Theodosia Salome Okoh was a Ghanaian teacher born on 13 June 1922 who was an artist known for designing Ghana’s national flag in 1957.
She exhibited her artwork internationally and also played a leading role in the development of hockey in Ghana.
Early years and education
She was born as Theodosia Salome Abena Kumea Asihene at Effiduase to the Very Reverend Emmanuel Victor Asihene, a former moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, and Madam Dora Asihene, both from Anum in the Asuogyaman District of Ghana’s Eastern Region.
She was the fourth of eight children. She had the opportunity to travel around Ghana and abroad with her father.
She started school at Ashanti Efiduasi Primary School, continued to the Basel Mission Middle, Senior and Teacher Training Schools at Agogo and then to Achimota School where she received three years of training in Fine Art.
Mrs Okoh trained as a teacher and was posted to teach at Kukurantumi, upon completion of her course.
While teaching, Madam Okoh won a scholarship to study at the Achimota College Art School in 1942.
In 1949, she got married to Mr Enoch Kwabena Okoh who worked at the Colonial Secretary’s office and the couple had three children.
She had the unique experience of being invited to prepare a dinner at the Flagstaff House for Queen Elizabeth II in 1961.
Career
When on Ghana’s Independence from Britain the need for a new flag was advertised and she submitted her design, which was adopted as the national flag of Ghana by the country’s first president Kwame Nkrumah on 6 March 1957.
As she explained in an interview: “I decided on the three colours of red, gold and green because of the geography of Ghana. Ghana lies in the tropics and [is] blessed with rich vegetation. The colour Gold was influenced by the mineral-rich nature of our lands and Red commemorates those who died or worked for the country’s independence. Then the five-pointed lone star which is the symbol of African emancipation and unity in the struggle against colonialism.”
Theodosia Okoh was the first female chairman of the Ghana Hockey Association and later President of the Ghana Hockey Federation for more than 20 years, and it was during her tenure that Ghana first qualified for both the Hockey World Cup and the Olympic Games.
She was named “the Joan of Arc of Ghana hockey” by Ohene Djan “because she rose to the occasion to save Ghana hockey when men were faltering and vacillating about the development of the game. This is also the reason why the National Hockey Stadium was named after her in 2004”. She was a long-time patron of the Sports Writers Association of Ghana.
Personal life
She was married to Enoch Kwabena Okoh, Head of Civil Service in the Kwame Nkrumah regime in the 1960s, and had three children: E. Kwasi Okoh, Stanley Kwame Okoh and Theodosia Amma Jones-Quartey.
Awards
Theodosia Okoh was awarded the Grand Medal (GM) by the nation, and a number of awards from other institutions in the country. She received a citation from the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation and the National Sports Awards in 2004, as well as an award from the Sports Writers Association of Ghana and an award from the TV Africa series Obaa Mbo.
Legacy
Theodosia Salome Okoh was the first female chairman of the Ghana Hockey Association and later President of the Ghana Hockey Federation for more than 20 years, and it was during her tenure that Ghana first qualified for both the Hockey World Cup and the Olympic Games.
The Accra hockey pitch is named after her in recognition of her contribution to the game, and in 2013 a resolution was overturned to rename the Theodosia Okoh Hockey Stadium.
The Asuogyaman District Assembly in the Eastern Region has erected a bust in her honour at Anum, her hometown.
Okoh’s grandson, animator/director Ian Jones-Quartey, based the character Nanefua Pizza in the Cartoon Network animated show Steven Universe on her.
Late-life experience
Before her death, she lamented over the change of the National Hockey Pitch from her name (to John Evans Atta Mills National Hockey Stadium) while she was still alive.
