Entertainment of Monday, 3 October 2016

Source: Patrick Fynn

Annica Nsiah-Apau, the woman behind Okyeame Kwame's successful career

Annica Nsiah-Apau Annica Nsiah-Apau

Today’s woman favors the less invasive approaches to life. She patronizes food that cooks in three minutes, a relationship without commitment and a frivolous life that is broadcast on Snapchat.

True womanhood is nearing extinction. The next generation will be tempted to liken virtue to the existence of dinosaurs – both never existed. It is not wholly because we never had noble women, but also because we probably never heard of them.

The personality of wife of Okyeame Kwame, Annica Nsiah-Apau nucleates a befitting definition of what it takes to be an ideal woman. My admiration for her is rooted in respect for her intellect, hospitality and audacity; yet bottled-up in coyness.

In any normal instance, we would compare her to another person of her league – side by side. But this is not a normal instance. Such contrast will lack purpose, because this person in our spot light is one in a million.

Looks – check! Brains – check! Swag – check!

Here is a true picture of Okyeame Kwame's successes: there's an adorable puppet clothed in white with a touch of kente going about with class and receiving honors as ‘Best Rapper Alive’. And there's a puppeteer behind closed doors pulling strings to move this marionette and most importantly building its trademark in the most expensive way.

Her role as the Personal, Business and Brands Manager for the award-winning versatile rapper has been founded on principles that rids his craft (although secular) of the filth, indecency, foul-play, inconsistencies and unprofessionalism. Annica redefines the laws of the game.

Okyeameyere, as I affectionately call her was born to parents who brought up their six children with both a heavy hand and a comforting bosom. She spent her formative years in Akosombo where she started basic education. After completing Osei Kyiretwie Senior High School (OKESS), she was admitted to KNUST where she graduated with a BA. Hons. in Law in 2005.

As a visionary and a selfless woman who envisaged a more successful music career for her husband, she returned in 2009 to pursue a Master’s Degree in Marketing, specializing in Brand Architecture.

At 32, this wife who is also a mother of two can beat her chest and boast of solidifying one of the enviable brands for an artiste in Africa. Annica will go to the moon and back to get things done. Her passion-driven urge to stand out pounds in her heart. You could feel her palpitate it. It's her tell. 'This is a no-brainer', she would scoff.

See how I have avoided the 'behind every successful man...' cliché?

As much as we adore the entertainer, we need to celebrate the big head that is calling the shots. And in the words of a proud husband, 'she does the work and I take the awards '. Kwame's face will beam with extra pride, saying this. But the overly productive boss who insists on keeping a low-profile will deflect the praise to her management team.

What is more stimulating is how she deals with all persons on an equal playing field. When a woman with such influence lives by the code that 'may the best logic win’, it tells of a person whose reverence for others transcends beyond the standards.

She currently is the General Manger for Firm Bridges Communication, a brand architecture firm with special interest in marketing and strategy building.

As a law school graduate, she has practiced as a legal advisor for the Guinness Ghana Brewery Limited and later worked as a legal assistant at the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly. Word on the streets is that her achievements in these capacities remain insurmountable. In 2012-2014, she worked with consumer goods production giant, Unilever Ghana Limited as Employer Brand Specialist.

What women of Annica's caliber bring to a man's table is a feeling of accomplishment. Can we, with one accord, admit she’s that 'psychologist’, ‘economist’, ‘rhymatologist’ in Okyeame Kwame’s 'Faithful' song?

Okyeame Admires Annica, as she flaunts a pretty self Her destiny to become a prolific career woman, a result-oriented leader was non negotiable – for she was an avid reader. The tales told about her insatiable desire to cling to book are both amusing and stunning.

If there’s anything I have earnestly wished for, anything the world has longed for, anything a man will die for, any entrepreneur an organization will want to associate with, a mother Earth has always been envious of, a woman who turns heads, one who exudes modesty from her being… it is a woman like Annica Nsiah-Apau.