The Kufuor family is undoubtedly one of the powerhouses in Ghana’s political landscape, having made significant contributions to the country’s democracy.
This influential family produced Ghana’s second President of the Fourth Republic, John Agyekum Kufuor, as well as other notable statesmen such as former Minister of Defence, Dr. Kwame Addo Kufuor.
But did you know that the driving force behind the Kufuor family was a powerful woman named Nana Ama Dapaah Kufuor, a respected queen mother?
Nana Ama Dapaah Kufuor was the mother of former President John Agyekum Kufuor. The late Ama Dapaah was a formidable woman, highly independent and wealthy individual who had ten children with four different men.
Speaking about his mother in an interview shared by The Asante Nation on Facebook, former President Kufuor revealed that his family’s strong political background was largely influenced by her.
He explained that his late mother married four powerful men, most of whom were involved in politics, which greatly shaped their upbringing.
“Our mother married four times. We learned from her; she was the biggest politician… She was an independent woman. She had her first children with her first husband. Her next husband was her distant relative, Baffour Osei Akoto, the founder of the National Liberation Movement (NLM). They had one child together.
“She left her second husband, and four years later, she married my father and gave birth to three boys in succession; myself, Addo Kufuor, and George Kufuor. She later left him as well. About four years after leaving my father, she married her last husband, Nana Fosu Diabuor, the Chief of Bechem in the Brong Ahafo Region,” he said.
The former president continued, “All these powerful men were married to this one woman. So can you imagine growing up with a mother who had children with a key figure in the United Party (UP) and another in the Convention People’s Party (CPP)? Your mind would be full of politics.”
Former President Kufuor emphasized that his mother was able to leave her marriages because she was financially independent.
“The reason she was independent was that she had everything including properties and all that but she was also naturally intelligent. So, if she was not happy with a man, she moved on. She had a lot of properties, including lands.”
He further stated that despite being a single mother to ten children, she ensured that they never lacked financially and provided them with the best education possible.
“I would be pretending if I said we had financial difficulties… She took me to boarding school at Achimota, then later to Bristol University in Britain.”
Interestingly, former President Kufuor disclosed that the name “Kufuor” came from his mother’s side, not his father’s.
He explained that his mother’s family insisted on adding “Kufuor” to their names so they would also receive recognition for raising them.
“My mother is the Kufuor, but we are matrilineal. Because it was her family stool that took care of all her children, they told us, ‘Your fathers love you, but the stool provides for you. So we won’t use our money to raise you, only for you to give all the glory to your father’s house.’
“My father was Nana Agyekum, and they said, ‘We are not asking you to remove your father’s name. But imagine, after sending you to Lincoln and Oxford University, and you later become president, all the recognition would go to the Agyekum name. You are John Agyekum, but Kufuor will be added to your name.’ That is what they did for all ten of us,” he disclosed.
Watch the interview below:
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
