Ever since I had known her as a public figure, I nurtured an admiration for her, more like how I admired Mrs Winnie Mandela in my early years as a journalist. I admired Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, a busy working mother who balanced active public life and motherhood at the same time.
I loved her for the close relationship she had with her husband and how they appeared in public together. They came out to me as an ideal couple, no matter what their differences as a couple. Their family bond looked alluring.
First Lady
I will never forget, as a First Lady, her steady passion for the women of Ghana, especially the hard-working rural women. She is the genre whose name, when talking about women’s empowerment, will live on for a much longer time. Indisputably, she is one of the best hard-working First Ladies our country has had.
I admired her simply as beautiful. I applauded her for the positive outlook, which seemed to come to her effortlessly. I will never forget her love for fashion, her colourful headgears, her slim figure, always mounted on high-heeled shoes that some of us fear for and her ready smiles.
I recall my three face-to-face encounters with her in my active working life. My first meeting with her was in her office when I took some accompanying wives of Unilever Regional bosses to see her at a time when Unilever Ghana was hosting their regional meeting in Ghana. Her confidence, the broad knowledge of the needs of the Ghanaian woman and her total commitment to their well-being were not lost on them.
My second meeting with her was this time in her beautiful home at Ridge, where she received the wife of the overall boss of Unilever PLC when they visited Ghana. Though for a brief period, she had a crush on our visitor. She was visibly impressed with her busyness and commitments as First Lady.
Politician
And the third time we met, it was a face-to-face privilege with the former First Lady, who was then wearing a different hat as a politician on the presidential voting list for the general election of 2016. As General Manager of Today Newspaper, I had sought to interview her for my newspaper.
She told me, when I met her, that she was not granting interviews to anyone but was doing that one because of me. It was an honour for which I thanked her abundantly as she welcomed me that day to her Ridge office.
I discovered her to be a much braver woman. She was not deterred, nor perturbed by the political noises that were going on around her as she sought to contest for the presidential slot as an independent candidate. She wanted to make a point, and she did just that. She wanted to show up for the women of Ghana to see that, despite the bullies and intimidations, our women could step out as well.
I liked her for her outspokenness and focus. She had been there in the throes for the unserved women right from her early years as a young mother with infants. She criss-crossed the countryside to power various 31st December Women’s Movement programmes and projects.
At the forefront of empowering rural and other less-endowed women around her, she gave her best.
I liked her for her pliability. Though older in age than I am, I sometimes wish I had her vibes and energy. She always made me conclude that when one had the mindset, no matter what, moving on came naturally, as it did for her.
Wife and mother
Even after her First Lady role and as President of the 31st December Women’s Movement, and moving on in life as an individual, a wife and a mother, Nana Konadu had my back every day.
When her husband sadly passed on a few years ago, one saw her as very distraught, probably not going to be able to go through her world alone without him. With her bubbly self, however, she was able to pick up the pieces again. It was always admirable to see her inseparable from her children at public functions and events.
So close to their mother all the time, it was as if their late father gave them running instructions to take care of her. And indeed, as a proud mother, she bonded with all of them.
I saw Mrs Agyeman-Rawlings as a real human being, intelligent, devoted, approachable and a great conversationalist.
Her sudden departure is painful, especially when I had seen her face-to-face weeks earlier at the vigil for Nana Kwasi Gyan Apenteng at the Teachers’ Hall. She looked the same adorable lady as she lit her phone to bid farewell to Nana Gyan Apenteng.
Today and so soon, it is our turn to light the candle or phone for her. We join the family, especially the children, pained by her tragic exit, to wish her a peaceful rest from her toils.
Sleep well, Mrs Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, Former First Lady of the Republic of Ghana.
Da yie!
******
The writer can be contacted via email at vickywirekoandoh@yahoo.com
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Source link
