Ɛnyɛ ɛnono! Inspirations from the late Akua Donkor

In the political history of Ghana, mentions could be made of some semi literates who had significant influence on the politics and governance of the country.

Krobo Edusei, a popular vociferous man who gave the CPP and Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah grounds in the Ashanti Region, and also served as a minister at different ministries in Nkrumah’s government and considered by some scholars as arguably the best Minister of Communication in Ghana’s politics is one of such men.

Another phenomenal semi-literate who defied the odds to engrave his name on the tablet of Ghana’s politics was Kwame Kwakye, the legendary District Commissioner for Birim District under the Nkrumah regime. He excelled in his role by ensuring high level infrastructure development in his district and became nationally famous for his iconic comic Ghanaian English which I term ‘Twinglish’, that’s a combination of Twi and English to coin word and sentences.

These so-called ‘uneducated’ politicians made significant impact on the governance of the country despite their low academic backgrounds.

Aside from these men of the First Republic era under Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the story of Ghana’s Fourth Republic can never be complete without a mention of the illiterate, Madam Akua Donkor, the Founder and Presidential Candidate of the Ghana Freedom Party (GFP).

Just like Edusei and Kwaakye who irrespective of their semi-literate backgrounds made inroads and gained prominence in the politics of Ghana, Madam Akua Donkor has arguably gone even farther by successfully forming a political party and contesting as a Presidential Candidate in Ghana’s election despite being an illiterate.

Maame Akua Donkor started her political career as an elected Assembly Member for the Hemang Electoral Area in the Kwabre East District. From Assembly Member she moved to the constituency level and filed to contest as a Member of Parliament at Kwabre East in the Ashanti Region and competed with the late Emmanuel Owusu Ansah, a former Judicial Secretary and former Ashanti Regional Minister.

After two unsuccessful elections in 2004 and 2008 as a Parliamentary Candidate, the determined and ambitious Akua Donkor elevated her political career a notch higher to the presidential race as an Independent Presidential Candidate and later founded the Ghana Freedom Party (GFP) in 2012.

After disqualifications in the 2012 and 2016 elections, she successfully qualified and contested in 2020 as the Presidential Candidate of the GFP and also qualified as one of the thirteen Presidential Candidates for 2024, occupying the 3rd position on the ballot until her death on 28 October, 2024 at the age of 72 years, just some 39 days to the election on December 7, 2024.

Most people have wondered how the late Founder and Presidential Candidate of the Ghana Freedom Party (GFP), Madam Akua Donkor was able to find herself on the ballot paper in the presidential election despite the many factors that were against her.

In this article, I want to discuss a few lessons and inspirations we can derive from the life of Akua Donkor and how they can be applied in our lives as individuals.

Ambition & Focus

It is quite common in most African societies to have people tell you how insufficient or unqualified you are to the point of making mockery of you because you have dared to be ambitious enough to challenge the status quo. The late Akua Donkor became the object of public ridicule when she announced her desire to contest as an Independent Candidate in the 2012 Presidential Election because she couldn’t express herself in English and was seen as an illiterate.

Madam Donkor didn’t allow the negative comments and the underestimation of her persona by some sections of the public to distract her from pursuing her presidential ambition.

Self Confidence

Self Confidence is personal and supposed to come from within the individual but quite often, external social and economic factors like; finance, academic background, family, culture, gender and religion affect people’s self-esteem and confidence. No individual has everything but when you focus on the things you lack, you will lose the value of the ones you possess.

The life of Akua Donkor epitomizes self-confidence. Her self-consciousness didn’t allow her poor academic background, financial constraints, gender and cultural limitations to usurp her self-confidence.

Akua Donkor was on the McBrown’s Kitchen celebrity cooking show on television when the host described her as the modern day Yaa Asantewaa, thus, comparing her to the great Ashanti Queen who led a war against the British. For many, this attribute would have been so ideal but however, Akua Donkor added that Yaa Asantewaa fought for only the Ashanti Kingdom but she is fighting to liberate the entire Ghana. Clearly, this attests to the level of confidence Akua Donkor had.

Self-confidence is the cornerstone of personal growth and success. It influences how we perceive or estimate ourselves and interact with the world around us. Building self-confidence requires self-reflection, practice, and perseverance.

Just like Akua Donkor did, learn to embrace failures, learn from them and use that knowledge to improve your competence; visualize yourself succeeding in various situations, surround yourself with uplifting individuals that can significantly impact your self-confidence, and don’t hesitate to seek support from the right quarters when needed because the ability to seek help is part of self-confidence.

Registering a political party and filing for the presidential nomination are quite complex hence for an illiterate like Akua Donkor to achieve these shows that “you should know what you want and how to get what you want”.

Stay True to Yourself

Definitions put limitations on things and anything that is defined is confined. So, if you allow people to define you, they will confine you.

In a world where people naturally want to belong and feel accepted, it is easy for people to relinquish their true selves and conform to the status quo. Many people, irrespective of their high background are living in self-denial because they have decided to live by other people’s standards and expectations.

Again, despite the definitions she was given and the expectations that were placed on her as an aspiring president, Akua Donkor didn’t lose herself but stayed true to who she was and never put pressure on herself trying to become what others wanted. She never for once felt less because she couldn’t express herself in English and maintained that her local language is equally good hence, she expressed herself in Twi on any platform or occasion she found herself.

As she stayed true to herself, the people eventually came to terms with her unique personality and accepted her for who she was. Again, the lesson here is that when you stay true to yourself and stay consistent, people would eventually accept who you are.

Conclusion

As her popular slogan ‘Ɛnyɛ ɛnono!’ an Akan expression which means ‘That’s right’ echoes in our memories. We can learn from the life of the late Madam Akua Donkor that indeed when decisions team up with determination, effort has no problem in bringing home success.