Taking a walk
through Konadu’s garden
Imagining life as
Mrs Rawlings
It’s
easy to condemn people for what they do if you’ve not been in their shoes. But it’s
not easy to be in another person’s shoes because shoes are tricky things.
Ladies’ shoes are the worst; uncomfortable, wicked-heeled and not very
sensible. But I feel competent to imagine life as Mrs Rawlings. Why? I love
flamboyant headgears. They cover up my usually unkempt nappy hair. Without a
doubt, fine headgears turn the African woman’s head into a gorgeous crown of
glory; a visible halo.
History versus her-story:
The
word history originated from the history of men (his-story) because it’s a
man’s world. Men control the resources of society. Women give nurturing and
support. When in the right environment and given the right opportunities, women
can fully enjoy the fruits of their labour. The story of women should be called
her-story. Women have stories too – lots of stories. Mrs Nana Ko-na-du Agye-man
Rawlings has one of the most fascinating stories of womanhood in Ghana. Some of
us love to hate her, but that is neither here nor there.
At
the birth of Ghana, a young Egyptian woman, Fathia, was shipped off to get
married to our first President, the self-styled and charismatic Osagyefo Dr
Kwame Nkrumah, in his super-sized visionary ambition to unite Africa. After
getting over the initial pain of being side-lined by the handsome Nkrumah for
an almost white-woman from the River Nile region of Africa, Ghanaian women,
especially the market women, fell in love with Fathia. They sang and danced to
her glory, composed songs to confirm her as good for Nkrumah and spread out
their cover cloth on the streets for her car to drive over. Today, she lays in
her husband’s plush grave in Accra.
The
parallel ends there. Fathia was for Nkrumah. But Konadu is not just for
Rawlings. From the definition of her name by her beloved hubby earlier this
week, Ko-na-du is for Ghana! Her name is supposed to mean that she must push on
and fight to redeem her destiny – her NDC and by that, her country. That may be
the problem.
Power lives on:
Let’s
face it, Nana Konadu has poo-pood and pee-peed on sexism and machismo in Ghana
like no other. She has given expression to the word bold in ways that tempts
one to re-check the meaning of bold. In our culture, bold is not feminine; it’s
masculine. The story of Yaa Asantewa is one of the most important folklores
because her-story is predicated on bold. The synonyms of bold include brave, daring,
courageous, audacious, gallant, valiant, unflinching, confident, brash, forward,
self-assured, impudent and cheeky. A key antonym of bold is timid. We raise our
girls to be timid! I’m timid!
From
my knowledge of Ghana’s history (and her-story), no other woman – living or
dead, has ever had half the clout (no, fraction!) Konadu has enjoyed. For 19½
years until 2001 – the chunk of the lifespan of Ghana as an independent
country, Ko-na-du was a co-president of some sort with her Flight Lieutenant
Rawlings hubby. She had unhindered access to power. She lived in the house of
power, slept in the bedroom (no, bed!) of power. Yea, she was power.
So
for much of two decades of Ghana’s 43-year existence, Konadu was an entrenched
part of the country’s political system – yea, she became the system. She formed
(or was crowned the founder!) of the 31st December Women’s Movement
(DWM) that marked its 30 years of existence this week. Madam was not just the 1st
Lady. Her DWM was like a government unto itself.
Stories
abound about her regarding not just being bold, courageous, audacious, gallant,
valiant, unflinching, confident, but for displaying acts of impudence and
cheekiness. But then, that’s the name of the game – of power, that is. Absolute
power corrupts absolutely. She operated in a world of autocracy and had a
unique chance to evolve from the timidity of your typical Ghanaian female into
a woman of power who was not simply admired, but feared and hated. She used her
unrestrained power privilege to organize and embolden women, whip up their
confidence while bringing to the surface the not–then-talked-about thorny
issues of machismo, child rights and women’s rights.
How
do you push a cork back into a wine bottle? Tough. And that’s the problem.
After she had been adored and feared for decades, somehow, we expect Konadu to
vanish into the background of history? She can’t. And that’s the problem.
Konadu has an unfulfilled urge to self-actualize – to become something beyond
her present self. But instead of an opportunity for self-actualization, she now
carries a deep hurt of pride in her heart and soul.
The
NDC did not manage her-story well throughout the FONKAR games that crested at
the Sunyani Congress. There, she was publicly ridiculed beyond description. At
that Congress, the former law Professor who should have known better, brandished
his wife about as Dr Mrs Naadu Mills, a title she had not appropriately earned.
(She gave a speech at a low-cost small college in Connecticut, USA.) If I were
in Konadu’s shoes, my estrogen would have erupted.
Prez
Mills should have handled the Konadu mystique better. He should have learned
lessons from USA’s Prez Barack Obama who appointed his nemesis, former First
Lady Hilary Clinton, as US Secretary of State (Minister of Foreign Affairs) and
the voice and face of America to th world. Methinks Nana Konadu Agyeman
Rawlings would have made an excellent Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Mills
administration. Hilary is an outstanding US Secretary of State. She is shining
so much on the international scene. She enjoys herself and is representing
America superbly.
I
can vividly see in my mind’s eye an image of Konadu playing a similar role for
Ghana, carrying the position on a high horse. Konadu has the finesse for such a
position. She would have enjoyed it so much and represented Ghana superbly.
Madam oh, Madam! Even if you dislike Konadu, you can’t deny that she’s got
game! Many of us women don’t have a clue on how to be ambitious and chase after
what we want. Konadu definitely does! She was thrust into the limelight with a
‘Daavi’ hair-cut and metamorphosed into a fashion icon who became the limelight
and power-base.
Why
didn’t President Mills give the former First Lady such a high-ranking
appointment to strategically kill two mighty birds with one stone? First, this
would have increased the number of women in his administration (as he promised
to do, but has failed woefully!). Secondly, Madam would have been too busy to
eye his presidential seat. Well, President Mills, you missed the opportunity.
Ouch!
Now,
she has too much time on her hands to play mischief with the umbrella, the
emblem of the NDC! This is a sticky problem.
If
I were in Konadu’s shoes and nurturing a deep hurt, would I have gone to this
extent to scheme to disrupt the NDC? Theoretically speaking, I don’t think so.
My conscience would have been pierced and I would have timidly evaporated from
the scene to nurture my hurt until death. But then, I’ve never laid in the bed of
power so I’m probably not that qualified to step into Konadu’s shoes. This plot
will continue to thicken. And, we’ll watch with fascination as the band plays
on.
The WatchWoman Column
Published in the Spectator newspaper on 19th May, 2012
Doris Yaa Dartey, Ph.D.
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