Etsey Atisu has been writing from young as he can remember knowing how to write but he was never quite sure of what he wanted to do with his life until it was time for him to enter the university. And how he was able to discover his path in life is credited to his father, Gilbert Kofi Atisu.

He recalls how after he was turned away by the Ghana Institute of Languages (GIL) to read a course in translation because his results in Mathematics and General Science did not meet the cut-off point, his father directed him to what he would discover was his truly calling in life; writing.

For the greater part of his adult life, he has been known as a writer who is passionate about writing right. At the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ), where he discovered himself, he began to explore more about his writing, following in the footsteps of one of his earliest writing mentors, Manasseh Azure Awuni.

At GIJ, he started a new style of wishing people well on their birthdays by telling them relatable stories about themselves instead of regular straight-jacket wishes. He then moved these wishes, which were mostly on Facebook, onto his personal blog www.therealetsey.wordpress.com.

With time, he became a widely influential reference point for young writers online, earning him a lot of writing jobs such as ghostwriting, profiling, special birthday (and other occasions) wishes, and regular journalistic writings, among many others.

Although Etsey applied to GIJ to read a four-year degree course, a mistake in the selection process took his name out of the few people selected this was brought to the attention of the Rector of GIJ at the time, Mr. David Newton, who assured him that immediately he was done with his two-year diploma, and his one-year mandatory National Service, he would re-admit him to the school to complete the remaining two years for his degree. And he kept his word but what seemed like a mistake turned out to be his big break in life.

After the first year of diploma training, and as a requirement for the course, he needed to satisfy a two-months internship at either one or two media houses in the country. His first month took him to the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) following which he went to the New Times Corporation (The Spectator newsroom).

It was at the Spectator that he got lucky because the editor at the time, the late Merari Alomele, told him that he could stay on and work with them even after his month-long internship was over. A good opportunity for him, he accepted it, also because he was an evening student and could work during the daytime before leaving for lectures in the evenings.

Etsey Atisu eventually spent nearly 6 years (2010-2016) at the New Times Corporation although all these years were spent there as a stringer for The Spectator newspaper he never regrets any of those years. He describes them as his ‘National Service’ years because it was there that he properly honed his writing skills and his craft as a journalist.

Difficult years they were but he gave it his utmost best, rising to become the person in charge of profiles for the newspaper (a job that required that every week, he scouted for personalities to be profiled and have their stories published in the paper by the weekend).

During the period, he interviewed big-name personalities such as Abla Dzifa Gomashie, a veteran actress, former Deputy Minister of Tourism, Culture, and Creative Arts, and the current Member of Parliament for Ketu South; Dr. Kwabena Duffuor II, at the time he was Chief Operating Officer (COO) of uniBank Ghana Ltd; Joe Mettle, one-time Ghana Artiste of the Year; Ohemaa Mercy; Apostle-General Rev. Sam Korankye Ankrah, founder and leader of Royalhouse Chapel International; Ms. Afi Amoro, CEO of Jandel Limited; Rev. Eastwood Anaba, founder of the Fountain Gate Chapel International; Tommy Annan-Forson, veteran broadcaster; and Dr. Michael Agyekum Addo, of the KAMA Ghana Group.

Others are Kafui Dey, William Nana Awuku Akuffo, founder of GHALLYWOOD; Patrick Mattouk, MD of Paloma Hotel; Oblempong Nii Kojo Ababio V, former Paramount Chief of Ngleshie Amanfro; Rev. John Atta Aggrey, Chief Executive Officer of Grand Pacific Ltd; veteran journalist, Abu Issa Monnie; Samir Kalmoni, owner of Papaye Foods; Mrs. Esther Setsoafia, CEO of Vinesthy Catering Institute; Ibrahim Tanko-Amidu; Akwasi Agyeman, formerly Managing Director of the Global Media Alliance; Dr. Toni Aubynn, formerly Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines; two-time Independent Presidential Candidate, Jacob Osei Yeboah (JOY); Mrs. Yvonne Nduom; Mrs. Ellen Maama Hagan, Chief Executive Officer of L’Ainé Services Ltd; His Royal Majesty, Eze Dr. Amb. Chukwudi Ihenetu, King of Igbos in Ghana; the late Rev. Robert Nelson Adayi; among others.

Like everything, his time at the NTC came to an end in early 2016 when he took up an opportunity to also intern (non-paying as well) at the newly-opened Class FM, through the recommendation of his friend, Ridwan Karim Dini-Osman. After spending 4 months at this radio station, he landed his first-ever salary job at Socioserve Ghana, a non-governmental organization based in Akosombo, in the Eastern Region, as its Communications Officer, in 2016.

Due to the change of political governments following the general elections in Ghana in 2016, the year 2017 started off a little slow for the company and as such, having been brought into the company on a contract that was tied to a project, Etsey Atisu was painfully let go by his employers. This was because the government had not released funds for the continuation of other projects the company had with them.

But he again got lucky when, through recommendation, he landed a juicy job offer with a multinational federation, Public Services International (PSI). He served at PSI from October 2017 to December 2018 as its Communications Consultant in charge of Africa and the Arab Regions.

This job, situated in Lome, Togo, saw him travel around a number of African countries namely Benin, Nigeria, Liberia, Zimbabwe, and Kenya.

During his time at PSI, he married his love-time best friend and girlfriend of 3 years, Eva Ewurabena Quansah. His contract was, however, abruptly terminated in December 2018, and for the next six months, he returned to Ghana and stayed home without a job.

In June 2019, just a few days after his first child was born, he received a call from one of the bosses of www.face2faceafrica.com, an all-Black people-centered website to be a writer. Totally enjoying his time there, he again had to move on to another company, owing to the fact that his family and responsibilities were growing.

That was how Etsey found himself at the Ghana Society for Education Technology from October 2019 to March 2020 when he resigned because that work environment started getting toxic for him. As if he knew what was to come, COVID-19 and the world took a new turn with work as many people were laid off and the majority of them were forced to work from home.

During this period, while he enjoyed spending time with his daughter at home, he also made several attempts to get employment in many organizations but without any luck until the evening of December 30, 2020, when he received a phone call from his former editor at face2faceafrica.com to come over at the start of the New Year to work with him again. This time, the location was at Ghana’s leading website, www.ghanaweb.com.

He started work in January 2021 as a reporter and has risen through the ranks, in a little over 2 years to the position of Senior Journalist and Head of the Features Desk at the company.

Etsey Atisu loves to write and has continued to do so till now. He was the host of now defunct, The Untold program on GhanaWeb TV, and is the current co-host and host of People & Places and SayItLoud, respectively, all on the same channel.

In 2021, when he joined the website, he had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Ekwow Spio-Grabrah as the company marked the death of Ghana’s first president in the fourth republic, Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings. He has since interviewed people like Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the Majority Leader in Parliament and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo; the National Chairperson of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Nana Akosua Frimpomaa Sarpong-Kumankumah; and many more.

When Etsey is now writing, he is singing in church, where he is a music director and is passionate about working for God. He aspires to become a pastor in the future.

He now has two children: Ewoenam (a girl) and Eselase (a boy) with his wife.

www.ghanaweb.com