His cherished dream throughout childhood was to become a lawyer and that informed everything he did while growing up. He was vocal and stood up for others despite his challenge as a stammerer.
And you know what, he probably learnt the trick of being so loud in arguments with his mates that he was able to win most times - Isn’t that the trick of intimidation lawyers sometimes use to confuse people in court?
This young boy whose focus was to live his dream once he had decided on it, is Lawyer Ace Kojo Anan Ankomah, the Managing Partner of the Bentsi-Enchill, Letsa & Ankomah Legal Firm in Accra. His practice areas are litigation and dispute resolution.
‘I had always dreamt of becoming a lawyer and everybody knew that I wanted to be a lawyer. I was inspired as a child by two of my father’s friends who were lawyers. When they visited our home, I listened to their arguments with my dad and that made me fall in love with the way they spoke, how they presented their arguments and how they carried themselves,’ he disclosed.
At primary school, he was an exceptionally good student too and so the path to realising his dream was on course. However, in secondary school he almost derailed from this path, which nearly cost him dearly.
‘I didn’t know that I had to study. I just couldn’t make my mind up that I was there to study. Peer pressure, friendship and sheer silliness distracted me from my studies. I loved to chat with my friends and there was always a lot to talk about, and so from Form One to Five, I was almost always at the bottom of the class. Both of my classes in Form four and five were those of potential failures,’ he disclosed sadly.
Lawyer Ace Ankomah also attributed the reason for his poor performance in secondary school to the fact that he gained admission when he was quite young. Besides, prior to secondary school, he was an excellent student who always passed all examinations brilliantly without much effort. He, therefore, thought it would be so in secondary school.
‘My parents were worried and they kept talking to me but I was enjoying my freedom in boarding house. There was a lot of fun in school and I was enjoying it,’ he said.
According to him it was much later in Form Five, that he woke up to the fact that he was going to fail if he did not sit up. Indeed, that was the turning point for him as he became so serious with his studies that from a student who was almost at the bottom of the class, he topped the ‘A’ Levels in his alma mater, Mfantsipim School.
He credits his teachers, particularly the Very Rev. Emmanuel Churcher for an immense support during that period.
Early life
Young Ace Ankomah was born in Tema in November 1967. He was the only son of six children. He spent a greater part of his childhood in Takoradi where he started school and wrote the Common Entrance Examination at Services Primary School. Although he was an only boy, he was not exempted from household chores. Some of the chores he performed included washing his father’s vehicle every morning, ironing and sweeping.
Mfantsipim
Young Ace Ankomah gained admission to Mfantsipim School at the age of 11 and for him to be made a boarder, was a completely new challenge. ‘I was still a kid and didn’t know how to even take care of my things. I lost all my belongings.’ To survive the bullying in secondary school, he adopted various tricks including forming alliances with boys who were physically strong so that if anyone wanted to beat him, his friends would defend him. And to avoid being sent on unnecessary errands by his seniors, he developed the plan of going to the dormitory late when his seniors were fast asleep.
Higher education
After Mfantsipim, Lawyer Ace Ankomah taught at an Islamic School in Nima, Accra (called Usamat Bun Zaid) for his National Service before he gained admission to study for his Bachelor of Laws Degree at the University of Ghana. He continued at the Ghana School of Law, Makola. After his studies, he became a Teaching Assistant at the university to some of the country’s famous law lecturers including the former President, Late Prof. J.E.A. Mills, Prof. Kofi Kumado, Late Justice Afreh, Prof. Akua Kuenyehia and Prof. Henrietta Mensa Bonsu.
He then studied in Queens University, Canada for his Masters in Law, where he also worked as a Research Assistant, and returned to Ghana in 1994 to continue lecturing and practising law.
He is a former law lecturer at both the Faculty of Law of the University of Ghana and Ghana School of Law, Makola.
He is married to Mrs Josephine Anan Ankomah, Managing Director of ECOBANK, Gambia, and together, they have three children; Maame Niakoaa, Pappa Kweku and Ohemaa Twumasiwaa.
Advice
He advises young people to have a dream, work hard and be committed to the work of God.
