Nana Konadu Agyemag Rawlings: An Ode to the Asante Princess Laid to Rest Yesterday

​I remember childhood in Ghana: the nine years of bliss. There was a TV programme by the fireside, and a woman called Maame Dokuno would tell us stories from the past, stories our ancestors told, many featuring the cunning spider. I read about him in books, too. I remember a female First Lady who appeared on screens until 2001. She was as dark-skinned as me, very outspoken, bold, and in power. It would be two years later that I would start to question my self-esteem. In Rawlings and Konadu's Ghana, I was Ghanaian, Black, and beautiful. The message echoed from the TV to the streets.

​My Ghana was a beautiful one; you could leave your door open, you could trust your neighbour, and there was love surrounding us. Rawlings ruled with a firm but equally loving fist. He and his wife protected us like a lion and lioness fiercely guarding their cubs with their teeth and claws. Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings died in October, five years after her childhood sweetheart. The woman who sponsored my care-free childhood, a safe and peaceful Ghana, is dead. She wias buried yesterday. Ghana's longest-serving First Lady.

​We mourn a lioness of the Asante pride. Akan societies are matrilineal. Asante and Akyem women fiercely hold to that core. This Asante princess, Konadu, was named after the fierce Nana Konadu Yiadom, who took over when the British expelled the Asante King and prominent chiefs to the Seychelles. They couldn't grasp that the women they left behind were born for war. They underestimated the Queen Mother Nana Yaa Asantewaa, who would lead Asante men to battle against them. There was also Queen Nanny of Jamaica, the Asante or Akyem princess who would escape from slavery and launch a fierce guerrilla war to make Jamaica an independent state.

Women enstool kings in my maternal land. We are matrileanal. The king must come from the woman. The King's son can never be king, his sister or cousins son must take over. My Grandma’s ancestors originated in Asante, and through wars and journeys, they became Akyem royals. The quest to fight till the end is in our blood. Konadu’s name means just that: fight to the end.

​It started with cultural heritage, but her future was sealed at Achimota School. A young boy from a compound house was captivated by her on the first day of school. She thought he was older; he had an air of authority. That boy would become Ghana’s longest-serving president, J.J. Rawlings. He teased her, trying to get her attention. She was furious and reported him to the headmaster. She was hostile to him from then on; she didn't tolerate nonsense. She always said he grew on her because she would ignore him until one day she gave in.

​Thus began one of Ghana’s greatest love stories: the princess from Ghana’s richest kingdom and a young boy from a poor compound house. In the meantime, Konadu was taking on leadership roles as a prefect—ever the protector, ever the no-nonsense woman. She got some girls expelled for bullying; she said in her book that it was infuriating. She would move on to KNUST university and take on leadership roles there as well. In that time, Rawlings was training to be a pilot. They would always find their way back through their ups and downs and then got married. Though both families were hesitant, they still supported their children.

​Konadu moved in with Rawlings, from riches to rags. Though her family helped her, they struggled. With a baby on the way, between her working and Rawlings trying to start a revolution, their lives were difficult. Unlike Konadu, Rawlings had always been a rebel.

It was no shock to her when he was arrested for staging a coup and sentenced to death. Dutifully, she came to his trial. Dutifully, she spoke to him. She hid the evidence against him and also told him to behave while she tried to fight legally. He told her with a smile that he was going to try and escape when she visited him in prison. She had a gun held to her head when they came to her house to question her. In the end, this woman stood firm. She was a young, first-time mother battling for a husband about to be executed. But their story had another ending: a coup by those Rawlings had inspired succeeded, and he was released. A year later, another girl was born. They had four children in total: three girls, one boy—all with names of freedom fighters.

​When they got into power, Konadu initiated her own movement to support women and children, just as the Queen Mothers do in her tribe. She knew it took a woman.

The 31st December Women’s Movement championed women's empowerment, from markets and villages to professional places. Konadu was determined to make every woman find her lioness. She also had a fierce dedication to both formal and traditional education. That is how "By the Fireside" was also born, to teach children about culture. Konadu also had an iron fist; the girl prefect was clearly still alive in the First Lady. She ruled the country with an iron grip.

​She was also the first woman to run for president. A remarkable woman, a remarkable legacy. Let's not forget she loved to sing, dance, and have fun. She was a free, warm spirit who took no nonsense. Konadu fought till the end.

In her, I grew up thinking I was invincible. Her beloved husband died five years before. Since then, the once unmoved lady showed signs of wearing down. Her story is now complete. She leaves her family and four children. I wish she had lived to see a month after her death her daughter become Ghana's first female defence minister.

​Obiara wɔ baabi a ɛyɛ na ɔdi nakɛsesɛm uu, brɔno a ɛyɛ na ɔsoa nahenkyɛ..ɔtena bɛdwam a na ayɛ hu ao..ahenfo kyiniyɛ ɛyɛ a na еbi deda bi akyi

​Eeeeii Otumfoɔ eeeii Nana ei, Nana Konadu, ahofɛfoɔ a ɔda dodoɔ mu a....

​Kasa Nana kasa na wo mma retie wo a..
Ma wo homene so o na Asanteman tae wakyi a

Wotumi yi da adi o ma yɛhunu pefee sɛ, ebi deda bi akyi

​There is a place everyone brags about. It is on the outside we see the real powers. Some kings' umbrellas are bigger than others. Otumfuor (the Asante King), Nana (child), Nana Osei Tutu (her cousin), Konadu who is beautiful in public. Chest out because Asanteman is behind you. Show your power and let them see there are powers behind others.

​She did just that: the porcupine who can never die. From small oppressed clans, they defeated their bully Ntim Gyakarie through cunning and Okomfo Anokye's Golden Stool. In it, it is said, lay the souls of the Asantes. United we stand. We lured him into a false sense of security, acting defeated. Then ambushed his army and beheaded him. Asa nti (because of war, we are), hence our name Asante. She carried our legacy.

​She was principled, unrelenting, uncompromising, fierce, outspoken, and no-nonsense. She was the lioness who hugged and protected her cubs. Rest well, ancestor, as your story continues to be carried by and in us.