It turned out that what they have set out to do was an extraordinary undertaking which required more resources and extra support than they had envisaged. It was at this juncture that Mr.
Aaron Ofori Atta also known as Kofi Asante Ofori Atta who later became a Cabinet Minister in the First Republic came into the picture; he soon threw this whole weight, mind and energy behind the venture but his support took a different turn to the disappointment of the Akyem-Asafo Elders..
He felt that such an institution of great potential could not just promote the narrow interests of the four Methodist Church Elders of Asafo only but should be made to serve the interest of the whole Akyem Abuakwa state so he advocated for the transfer of the School from Asafo Akyem to Kyebi, the capital town of Akyem Abuakwa. He gave five reasons to buttress his conviction:-
1. Since Kyebi was the administrative and financial headquarters of the district, it would be more prudent to obtain support for the School from government machinery if it was re-located to Kyebi
2. At Kyebi, the school will be close to a hospital where students who fall sick could receive prompt medical attention.
3. As a State School, it could not remain inaccessible to the main stream of the young and prospective students from all parts of the State and other parts of the country; at Asafo, the School would be serving only the citizens of that town and its outlying villages and this was not acceptable.
4. Kyebi could attract more suitably qualified teachers than Asafo because of availability of adequate and suitable accommodation in Kyebi, and besides that, Asafo was at that time quite remote and extremely difficult to reach by motor travel.
5. A State School should be a non-denominational institution, if not altogether, s ecular.
Aaron Ofori Attah’s advocacy won the blessing of the Okyenhene, and with no visible and rational counter argument forthcoming from the Asafo quarters, the School was re-located to Kyebi in 1937.
Thus Abuakwa State College was born, established at an estimated cost of £10,000 provided wholly from Okyeman revenues. Nana Sir Ofori Atta himself laid the foundation stone on 11 October 1937 and thus became the father and founder of the College.
His private house, a two-storey building known as Guggisberg Villa was put at the disposal of the School and was conveniently turned into two dormitories.
For classes, a block, situated about a mile away in the District Commissioner’s area of Kyebi, where a mining firm had vacated their buildings, was turned into classrooms.
TheStudents attended classes and had their meals there. This practice returning to their dormitories situated a mile away was rather arduous and troublesome.
Walking up and down alone day after day had its toll on the life of the students. Their plight was compounded by the frequent rains in those days at Kyebi. Strangely, the spirit of the students was marvelous and they hardly complained. Rather they took to their studies and even games with matchless zeal.
Meanwhile building work at a site given by the Okyenhene for the School was in progress and a dormitory, a classroom block and a dining hall were being constructed under the able supervision of a Mr. Charles Simango, a Portuguese East African technician who had been brought in by the Okyenhene to oversee the early days of the School at Kyebi.
He was the brother-in-law of Justice Sir Henley Coussey who was also a very great friend and Counsel of Nana Sir Ofori Atta.
In 1940, after three difficult years, the buildings were ready for use so the students who had endured with amazing fortitude the hazards and hardships in the make-shift arrangements, under ” come wind, come weather” conditions moved joyously to the site which was meant to be a permanent site for the School.
Thereafter, Mr. Simango left, having successfully completed his work. He was a humane person friendly to all and sundry and actually adored by all the students because he was always ready to work with his hands and so versatile that he did little manual jobs for all repairing every broken item put before him..
It must be aid that despite all these, he had no real academic contact with the students since the School’s academic administration was in the hands of Aaron Ofori Atta.
Following the move of the School from Asafo to Kyebi, none of the tutors and the elders at Asafo accompanied the School to Kyebi except one Mr. Tetebu, a Latin tutor who became a great helper to Aaron Ofori Atta in those difficult early years.
….. To be Continued….
