Gentlemen (or Akrakyefoo),

I'm quite curious about what motivates Senior Ohene Frimpong to search for the implications of "Omanni/Amanfoo". I think we can still decide on it now that this debate is still fresh. But, for many years (to the best that I can recollect), Amanfoo do not put much emphasis on the grammatical implications. But all the better, if we have the correct way to call an Alumnus.

I personnally do believe that what matters the most is the values that Amanfoo stand for; what we believe in, and what we want to accomplish as an organization. "Let's stick to our goals."

Anyway, I have an Amanfoo trivia: "What's the mission of our organization?" (I do not know it yet, if we ever wrote one down. Can someone help? Great Seniors!) And finally, I did not want to talk about this, but "Excusez moi !", or "Entschulgen Sie mich !" I'm quite puzzled, if not paralyzed. I found one Mr Yaw Owusu sneak quietly, comfortably, and boldly into our discussion forum without an invitation, and then introduces himself as a product of Amass ('82). I'm totally puzzled; at first I thought Amass is probably Mr Owusu's nickname. But wait a minute, that is possibly the school he went to. Incredible!

How could someone invade our privacy like this, and speaks about the most sensitive Prempeh College debates at the moment. Obviously not over me. He is a virus right there. That's an "E. Coli" eating up my system. Excusez moi, Mr Owusu, I do not know which 9th house you are referring to, certainly not the one at Ahmadiyya. At first I thought you were on track, not until I realized you introduce yourself as a product of Amass. The whole piece becomes so blurry to me, that it remembers me again of Idi Amin's innocuous speech. I can't decipher a thing in that picece of Mr Owusu's writing (If that be a joke, you are warned).

Hello Amanfoo, This is in response to the Ommani and Amanfoo usage!

It is a well known fact that in the Akan Language a single person could be called Amanfoo. I currently came across a lady whose name is Akua Amanfoo. The last name here does not make her plural but she remains a single person.

There are certain group names that bear the same resemblance to to the usage of Amanfoo for both the collective group and each member of the group. You do not have to go far to search for this group. Just cross the border east of Ghana and a single individual can identify himself/herself as Togolese.

Collectively, they are all also known as Togolese and not Togoleses. A Senegalese belongs to the Senegalese of Senegal. In the same token, an amanfoo belongs to the amanfoo of Prempeh College. If a single person could bear a lastname that signifies a collective name I do not see the reason why a single alum of Prempeh College cannot call himself Amanfoo. Coming to think of it, I would like anyone interested to give me the names a single member of the following groups:

Klu Klaus Klan

Chicago Bulls

New York Knicks..........................please don't tell me NY Knick

Lodge

Navy

And what have you to add to this list.

Let us be united with this unique name. We are all the ambassadors of the University of Sofoline and each individual could proudly use the name to represent himself and at the same time the group.

Hasta Lavista...............

Seth Owusu (' 78 - ' 85)

Amanfoo!! This is Joe Passarsa. Ampa!!, amanfoo ye dodookabea; ena omanni nso ye baakokabea. Omani ye asemfua bi a worente no pii wo yen Akan kasa no mu, efiri se, Nananom se; "obi renkyere obi ase". Anuanom, mo ma yeni ho abooboo!

Before the arrival of Don Diego d’Asambuja on the coast of Edina in 1471, there were several well established "Nations" in West Africa. One of these Nations was Asante (Ashanti). Since their southward movement from Kumbi Sale in the old Ghana Empire the Ashantis expanded through conquering and annexation of defeated nations or volks. In most of their wars the Ashantis never killed women and children, they rather married some of them and conscripted the younger men into their army. The beginning of polygamy in the Ashanti society?

Let’s jump to the era of Ohenekesee Osei Tutu and his friend Okomfo Anokye. The first confederation in the history of Ashanti was during the reign of Ohenekesee Osei Tutu. During his time, Ashanti had conquered many nations of different sizes.

These Nations were "Aman" with it’s singular being "Oman". Some of these nations were Gyaman, Akyem (Asante), Ahafo, Bono, Adansi, Sekyere, Mampong, Amansie, Odotobiri, Kwabere an the rest. When Osei Tutu, with the help of Okomfo Anokye united all these nations about three hundred and fifty years ago, he didn’t rub the original identity of any of these small nations.

This United Nation (Ashanti) was a conglomerate of many, some of them small independent Nations (Aman) with their various chiefs: Amanhene. Being proud to be a member of Bono, Odotobiri, Amansie, Sekyere or Kwabere was (is) not a taboo or forbidden. It was accepted from the onset of the confederation that we were all Ashantis but I am from Amansieman and you are from Sekyereman. Whenever Ashantis meet, they were addressed by using the word "Amanfoo"; which is the right word to describe the "coming together of many "Aman".

Since the time of Osei Tutu, there is the law (mmra) that ; "Obi nkyere obi ase". This means that no Ashanti should try (within the Ashantis) to discriminate against each other because of different origins. This "mmra" has been successful to the extent that the Kumasi Traditional Council is the only of it’s type in Ghana whose members comprise the entire tribes living in the city; "Obi nkyere obi ase ampa"!! The word "Oman" was commonly used in it’s second meaning, which is neighbour e.g. "Owura yi ye omanii"- this man is known here. Where the oman is used in identification with the origin was when one is asked, to which Oman one belongs; "wo ye oman ben nii?"- meye Kwabereni!

The students of Prempeh College comprise of all Aman of the independent Ghana and foreigners and in order not to rub Alooma, of his Ga origin, Aboteate of his Ewe, Blankson of his Fanti, Pwasanga of his Dagomba, Odengo of his Sudanese origin, only the word "Amanfoo" and not "Omanni" better describes us as one body, namely representatives of more than one "Oman". If we call someone Omanni, then we should know afterwards which oman one belongs. I think this could cause more segregation than unity. By calling ourselves Amanfoo, we accept the different backgrounds and at the same time foster unity among ourselves. Grammatically it is not correct to call one former Prempeh student Amanfoo but politically it is wellcome. An opposite example is the Ghana and as such modern nation building in Africa. The independence fighters overtook their colonial territories and reigned as if the different "societies" living in these colonies accepted to live together. There was no reconciliation and the differences within the various "tribes" were not discussed or spoken over. We were forced to live peacefully together. No wonder that we have so many wars between different "aman" in the same country.

Mano asi!! Mobete me nka bio.

Eye me,

Many thanks to Senior Obiri-Yeboah Mensah for the historical interpretation of the word Amanfoo. My question was: Is it correct for me to say, "Me ye Amanfoo"?

His discussion seems to suggest that the "intention" of the word is pluralism and the union of many parts. In that case, there is really no singular form of the word "Amanfoo" since no-one would want to single himself out of that union of many. The emphasis on the word Oman, nation. It never refers to an individual person. Amanfoo is never intended to refer to a single person. Then, my question is answered. One is not Amanfoo or Omanni, one is part of the Amanfoo union. So, "Me ye Amanfoo" or its foreign language literal translation, "I am Amanfoo", would be historically and linguistically incorrect. A better expression would be "Meka Amanfoo ho", I am one of the Amanfoo. That way, the pluralism of the union is always preserved when reference is made to the individual. He is not Amanfoo; he is one of the Amanfoo. I am satisfied. Thank, you.

I had only one motive for asking the Omanni/Amanfoo question: intellectual curiosity. Now I am satisfied that I know how to adress myself as an individual who attended the great Prempeh College and as I said before, it is NOT " I am Amanfoo" but "I am one of the Amanfoo". Ennye "Me ye Amanfoo"; eye "Me ka Amanfoo ho".

My curiosity is satisfied, and I know what to say, thanks to the contributions of so many of you. Thank you.