A Tribute to Professor Ebenezer Laing, the Spirit of Legon

By Ernest Aryeetey, Vice-Chancellor, University of Ghana

Ever since the passing away of Professor Ebenezer Laing was announced to the University community, I have been amazed by the number of people who have expressed their grief openly through the University intranet. As far as I can tell, never before has the passing of any individual at Legon elicited so much outpouring of sympathy and respect. Professor Laing was a man everybody loved, respected and appreciated. The only reason I can ascribe to this is the fact that his personality embodied everything that Legon stands for. He represented all of the core values of Legon and so his life touched the lives of everyone.

Long before I met Professor Laing at Legon, I knew the Laing family through his father who was a good friend of my father. The older Laing was in charge of Anglican Schools and they worshipped together at Holy Trinity Cathedral. As children we had been made to understand that the Laings were a family of scholars and it would be good for us to emulate their example.

Later, as a student at the University of Ghana, it was not difficult to encounter Professor Ebenezer Laing on campus. One did not have to study Botany to meet him. He was everywhere and involved in many things that happened at Legon. One met him at church as the organist on Sundays; met him talking with students outside the Botany Department building; saw him around the bookshop; or saw him around Legon Hall. His was a very familiar and friendly face on Legon campus.

Over the last three decades, I have come to know Professor Ebenezer Laing in a number of ways, including as a scientist with a passion for social development, and more especially as a co-worshiper at Christ Church, Legon. On most Sundays, for the best part of twenty years, we met and spoke about various things, especially economic and social development. When I was at ISSER, he often accosted me after church service with questions about the economy of Ghana that he thought should be studied. He had comments on social developments that he felt should be of interest to researchers at ISSER, and he would seek my opinion on them. On a number of occasions we invited him to participate in projects at ISSER, and he was a major resource each time. He brought a fresh scientific perspective to the discussion of social matters, including in the preparation of two editions of the Ghana Human Development Report. Professor Laing was certainly a first-rate academic and scientist.

What the University community has found unique about Professor Laing, and which I can easily attest to, is the interest he showed in everybody's work and life. At each meeting, he enquired not only about my work and my welfare, but also about the welfare of each member of my family and he would mention them by name. When I went to visit him at home a few weeks before his passing, he asked about my nephews and told me about conversations he had had with them. Professor Laing was simply interested in everything and everybody. He cared about the welfare of the people he met.

Professor Ebenezer Laing embodied the spirit of Legon! His academic work was done with an eye on social progress and he pursued that ideal with integrity. He believed that the benefits of all scientific innovations and research needed to be distributed more widely. The idea that the University was there to serve the community and not remain an ivory tower resonated very well with him. He assisted the University to keep record of various events by capturing them on his camera and sharing them with us. He was generous and good-hearted. For all of the many positive and significant contributions he made to life at the University of Ghana, I would like to express the appreciation of the whole community to Professor Ebenezer Laing.

Prof, rest in perfect peace.