• A visually impaired Ghanaian student has been elected President of the African Society at Oxford University
• Ebenezer Azamati is currently pursuing a PhD at the university
• AfriSoc as the society is known champions the interests of African students and its alumni across the world
A visually impaired Ghanaian student, Ebenezer Azamati has been elected by a landslide vote to become new president of Oxford University’s African Society (AfriSoc), according to a social media post by AfriSoc.
He will take over from Kenyan Elisha Ngetich who had been serving in the role.
As the President of AfriSoc, Azamati is tasked with the responsibility of championing the agenda of African students and the extensive alumni in various leadership positions all over the world.
In April 2020, Azamati who was previously the subject of an assault during a debate at the Oxford Union was awarded a Cambridge International Scholarship to undertake a PhD in Politics and International Studies.
Azamati started his PhD in October 2020 after excelling during the rigorous scholarship application process.
AfriSoc wrote of him in their social media post: “Azamati is a Radcliffe Scholar reading for the DPhil International relations at University of Oxford and a member of University College.”
He is currently on the Cambridge International Scholarship, which was started in the 1980s, and is reserved for students from outside the European Union, who, would ordinarily fail to make it to Oxford without financial support.
Azamati was admitted to the University of Cambridge’s Fitzwilliam College at a time he was still reading his M Phil in International Relations at Oxford University.
Before leaving the shores of Ghana, he studied at the University of Ghana as an undergraduate before gaining admission to read for a Master of Science in International Politics at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies.
The October 2019 incident that saw him manhandled during a debate session at the Oxford Union at the University of Oxford triggered a wave of resignation from Union leaders after multiple news websites reported the incident.
According to their website, the Oxford University Africa Society (AfriSoc) says it: “focuses on African affairs at the University of Oxford.
“The Society seeks to set the agenda for the future of the African Continent by providing a platform for students hailing from or interested in Africa to critically engage. Above all, AfriSoc is a community of change agents passionate about Africa.”
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
