Faces Of African Heroes – anewtouchofafrica.com
Blessing Okagbare is a Nigerian track and field athlete who specializes in long jumping and short sprints. She is an Olympic and World Championships medalist in the long jump, and a world medalist in the 200 metres. She also holds the Women’s 100 metres Commonwealth Games record for the fastest time at 10.85 seconds. Her 100 m best of 10.79 made her the African record holder for the event until it …
Nzingha Mbande (1583–1663) was Queen of the Ambundu Kingdoms of Ndongo (1624–1663) and Matamba (1631–1663), located in present-day northern Angola. She was born into the ruling family of Ndongo, and she received military and political training as a child, demonstrating an aptitude for defusing political crises as an ambassador to the Portuguese Empire. She later took over the kingdoms after the death of her …
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (born Ellen Eugenia Johnson, 29 October 1938) is a Liberian politician who served as the 24th President of Liberia from 2006 to 2018. Sirleaf was the first elected female head of state in Africa. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was born in Monrovia to a Gola father and Kru-German mother. She was educated at the College of West Africa. She completed her education in the United States, where she …
ELLEN JOHNSON SIRLEAF: Africa’s First Female Head Of State Read More »
Yaa Asantewaa was born in 1840 in Besease by Kwaku Ampoma and Ata Po in southern Ghana, the older of two children. Her brother, Afrane Panin, became the chief of Edweso, a nearby community. After her childhood, she cultivated crops on the land around Boankra. She entered a polygamous marriage with a man from Kumasi, with whom she had a daughter. …
YAA ASANTEWAA: The Queen Mother Of The Ashanti War Read More »
The former two-time Nigerian finance minister and former managing director of World Bank, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, is now the first woman to head World Trade Organization. Her appointment was publicised on Monday as she prepares to officially occupy the office of director-general of the World Trade Organization by March 1 to August 2025. She is …
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Makes Herstory As First Female and African Leader of WTO Read More »
Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti was born in 1900 in Abeokuta, present-day Ogun State, Nigeria. She was one of the first women to attend Abeokuta Grammar School in 1914, where she would go on to teach. In 1919 she left for Wincham Hall School for Girls, Cheshire, England, to pursue her studies. By the time of her return …
FUNMILAYO RANSOME-KUTI: The Beacon Of Feminism In Nigerian History Read More »
Hammed Kayode Alabi is a recognized African social entrepreneur from Nigeria, and a former regional manager at Peace First Organization. As a regional manager for Peace First, Kayode Alabi has supported over 1300 projects in over 30 Sub-Saharan African countries impacting the lives of 60,000 young people including other beneficiaries. He is creating opportunities for …
KAYODE ALABI: The Hand Sketching African Whiz Kids for the Future. Read More »
One of the many great figures that fought against the apartheid system in South Africa and advocated for black consciousness, was Miriam Makeba. At a young age, Miriam Makeba discovered the power of music and was able to wield it as a weapon using her voice to pierce injustic, and becoming one of the most …
Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo, known as Angélique Kidjo, born July 14, 1960, is a Beninese singer-songwriter, actress, and activist who is noted for her diverse musical influences and creative music videos. In 2007, Time magazine called her “Africa’s premier diva”. ANGELIQUE KIDJO: BACKGROUND Kidjo was born into a family of performing artists. Her father was …
Hi there! It’s Thursday today, and you are about to be served your weekly dose of Nostalgia! Today’s feature is about a Nigerian legend in the person of Fela Kuti, who on the 21st of January, 1993 (which so happens to have been a Thursday), was arrested on suspicion of murder. Read on to catch …
NOSTALGIA: 28 Years Ago Today, Fela Kuti Was Arrested On Suspicion Of Murder Read More »
