Professor Ebenezer Oduro Owusu; a leader extraordinaire
The mantle of leadership fell on the shoulders of Professor Ebenezer Oduro Owusu at a tender age during his elementary school days and he never pushed it away.
As a young School Prefect, he single-handedly raised funds to paint his school, the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) Primary at Akim Tafo in the Eastern Region.
Advertisement
Among other things, he spearheaded the planting of trees and flowers in the school, buying football for the school’s football team and engaging in other development projects at the time.
He did the little things but little did he know that these acts would one day take him to higher places, including carrying Ghana’s premier university on his shoulders some day.
Today, Professor Oduro Owusu, the Vice Chancellor (VC) of the University of Ghana (UG), Legon, goes into the annals of the school as one of the most successful VCs.
No wonder, after assessing Prof. Oduro Owusu’s performance for the first four years, the university’s council has extended his tenure from August 1, 2020 to July 31, 2021, when he retires from the university.
The extension of the mandate was based on recommendations of a review panel set up by the university’s council.
Achievement as VC
Prof. Oduro Owusu was appointed the VC of the university in August 2016 and concluded his first four-year term on July 31, 2020.
His achievements are testament to his reappointment. Apart from embarking on discipline and attitudinal change campaign, he had a good number of projects after his first term.
He established a number of groups to help him actualise his vision including the Institutional Advancement team that spearheaded the launch of a $100m endowment fund; the Medical and Dental School Expansion team which proposed a roadmap for the expansion of the medical and dental training in the university and the Green Project team which ensured the planting of over 20,000 economic and non-economic trees on campus as part of the university’s environmental preservation strategy.
Prof Ebenezer Oduro Owusu (right), Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, showing our Reporter, Mr Charles Andoh a trophy he won during his tenure.
Also, he instituted the Students Plastic Recycling team which has been instrumental in the separation of waste materials and recycling ones, Independent Power Supply (Energy Team) which has ensured safe and sustainable energy on campus and the Marketing and Rebranding team which was charged with the responsibility of making UG a customer-friendly tertiary institution.
He is also credited for his transformation agenda in finance and audit departments to ensure value for money, restructuring the procurement unit into the logistics directorate, and as a result redeemed the school’s two-year indebtedness to contractors and suppliers.
Promising second term
Touting his achievement going into the second term, he said: “I brought into office a vision to change attitude and mindset of people. To ensure that there are financial reforms in the university. And so far, I will say to the glory of God that those have been achieved.”
“I was poised to attain financial stability and block all the loopholes and let people understand that if they are working, it is for the broader good of the nation, and not for their own interest. There is the need for truthfulness, honesty and transparency.”
He added: “My one year is what I have termed the year of consolidation; what I call the action year. I have an action plan for the one year I am going to spend in office.”
As part of his vision, he said he would continue to build a strong system that would transform the financial and administrative sector of the university; seek the welfare of staff and students and manage the harmony of unions on campus.
Prof. Oduro Owusu told The Mirror he would continue to implement measures to ensure academic quality and development; pay off a lot of the debts the university had incurred over the years, and appoint a chief risk officer by end of December, 2020.
Discipline
Prof. Owusu is a disciplinarian to the core, a testimony Prof. Robert Ebo Hinson of the Institutional Advancement Directorate affirmed.
He recalls an occasion during his primary school days when he had to be tough on a teacher who spent some money he (Prof. Oduro Owusu) had helped mobilise for a development project in his school.
“As a leader, I have never allowed people to bully me or anyone around me,” he told The Mirror.
He believes that if people would be disciplined and change their mindset and adopt a positive attitude towards work, the nation would enjoy an overwhelming level of development.
“This is what we want to make UG — an environment where there is high level of discipline such that systems can work effectively even in the absence of the VC.”
“In countries such as Japan, systems work such that without the leader, the institutions can function properly, and that is key for my last one year.”
“We have not been able to change things in this country because we have not changed our mindset about the way we do things. And I believe if UG is able to make conscious efforts to change the mindset of students with right thoughts, it will go a long way to affect this nation positively,” he said.
“People are filled with wrong impressions for money, and doing all evil things to acquire them, and as a country we refuse to question the source of these people’s wealth. That must stop, if we want the best,” he emphasised.
Background
Prof. Oduro Owusu was born in Tarkwa to Mr Ebenezer Owusu Okyere and the late Florence Ekua Soma Intsiful. He attended CRIG Primary School, Akim Tafo.
He had his secondary education at St Peters Secondary School, Nkwatia-Kwahu (“O” Level) and Ghana Secondary Technical School, Takoradi (“A” Level) in the Eastern and Western regions respectively.
He is an alumnus of the UG, and completed his BSc Agriculture programme in 1987.
He was awarded a Japanese Government Scholarship (MONBUSHO) in October 1989 and went to pursue his Master of Science degree at Kochi University, Japan.
He successfully completed his Masters (Agricultural Chemistry) in 1992 and was awarded another scholarship to pursue a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Entomology.
Prof. Oduro Owusu successfully completed his PhD in 1995 with a gold medal award (for best PhD candidate), and has researched extensively into insect pests of agricultural and medical importance.
He has worked extensively on millet, vegetable and urban insect pests, especially in the areas of insecticide resistance and use of indigenous plant materials for management of major insect pests.
He secured some funds for research in 1999 and personally built a laboratory for use by staff and students.
He was solely responsible for the acquisition and installation of a Scanning Electron Microscope (first of its kind in West Africa, worth $500,000) through a grant from the Japanese government.
Having schooled and worked in many parts of the world, especially Japan, Prof. Oduro Owusu was decorated with the “Living Legend” award by the people of Kochi, Japan, for his contribution to Science and the internationalisation of the Kochi city in 2008.
In 2010, he was named the Tourism Ambassador of Kochi Prefecture, Japan.
On August 29 2013, Prof. Oduro Owusu was awarded the prestigious Japanese Foreign Ministers commendation award for his immense contributions and outstanding roles in the promotion of friendship between Japan and other countries, and for helping to improve the social and economic partnership between the people of Ghana and Japan.
Again in June 2016, he was appointed a member of the “Kenjin-Tatsujin” Japan International Advisory Council, which supports the Ashinaga African Leaders Initiative.
The Emperor of Japan (through the Japanese Cabinet) awarded Prof. Oduro Owusu the ‘rising sun with gold’ on November 29, 2017 for his general contribution to humanity.
After his retirement, Prof. Oduro Owusu said he would want to go into farming in addition to consultation and graduate supervision works.
He is a Christian and happily married with three children who are pursuing their carriers in various fields of endeavour.
