‘Women are less likely to steal’ - Okyeame Kwame on backing a woman for president

Ghanaian rapper and activist Kwame Nsiah-Apau, widely known as Okyeame Kwame or the Rap Doctor, has expressed his readiness to support a woman who seeks to become president of Ghana.

Speaking in an interview with Nikki Samonas on Joy Prime, the musician was asked whether he would vote for and campaign for a female presidential candidate if she were contesting against a man.

Okyeame Kwame responded in the affirmative, explaining that he believes women generally demonstrate greater empathy and may be less inclined to misuse public resources.

“If that woman and the man are both equally qualified and they’re equally responsible, I’ll vote for the woman because women usually, not all the time have a bit more empathy and they’re less likely to steal from the state than men,” he said.

He was, however, quick to point out that such a view should not be applied to every woman in leadership, noting that there have been instances where female leaders have also been accused of misusing state resources.

Despite this, the rapper maintained that women possess qualities that could make them effective leaders, particularly their nurturing nature and concern for the welfare of others.

He argued that women tend to place greater importance on people, while men are more likely to focus on material things, a view he attributed to Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson.

Do politicians who steal wear earrings and dreadlocks? - Okyeame Kwame

“…women come with a lot of love, empathy, sympathy, nurture; they have that motherly thing where they care more about people. Men are inclined to care more about things as Jordan Peterson said. So, I think a women president will be dope,” he emphasised.

Okyeame Kwame’s advocacy for women also features prominently in his latest song, Big Up, which pays tribute to women whose efforts have contributed to Ghana’s development but, in his view, have not received adequate recognition.

He said one section of the song specifically mentions five women who played roles in Ghana’s history, including Susanna Al-Hassan, Naa Dedei Ashikishan, Theodosia Okoh, Mabel Danquah and Ama Nkrumah.

“In the third verse of the song ‘Big Up’, I mentioned some five women; Susanna Al-Hassan who was the first female Minister of State in the whole of Africa who also supported Nkrumah during independence, Naa Dedei Ashikishan who was one of the business women in Ghana. Her face is on the 50 pesewas coin; Theodosia Okoh who was an artiste, Mabel Danquah and Ama Nkrumah.

“These women during the struggle for independence, supported. Some of them went to jail, lost their jobs, they had studied and put their hearts behind the struggle for independence and the beginning of Ghana. But I don’t think that these women are celebrated well enough. There are more of them but I mentioned five in my song.”

Beyond celebrating these women through music, Okyeame Kwame believes Ghana should incorporate their stories into the education system and public spaces so that younger generations can learn about their contributions.

He proposed that their achievements be included in Social Studies lessons and examinations, while important streets and public landmarks could also be named after some of them.

“I want to see all of them in Social Studies books, I want students to write exams about them. I want young girls to know that we don’t only have the founding fathers, but there are also founding mothers. I want prominent streets named after some of them. I want them to have their own roundabout; the founding mothers roundabout,” he suggested.

@joyprimetv_ WOW! 😳 @okyeamekwame1 says he’d choose a woman president over a man, arguing that women are “less likely to steal from the state.” Do you agree with him? #changes ♬ original sound - JoyPrimeTV