother, therefore, had to deny herself of many things to keep Young Georgie and his siblings in school. Seeing his mother go through difficulties to make ends meet, Georgie felt obliged to be serious with his school work in order not to let his mother down.
"I knew my mother was struggling to put me through school so I made sure I remained focused in class. I paid attention in class, made sure I understood whatever was being taught and if I did not understand anything, I asked for further explanation," he recalled.
Indeed, Young Georgie's attentiveness in class paid off, as today he has made not only his 95-year-old mother proud but has become an important personality in Ghana and Africa.
Young Georgie, who is now known as Prof Akilakpa Sawyerr, has contributed immensely to educational delivery in the country and Africa. He is a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Legon (1985-1992) and until recently was the Secretary-General, Association of African Universities.
Prof Sawyerr, who is a Professor of Law, has taught and served in various capacities in universities throughout the world, including the universities of Papua New Guinea, Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania; the Yale Law School, the Harvard Law School and the Alabama Law School, all in the US. Even though he is currently on retirement, he is doing a lot of research work in the field of education. Just recently, he was appointed a member of the Council of State.
The Junior Graphic was with Prof Sawyerr, at his New Achimota residence to glean some of his childhood experiences to encourage children to inspire to model his life.
Prof Sawyerr, who will turn 70 next week said that, "As a student, I read a lot, not only my assigned books but any book I came across. When I went to the library and I got a book I liked, I read everything on the shelf about that author. And I benefited a lot from that, especially in the usage of idioms."
The law professor, who grew up at Tudu in Accra, said even though he came from an upper-class family because his father was a lawyer and a member of the National Assembly (equivalent to today's Parliament), he was just like any other child who grew up in that area.
Can you believe that Prof Sawyerr was once a boxer? Oh yes, he was a boxer. Hear him, "I was an amateur boxer when I was in Achimota School, and a serious one, of course, fighting all over the place. I even became the boxing coach for my school and one of those I coached at Achimota School was Prof Ivan Addae-Mensah, the former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Legon."
Georgie, as Prof Sawyerr was then called, acquired his boxing skills from the many boxers who used to train in his father's boxing gym in their house at Tudu.
 "Then a little boy of less than nine, I was always around the boxers, observing them as they fought and I think I picked the skills," he said with a smile.
Being the first son of his mother's four children, Georgie used to accompany his father in the mornings during his long walks to the beach to swim. While at the beach, he defied the fact that he was too young to swim and swam with his dad. Not even the tragic death of his father deterred him from going to the beach regularly.
"My mother often tried to prevent me after my father's death, but I still went," he said.
When Georgie's father died, he, his mother and siblings left the family home at Tudu for Palladium, Accra, to live with his maternal grandparents. Georgie, who did not perform any chores at home, made sure that at school he grasped everything, so that he got enough time to play when he came home.
"I used to play gutter-to-gutter football with my friends in the neighbourhood. I also used to walk all the way from Palladium to the Trades Union Congress (TUC) area which was then known as Asylum to pluck mangoes. In those days, there were no buildings around that area and you would be on top of the tree plucking mangoes when you saw some of the inmates of the psychiatric hospital coming. Of course, we got scared so we didn’t come down until they left," he said.
Prof Sawyerr started his education at Government School, Adabraka, then to Government School, now Kinbu Sec/Tech.  He had his secondary education at Achimota School where, according to him, he was very unpopular with the authorities.
 "I was an outspoken person who wanted my views heard. I was regularly punished in school to dig the ground because I had done this or that. It even got to a time when I was almost sacked for being a trouble maker," he recollected.
But there were some fond memories Prof Sawyerr had of his alma mater. For instance, it was there that he learnt to speak Twi for the first time. It was also there that he became the leader of the dancing and drumming group of the school.
After Achimota, Prof Sawyerr entered the University of Ghana to study law. He then went to the University of London to study for his LL.M degree. He sat for his Bar examination in 1963 and was called to the Bar in England in 1965. He studied for his second Masters degree at the University of California, USA.
Prof Sawyerr, whose name appears to be unGhanaian, explained that he comes from Sierra Leonean and Nigerian backgrounds. His cousin is Mr Harry Sawyerr, the popular politician. He has two children.