Good evening everybody. Our celebrant, Prof. Akilagpa Sawyerr, and his wife, Judith Sawyerr and the rest of the family, distinguished guests, members of the Planning and Production Committee of the Aki @ 80 Celebrations- all of whom are not present with us this afternoon- ladies and gentlemen.

I join Yao in welcoming you all to this celebration which I am honoured to chair. Distinguished guests, allow me to make my own personal tribute to Aki that I have titled, "A Prof of One's Own," after Virginia Wolf's "A Room of One's Own."

Last week I delivered a public lecture, and during the interactive session, a young woman who had some questions of her own concluded by asking me to be her mentor, and has subsequently written to me. However, unlike her, I did not have to ask to be mentored. Indeed, I do not believe that I knew that term in the early 1970s when I made Aki's acquaintance. I had just turned 19 and entered the Faculty of Law at the University of Ghana, Legon. My first year was particularly challenging, not academically, but in terms of my own notions around social justice and what I expected to find at the Faculty of Law. After some attempts to change courses, and after receiving stern rebukes from my father, as well as from senior students at the Faculty, many of whom felt I was presumptuous and ought to consider myself privileged to be admitted into the Faculty, I did eventually settle in, albeit with a diminished passion. In particular, I found the legal treatment of women and their rights then, quite galling. Added to this, a lecturer informed me that I was there to learn the rules and not own my notions of justice. All the same I managed to survive my undergraduate years through deep immersion in student and pan-African activism, and Aki was very much a part of that story. Thank you, Prof, for constantly insisting that there was more to attending University than simply obtaining a job at the end of your studies.

With the support of a research grant that Aki had obtained, and I am not sure if he remembers this, I joined a group of mostly male students to research production relations in the Ghanaian countryside one long vacation. I remember vividly that vacation, more than 40 years ago, spent trekking through declining cocoa growing areas in parts of northern Ashanti Region, now renamed Ahafo region. After the L.L.B program, the courses I took in the Legal Aspects of International Trade and Investments among others, reignited my interest in the possibilities of using the law to advance broader political and societal issues. The encouragement I received from Professors Sawyerr and Botchwey to pursue graduate studies at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, was transformational for my career and personal development.

Aki was also my sponsor for my private call to the Bar in 1977. During the ceremony in the Chief Justice's (CJ) chamber (I was actually looking for the photo of the two of us in our legal robes to bring here, but I could not find it!), the CJ was civil and almost cordial. Later, another colleague who had been late to the ceremony informed us that when he arrived at the CJ's office, the latter informed him that 'a bunch of radicals had just left (his) office', to which he replied that he was supposed to have been one of them!

I wish to extend my gratitude to Aki and Judith for their friendship and guidance over the years. I stayed at their house on several occasions, ate innumerable lunches and dinners as a student and later as a lecturer. I was also a frequent visitor to the VC's lodge when they lived there. I had the privilege of getting to know Aki's children, mother and the wider family. Through the years, ladies and gentlemen, Aki has been there for many of us as an inspiration, counsellor, "Nuumo è" (grand 'old' man), and friend.

Our years together as members of CODESRIA, in the UNESCO Working Group for Higher Education in Africa, my service on AAU committees and more lately, at the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, and our shared interest in African liberation, development and transformation, and in African Higher Education, have deepened that association. I have truly had my own Prof in my corner. He has encouraged and pushed me with his customary rigour, and continued to express interest in my general progress and wellbeing. Never have I felt nor been made to feel that I was dealing with my 'senior' as we have interacted in different areas of our lives over the years.

May we all imbibe that spirit dedicated to scholarship, deep thought, simplicity, commitment, activism, and public service.
Professor Sawyerr, Aki, "Nuumo è," Ayekoo.
Oyiwa dɔɔn!.'