Kwansema
Kwansema Edith Arthur, 2021 Central Regional representative of Ghana’s Most Beautiful (GMB) has made a historical win after eulogising Komfo Amona, a powerful priestess known to have existed in the mid-13th century, and emerging as the ‘Star Performer’ on Sunday night.
The unsung heroine, Komfo Amona, according to oral tradition, was the brainchild behind the Fante’s migration from Krako – present day Techiman to Oman Kessimu, now Mankessim, and led the three warlords popularly known as Obrumankuma, Oson, and Odapagyan.
According to history, Komfo Amona together with the three fante warlords made the difficult decision to break away from the Bono kingdom after disputes arose over the rightful owner of the Black stool, hence the name “Fa-atsewfo”, meaning those who broke away, now “Fantsefo”.
Kwansema, who dazzled her audience with another captivating performance, stated that due to some endemic cultural perception, we don’t seem to eulogise Komfo Amona and women in general in our Ghanaian settings, saying, Komfo Amona among other great heroines have repurposed the role of women in today’s women empowerment and the amplification of “Women helping fellow women to effect change in society.”
Reacting to her performance, judges Dzigbordi Kwaku-Dosoo and Janet Mills described Kwansema as a great speaker and applauded her for the captivating performance on the unsung heroine Komfo Amona.
She said, “You brought an unsung heroine to life and made us know her. You spoke in frameworks and told the story confidently. Another mark of a great speaker, well done. Komfo Amona brought the spirit of your ancestors to win the star performer for tonight.”
20-year-old Kwansema is a recipient of three prestigious awards including ‘Star Performer’, and ‘Most Eloquent’ award following her sterling performance on the history of the slave trade on the first night of the reality show and subsequently won the ‘Most Eloquent’ for the second time after her dazzling performance on how ‘Edzinto’ the naming ceremony is practiced in her region.
Edith Arthur, known in the competition as Kwansema, is troubled about the wanton display of delinquency in her community. This unfortunate situation has robbed the youth of their future as they are sucked deeper into the abyss. Kwansema wants to be a beacon of hope for the youth by introducing technical and vocational skills training when crowned the winner of this year’s edition.
Kwansema, who hails from Anomabo in the Central Region, is a student at the University of Cape Coast pursuing a Bachelor of Education Science, majoring in Biology.
She loves talking, meditating, exploring, and asking questions. She loves to be seen and heard, so it comes as no surprise that she chose the GMB platform to amplify that voice to encourage the youth to keep pursuing their dreams.
BY Prince Fiifi Yorke