The old adage that says behind every successful man is a woman has been proven true in the life of Ghana’s 10th President, John Agyekum Kufuor, who had a more than one woman in his life.
I know what you are thinking but no, ex-President John Agyekum Kufuor did not have two wives. The first woman in his life was his beloved mother, Nana Ama Dapaah Kufuor who was a respected queen mother.
The late Nana Ama Dapaah Kufuor was a formidable woman, highly independent and wealthy individual who chose to live life on her own terms, and had ten children with four different men, with ex-President John Agyekum Kufuor being one of the products from her third marriage.
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.
The former President indicated that his late mother wedded four powerful men, most of whom were involved in politics, and that largely shaped their upbringing, resulting in their political pursuit.
“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.”
Because Nana Ama Dapaah Kufuor was financially independent, she was able to leave her marriages at any time of her choosing.
“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.
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.
Watch video:
