Two brothers become professors on same day at KNUST, Ghana
Two Ghanaian brothers have achieved a rare academic milestone after being promoted to the rank of professor on the same day at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
Christian Obirikorang, 46, of the Department of Molecular Medicine, and his younger brother, Kwasi Obirikorang, 41, of the Department of Natural Resources, were among faculty members promoted in September during the university’s latest academic elevation ceremony.
The two lecturers, who grew up in Accra, said they never planned on pursuing academic careers, describing their shared achievement as both unexpected and rewarding.
Christian, who now serves in KNUST’s School of Medicine and Dentistry, said his path to academia began by chance. After secondary school, he was encouraged by an uncle working in the medical laboratory field to pursue a degree in medical laboratory technology.
“I was admitted around the time the program was upgraded from a diploma to a bachelor’s degree,” he said. “After completing my first degree in 2003, I did a one-year internship at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.”
During the internship, a friend saw a newspaper advertisement for a new PhD program at KNUST and persuaded him to apply. “We were sceptical because it was a direct PhD after a B.Sc.,” Christian recalled. “But we applied, got interviewed, and were accepted.”
The program, part of a staff development initiative, took longer than expected. “It was supposed to last four years, but we graduated after six,” he said. Christian completed his PhD in February 2010 before transferring from KNUST Hospital, where he worked as a biomedical scientist, to join the university’s medical school as a lecturer the following year.
“I never imagined becoming an academic,” he said. “If someone had told me I’d be a professor one day, I would have laughed. But once I started teaching, I found I really enjoyed it.”
Kwasi, now a professor in the Department of Fisheries and Watershed Management, said his own academic path was equally unplanned. Known among colleagues for his creative flair, he originally considered becoming an artist.
“Growing up, my dad always bought me crayons, so I thought he wanted me to be an artist,” he said. “But after secondary school, he encouraged me to study science instead.”
Kwasi enrolled in KNUST’s College of Agriculture and Renewable Natural Resources but had no clear career plans. “I thought I’d probably work in one of the ministries,” he said.
His introduction to academia came unexpectedly when the department decided to retain the top two male and female graduates as teaching assistants. “I was the third-best male, so I didn’t qualify,” he said. “But one person declined the offer, and that’s how I became a teaching assistant. I believe it was divine design.”
The brothers credited their parents for their shared drive and success. “Our parents always told us that education was the only thing they could give us,” Christian said. “They didn’t have a cocoa farm or property anywhere, but they pushed us to study hard. It even became a bit of a competition between us.”
For both men, their promotions to professorship represent not only professional success but also a personal tribute to their late father.
“I felt mixed emotions that day,” Christian said. “I was proud, but I wished our father had lived to see it. He was the one who inspired us to keep going.”
KNUST, one of Ghana’s leading universities, promotes faculty members based on research output, teaching, and service. The Obirikorang brothers’ simultaneous promotion is one of the few instances in the university’s history where siblings have reached the rank of professor together.
Written by Oral Ofori
Oral Ofori is Founder and Publisher at www.TheAfricanDream.net, a digital storyteller and producer, and also an information and research consultant.
