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If indeed it is true that behind every successful man there is a woman, then it stands to reason that behind every successful president, there is a First Lady. Apart from Nana Konadu Agyemang-Rawlings, who was in the limelight for close to two decades and strutted the land with zeal, the rest had it very quiet. In fact, we never referred to some of them as First Ladies. They played their roles behind the scenes and guided their husbands like the way a mother guides her children. When Dr. Kwame Nkrumah returned from his sojourn in Philadelphia to take part in the struggle for independence, he was a spinster. After the formation of the Convention Peoples Party, the Osagyefo saw the need to get married. As we all kept contemplating who the lucky lady would be, the man flew to Egypt and married that beautiful girl called Fathia. Instead of being jealous, Ghanaian women were rather happy that at long last the man they all admired was married to a white lady. They showered praises on the Osagyefo and even coined the accolade that �Nkrumah deserved to get Fathia� (Fathia fata Nkrumah). A certain cloth was named after the lady. Anytime this beautiful lady appeared in public, Ghanaians could not help but rush to wherever she sat to take a closer look at her. She never spoke in public as she worked tirelessly behind the scene to help her husband rule the nation. She closed her ears to all the lies told about her husband and rather concentrated on her household activities. We never saw her with her first born child Gorkeh Nkrumah until she appeared at one of the Independence Day celebrations with the boy. On that day, people who were at the ceremony for the first time turned their eyes from the Osagyefo and rather focused on the little boy on the lap of the Egyptian lady. When Dr. Nkrumah was overthrown in 1966, she flew to Egypt. The sad story of this lady was that she never set eyes on Dr. Kwame Nkrumah before he died, six years after his removal from office. They only exchanged letters regularly. When newsmen asked her how she felt about her long separation, Madame Fathia said that though she felt lonely, she did not feel it all that much because while she was in Ghana, her husband was so busy and always reading and writing that they did not see much of each other. Even though the Osagyefo was made co-president in Guinea where he was adored, he did not take his wife and children to stay with him in Guinea. It was the late General Kutu Acheampong who brought the lady back to Ghana when her husband died. The General went ahead to build her a house so that she could live in Ghana since she was the First Lady of this nation. Sadly, she had to pack bag and baggage to leave the shores of Ghana one more time because she could not cope with the lies told about her husband. When she fell ill, President Kufuor visited her in Egypt and offered to pay her medical bills. Apart from these two former heads of state, none of the former Heads of State saw it fit to honour this lady. No wonder when some time ago her eldest son, Gorkeh, was asked whether he would enter the politics of Ghana, he answered in the negative, saying Ghanaians politics was petty. The wife of General Ankrah was not in the limelight because her husband did not rule long enough for us to see her in action. General Ankrah was removed from power when he was caught up in a bribery scandal. He was accused of collecting from expatriate firms, monies for building political funds. Christine Afrifa, the wife of Okatakyie Akwasi Amankwaa Afrifa was rarely seen in public. It was after her husband was murdered when he was not in power that we heard of her. She was so bitter that during the internment of her husband at Krobo, near Mampong in the Ashanti region, she cursed those who murdered her dear husband. She told mourners that those who spearheaded the murder of her husband would forever live with disturbed consciences. She has since been quiet, nursing the pain in her heart. After all, how can you mend a broken heart? In the face of the numerous intimidations of Prof. Busia by the Nkrumah regime and the threat to his life, Madam Naa Morko Busia remained resolute. She did not waver in anyway. In exile with her husband and children, she stayed focused and oversaw the education of her children, who are now assets to the country as a whole. Naa Morko Busia was a role model for the ladies of Ghana. She carried herself in such a dignified manner that like her husband, she was admired by everybody. For the two years that her husband ruled the nation, nobody could put his or her hand in the fire and say Naa Morko Busia offended him or her. She was the unassuming type and concentrated on the education of her children, some of whom are professors like their father. It is very unfortunate that when she died recently, she was not given a state burial. Not a single monument is named after this Ga lady. If there was any First Lady who was loved by Ghanaian women, that lady was Faustina Acheampong. She was a nurse who was so compassionate that anytime soldiers who plotted coups against her husband were arrested, tried and condemned to death, it was said that she would wake her husband up deep in the night and plead with him to spare the lives of the coup plotters. True to that, all those who were condemned to death during the Acheampong regime were pardoned. As fate might have it, when Acheampong was marched to the gallows to be shot like a common criminal at the Teshie Military Range, there was nobody to plead for him like Fausty pleaded for others. I learnt that out of trauma, one of the sons of Gen. Acheampong who could not stand the heat in the kitchen has gone mad. Meanwhile, ever since her husband was murdered, Fausty has remained quiet, minding her own business. All the good works of her husband like the Operation Feed Yourself, Operation Feed the Factory, Backyard Gardening and the rest have been thrown to the dogs. Her silence could be a curse to the nation if something is not done to compensate her. I could not hide my joy when I saw the picture of the late Dr. Hilla Limann�s wife, Madam Fulera Limann in one of the newspapers recently. This particular First Lady was the quiet type and she was seldom heard speaking in public. Like Madam Fathia Nkrumah, this lady was reserved and helped her husband behind the scenes. She is not the type of woman who complains. Even when her husband was unjustifiably removed from power, she still remained quiet and stayed with her husband at the same modest quarters at Nungua. Fulera is a strong character. The PNDC tried desperately to kill the spirit of Fulera and her husband when the man was removed from power but she stayed resolute and strong. Even though Limann did not receive any ex-gratia, Fulera did her best to feed the family till the man died a pauper. I still wonder how they were able to educate their children, considering the fact that Limann was unemployed throughout the years that he was overthrown without any benefit. She deserves recognition and maybe some sort of compensation for the neglect. Enters Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings. For the 19 years that her husband was in power, she stood up like colossus to take her place as the First Lady of Ghana. She redefined the role of First Ladies. It was she who single handedly organized Ghanaian women to form the 31st December Women�s Movement. The movement supported the cause of the revolution and introduced Ghanaian women to self reliance. This woman was the only First Lady who was so popular among the populace that any new visitor to Ghana might have thought she was a co-president. Probably it was all because her husband ruled the country for nearly four decades. Among the former First Ladies, Madam Konadu is the only one who traveled extensively across the length and breadth of the world. Politically, she is the most experienced. She also went through the mill as far as the politics of Ghana is concerned. She was able to endure the pain, fear, trauma and threat during the reign of her husband as a military ruler who faced more than thirty Coup d��tats. Madam Theresa Kufuor will go down in history as a former First Lady who carried her dignity so well in the course of her husband�s reign that none in the land had cause to disrespect her. Even when the husband came under attack by his political enemies, Maa Tess stayed calm and mild. She too was a nurse who would forever be remembered for her huge heart. She possesses the most charming smile that could cool the heart of the wickedest man on earth. She had no cause to wear a frown no matter the pain that she went through. She refused to be drawn into any dirty politics as she went about her duties as the First Lady of Ghana. She must be honoured while she is still alive and kicking. The only living former Second Lady is Hajia Ramatu Mahama, the wife of the immediate past Veep of Ghana. Her case is unique because she also happens to be the only Muslim lady to reach this height in life. Coming from the Zongo, Hajia Ramatu will go down in history as a woman who carried herself so well that apart from speeches she delivered when her husband was the Veep, she kept her cool. Her captivating smile caught the attention of Ghanaians as she followed her husband to functions. She seems and that shyness forced people to be shy before her. Our ladies in the Zongo will forever be grateful to their sister, who did not bring the name of Zongo women into disrepute through misguided zeal and uncouth manners when she was the number two lady of the nation. Indeed, her performance as the Second Lady of this nation has brought honour to our ladies from the Zongos. Hajia Ramatu, a professional teacher, will forever be remembered for her dress comportment. How I wish our Zongo girls will copy this lady and stop the type of dressing that exposes their nudity because a Zongo lady or a Muslim lady for that matter is supposed to be an epitome of virtue. Naadu Mills is still on the job and so it will be unfair to assess her. In no time, she will also join the Club of Former First Ladies of Ghana. That would be when yours sincerely will write about her. Naadu Mills, like her husband, should also seize the moment to honour these ladies before she joins the Club, where she will be treated as a fresher. The time has come for us to honour these ladies while they still live, rather than wait for them to die before we shower praises on them.