Rebecca Naa Dedei Ayitey: The lady on Ghana’s 50pesewas and an Independence shero

Rebecca Naa Dedei Ayitey was a Ghanaian independence ‘shero’ and just like many other women who helped the Gold Coast attained nation status, they’ve been forgotten in history.

Rebecca Naa Dedei Ayitey (a.k.a. Dedei ASHIKISHAN) is the lady on Ghana’s 50 pesewas coin and the story of how she contributed to Ghana’s independence struggle has sprung up on social media.

READ MORE: https://braperucci.africa/7-sheroes-of-ghanas-independence-you-should-know/

According to historians and official records ascertained by a Facebook user, Abraham Nii Noi, Naa Dedei Ayitey was a Pioneer, Political Activist, Feminist and a Chief Financier of the Convention People’s Party led by Dr Kwame Nkrumah.

Dedei was born Rebecca Dedei Ayitey in 1923 as the first daughter to Ataa Ayite who was from Ga (Asere) and Osu. The father’s mother from Osu was called Ama Richter.  Her mother’s name is unknown but came from Ga.

Dedei grew up in Ga (British Accra) prior to Independence. After her basic education, she went straight into flour business. 

Her name Dedei is a generic Ga name for a 1st born girl. Ashikishan is flour in Ga.   Dedei Ashikishan (DA) was known for her entrepreneurial pursuit as the Queen of the flour business in Accra and by extension the whole country.

By 30, DA was the flour queen in the whole of Accra – wealthy with her huge house in Kokomlemle. It was not shocking that she soon became the Market Mammie of Accra’s Makola market.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dedei_ashikishan(rebecca_naa_dedei_ayeetey).jpg

Aside from her flour business, She was a staunch politician who campaigned relentlessly and funded Nkrumah to win in the Ashiedu Keteke, the nerve centre of the Ga-Dangme Confederacy.  The win was pivotal because if Nkrumah had lost that seat, he would never have become the Prime Minister of Ghana.

By the time Nkrumah was released from jail in 1951, Gbedemah had mobilized the market women as the backbone of CPP in Accra. The leader of the pack was Dedei. The Nkrumaphoria really caught Dedei and she poured MONEY into CPP. As her financial contribution increased so was her influence in the party. 

Her closeness to Nkrumah and the usual rumours made her a target by other political parties and the colonial government.

Naa Dedei, however, had a short life after she died from an alleged poisoning at age 38, however, a post mortem was not conducted to ascertain the real cause of death.

READ MORE: https://braperucci.africa/11-reasons-why-you-need-to-love-ghana/

She accompanied Kwame Nkrumah to a CPP party function in Ho. She was served some tea, after five minutes she started complaining of stomach pains ‘’kaaa fee, ma fee’’ and died. It is said that at her public burial, Ghana’s Prime Minister, Dr Nkrumah was seen crying like a baby in the cemetery. She was single and had no children at the time of her death

A true Nationalist, she campaigned and funded Nkrumah against her own kinsman Odarkwei Obetsebi-Lamptey.  When Harry Sawyerr brought double decker to Accra, they were named Auntie Dedei apparently after her. 

Ghana’s postal system also immortalised her with a postal stamp with her image.

Source: Nii Amu Darko/ Madam Oyoo Quartey

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Sponsor

spot_imgspot_img

Latest

12 of the most stylish looks we saw on the gram this week

Nana Ama Mcbrown, Toke Makinwa, Sarkodie and Ebuka are all in this week's list of stylish celebrities and we can promise you that they killed it.

How #KENCY2020 became Ghana's wedding of the year and lifted the bar

As reported earlier, their Christian wedding was scheduled to take place at the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Faith Congregation, Shiashie amidst pomp and pageantry as we've never seen.

7 places Actress Nikki Samonas has visited on her European trip

Ghanaian Actress and TV Host Nikki Sammonas is living her best life on her current European trip as she tours, eats and serve us some style

You should absolutely try out this simple Kelewele recipe

Kelewele is a very popular feature in the daily lives of Ghanaians and it gets more popular during the nights when vendors come out to sell.

Black Is King: Beyoncé reveals trailer for her new visual album which was co-directed by these two Ghanaian creatives

Global music superstar, Beyoncé has released yet another trailer for her new visual album, Black is King and it features some of Ghana's top creatives.