“Your glory, O Israel, is slain on your high places! How the mighty have fallen! (2 Sam 1:19)
Mighty man of the Ghana Medical Association, Distinguished Fellow of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), you have taken your bow out. You have distinguished yourself and have gone to take your rest. We salute you.
On the announcement of your death in the GMA Internet chat group that you also belonged to, the response reflected the very high esteem that doctors of all ages hold of you. These are some of the responses:
“We have lost a GIANT, an academic citadel!!”
“Prof Engmann was a great teacher, provided a great start for many of us in our professional career (Can never forget his perfect command of the English language); a great mentor and an excellent administrator (Dean of University of Ghana Medical School). We have lost a champion and great pillar of the profession in Ghana.”
“This is a great loss for the profession.”
“He was an inspiration and excellent practitioner of the faith he professed. Prof. lived life to the full and was always in step with the times. His article in the GMA Anniversary Focus magazine on the thorny issue of STRIKE ACTIONS was an expression of his passion for the profession but best of all he was not worried to invite the young generation to debate his thesis on the matter. He was on this site as well. Prof was truly inspirational and timeless.”
Prof. Engman, you have made tremendous impact on hundreds of doctors in Ghana and internationally. You were the first Ghanaian anatomist and head of Department of Anatomy of the University of Ghana Medical School where you laid the foundation of medical knowledge to many doctors who on many occasions voted you the best teacher. Your contribution to medical and health education is cemented in the books you wrote not only for use by doctors but also by the public. You continued your education of the public by hosting a health education programme on television.
You had been very active in the Ghana Medical Association in your youth and rose to be secretary and then vice-president during the very unsettled period of the nation's history in the late 70s and 80s. One would have thought that you would have graciously retired to the back seat after your attaining these high posts of the Association and your many years sojourn outside the country. However, on your return you plunged straight back into GMA affairs attending all Annual General Meetings and many divisional meetings. You confidently made your opinion known and helped moderate the affairs of the GMA. Indeed, of all the older generation and teachers of the medical profession you were the only one that interacted with the younger generation and continued to influence the profession both in the class room and in running of the Association. No wonder you were unanimously appointed the Chairman of the GMA Pension Fund, a job which you carried out with great excellence.
You remained young at heart and as zealous in your old age as you were in your youth. Your smile never left your face and lovely baritone voice was never silent. Your Cambridge English was impeccable, your sense of humour fantastic. You knew your end was near and yet you kept being active in GMA affairs even when you had retired from public appearances.
Professor Nii Lomotey Engman, the GMA is really proud of you. You have been a great influence for which we will miss you. You deserve rest in the bossom of the LORD.
Rest in Peace!!
GHANA MEDICAL ASSOCIATION
Tribute to Professor Frederick Nii Lomote Engmann
Former Vice President of Ghana Medical Association
Well springs of wisdom are in Thee;
With harvests rich Thy hillsides sing;
Thou givest life, so mayest Thou be
for aye a City of our King.
Though set upon a desert hill,
May living waters rise in Thee;
And from Thy children wider flow
The rivers of eternity.
Achimota School Hymn Rev. Alexander. G. Fraser
There is no doubt that my teacher, the teacher of many others and the friend of many more, was of the great old stock. Distinguished looking, solid educational roots, dignified in bearing, rich colonial/Cambridge diction, patriotic to the core and very professional.
Of course in the case of Prof Engmann, there was the additional matter of his lovely wife. Indeed many are the doctors who looked on with great good envy when as was their fashion, the aging couple will grace the occasion of many an annual general meeting to partake of the discussions.
I would be left with no further curiosity when in the warmth of their home one day; I would be shown the wedding pictures which would inevitably confirm all my previous suspicions and more. Further demonstrating perhaps what made love work even in old age; we would be treated to a sumptuous diet of a classical performance with Prof Engmann on the piano and Dr Maude Engmann on the violin. Prof and Dr Mrs Engmann were a truly beautiful couple and they remained so to the end. On the sad occasion of his passing, it seems to me most impractical to talk about the one without the other.
Prof Engmann taught us Embryology in the Basic Sciences of the University of Ghana Medical School. Embryology may be loosely defined as the study of the formation and development of the human fetus. What I distinctly recall is how Prof Engmann taught this subject as if he was right there when God Himself was creating babies. Every step of the way, he would portray fetal developments in drawing and tell the story so well that by the end of the day, one would leave with absolutely no doubt that this human creation was not only a work of art, but was handily delivered by the hand of the master craftsman. This master craftsman, Prof Engmann would call The Good Lord.
Indeed so striking was his method of lecturing that he provided the primary inspiration for the annual Christmas festival known as the MOMIC Competition during which medical students celebrated their lecturers by mimicking them amidst diverse performances in music poetry and dance. At the maiden MOMIC 98 held at the Volta Hall dining hall at Legon, Joseph Tambil will shrug off all competition to win the mimicking competition in regard of Prof Engmann. At MOMIC 99 held at the Medical School canteen, Prof Engmann would himself become a performer, a development that was hardly surprising for those who were acquainted with his rich baritone. Yes! He came to our competition and he sang for us!
In this paternalistic society of ours, how many University lecturers have you heard of frolicking with their students in this manner?
Prof Engmann's passion and commitment to the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) was legendary. It should not be taken for granted that this was because he was a former Divisional Executive for Greater Accra or later the Vice President at the National level. My position is informed by the remarkable work he did in the GMA even after his work had taken him outside Ghana his return after many years sojourn abroad. Of course it is only a quirk of history that he never became GMA President. It is said that the most opportune time when he could have attained the Presidency coincided with his appointment as Dean of the University of Ghana Medical School (UGMS). To quote Prof Engmann, he determined that he could not “sufficiently balance his time and energies between the demands of being Dean and GMA President simultaneously.” Furthermore, he felt that both jobs had differing focus, “While the position of Dean was more administrative, that of President tended to be somewhat political trade unionist etc…”
On his return however, he assumed leadership of the GMA Pension Fund as its pioneer Chairman. Today, the total pension fund stands at over Two million Ghana cedis with obvious solid implications for the future pension prospects of doctors.
Then came his wide-ranging contributions on social health and developmental issues. There are those who remember him as the host of a health programme on TV Africa.
There are others who may have either read his book on man and his health or his stirring article in the 50th Anniversary edition of the GMA Focus titled Ethical Anatomy of Strike Action by doctors. On a matter on which he was most passionate, he called on doctors to recognize that “…our profession is different from others because we deal directly with the lives of our fellow human beings who are usually at the lowest ebb of their lives. Therefore in all our interactions with them, a little more-than-average milk of human compassion, empathy, sympathy, mercy, kindness and love for our patients are required from each of us by the very nature of our profession.” To this he would add that “constants threats and actuation of strike action hit the wrong and innocent fellow citizens and therefore decisions for such drastic action should not be taken lightly.”
He then invited doctors of all ages and categories to contribute to the discussion, a position some young doctors found most admirable. He called for a greater focus on the working conditions under which optimal health could be delivered and strongly felt that the voice of the Ghana Medical Association ought to be heard more on many more wide ranging issues of national concern.
In the upcoming July–September 2009 edition of the GMA Focus for example, Prof Engmann demonstrates that he has an appetite to engage on the issues with an insightful article on the challenges of modern teaching in our medical schools. What makes his contribution interesting was the fact that it was in response to an original contribution by a member of the popular GMA Google Groups expressing worry about declining standards in medical education. Of course, to the very end, he remained a keen member and contributor to the internet-based group. In return, the members of the group, all colleague doctors, would offer him great encouragement and support during the difficult times.
At the 50th Anniversary AGM in November 2008, Prof F.N.L Engmann was awarded the GMA's Jubilee Award, presented by then President J.A. Kufour for years of meritorious service to the Association.
Prof Engmann will doubtless be greatly missed. He is a wonderful example of one deeply steeped in one of the ideals of Achimota, namely willing humble service of the educated for the uneducated. Subsequently, in more ways than one, Prof Frederick Nii Lomote Engmann has gone out as living water to a thirsty land.
May the Good Lord accept him into His eternal rest.
Sodzi Sodzi-Tettey
Honorary General Secretary
Ghana Medical Association