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Peter Nkansah Wiafe: Fashioning inclusivity with creativity and purpose
For Peter Nkansah Wiafe, fashion is more than fabric, thread, and stitches. It is a calling to solve problems and make a difference.
Over the past four years, the young Ghanaian designer has been using his creative skills not only to build a thriving career but also to touch the lives of people often overlooked by mainstream society.
Through his flagship initiative, Fashion for Special People, Peter has dedicated himself to designing clothes and creating inclusive fashion experiences for children and young people with special needs, including students from schools for the Deaf and the Blind.
In an interview with The Spectator in Accra New Town, on Monday, he was of the view that fashion is not just about beauty, glamour, or trends; it is a basic human necessity, just as important as food.
“Without designers, we are nothing,” he says with conviction. “Everyone wears clothes every day, and everyone deserves to feel good in what they wear. These children deserve that dignity, too.”
Fashion for special people started as a simple idea and as a tool to bring joy, confidence, and empowerment to children with disabilities.
It began as annual visits to the Dzorwulu Special School to design clothes and stage mini fashion shows. It has grown into a broader movement.
Beyond creating garments, Peter and his team also teach basic skills such as modeling, hand-weaving, and introductory sewing. “We don’t just dress them,” he explains.
“Modeling helps them gain confidence. Hand-weaving and sewing give them practical knowledge. It is about inclusion, empowerment, and proving that they are capable.”
The initiative has been running consistently for four years. This November, it will extend to the Akropong School for the Blind.
“The first time we went to take their measurements, I was amazed, “they walked confidently by following sound. Watching them was inspiring. I can’t wait to see them on the runway, and I believe the audience will be just as inspired,” he said.
Roots and education
Peter’s passion is rooted in his upbringing. Born into a family of six, he is the second child, of four children. He completed St. Peter’s Junior High School in 2004 and St. Peter’s Secondary School in 2007 before pursuing Sales and Marketing Management at Ho Technical University between 2010 and 2013.
After national service in 2014, he worked at Assemblies of God Printing Press and later in insurance, building a career in sales.
On paper, nothing in his educational journey pointed toward fashion. But his inspiration had been quietly growing since childhood.
This early influence deepened during his nine years as a professional model. While studying at Ho Technical University, he modeled for the fashion department and was often backstage watching designers bring creations to life.
Later, he joined professional modelling agencies, walking runways for numerous designers and gaining exposure at major shows such as Glitz Fashion Week and Global Fashion Week.
Training and transition
In 2020, Peter enrolled at Riohs College of Design for a six-month fashion course.
It was a turning point. Balancing his corporate job with evening classes was difficult, so he resigned to fully commit.
After completing his course, he was invited back as an assistant instructor. Within a year, he was promoted to full instructor, and today he serves as Head of Instructors, mentoring aspiring designers and shaping the next generation of fashion talent.
Among his career highlights, Peter’s graduation collection was selected out of 150 students for the runway at Glitz Africa Fashion Week, one of the continent’s premier fashion events.
Since then, he has showcased his collections at multiple platforms, steadily building his reputation in the industry.
Truly Black
Peter’s brand, Truly Black, carries deep personal meaning. During his modelling career, he was nicknamed “Nana Black” because of his rich dark complexion.
“I am proudly African and proudly Black. My complexion, my heritage, it’s all part of who I am. That’s why I chose Truly Black as my brand name. It celebrates authenticity and strength.”
Challenges and resilience
Like many social projects, Fashion for Special People faces significant challenges, especially funding. Sponsorships are difficult to secure, leaving Peter to rely largely on personal resources and the goodwill of fellow designers he has trained or worked with.
He stressed the importance of collaboration. “I can’t do this alone. That is why I reach out to other designers, and thankfully, many have been willing to help.”
Vision
Looking ahead, Peter hopes to expand Fashion for Special People into a larger non-governmental organisation that reaches more communities across Ghana.
His dream is to create a sustainable model that combines fashion education, skills training, and empowerment for people with disabilities.
For Peter Nkansah Wiafe, fashion is not just a career, it is a language of empowerment, dignity, and transformation.
By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu
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For Ms Fafa Gozo, being alive is a blessing she no longer takes for granted. Having faced breast cancer and endured the challenges of treatment, she has learnt to appreciate life differently, embrace change and find strength in an experience she once feared would end her life.
“If you ask me how to describe my life today, I would say well, because I am alive,” she said.
Although her life is no longer the same as it was before her diagnosis, she is grateful for the opportunity to live and make the most of each day.
Before breast cancer, Ms Gozo described herself as a happy woman who balanced her responsibilities as a mother, wife and career woman. However, her life changed when she discovered a lump in her breast while breastfeeding her youngest child.
She sought medical attention, and further examinations led to a diagnosis of invasive breast cancer. The news was difficult to accept, particularly as she had a young child and family responsibilities to consider.
Chemotherapy began almost immediately. The treatment weakened her body, and she had to return to the hospital for further care.
Beyond medication, she needed emotional strength to cope with the physical and psychological demands of the experience. Nevertheless, she continued with treatment, drawing strength from her faith and determination to live.
May 2022 marked the end of her chemotherapy, bringing relief after months of treatment. In June, she began another phase of her journey, focusing on recovery and rebuilding her life.
Healing was gradual, requiring physical and emotional adjustments. Just when she thought the worst was over, another health concern arose; bringing renewed anxiety and the need for further medical attention.
The experience taught her that recovery does not always follow a straight path. It requires patience, courage and the willingness to face uncertainty.
Despite the difficulties, Ms Gozo has chosen to embrace the woman she has become rather than dwell on what she has lost.
“The old Fafa is gone, but I am loving the new Fafa. I appreciate the new Fafa more and take life easy because now I know life is very short and very vulnerable. Everyone is at risk,” she said. Read More.
By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu
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From Doryumu to two Bars: The remarkable journey of Lawyer Nyarkotey Obu
From the quiet communities of Doryumu and Dodowa in the Shai-Osudoku area of Greater Accra to courtrooms in two West African countries, Lawyer Raphael Nyarkotey Obu’s story is one of unusual professional reinvention. 
On Friday, October 9, 2026, the naturopathic scholar was called to the Ghana Bar, following his earlier admission to the Bar in The Gambia in November 2024.
The milestone places him in a pioneering position. He has been reported as the first African naturopath to qualify as a lawyer in two West African countries—an achievement that combines natural medicine, academic leadership and legal training in a way rarely seen on the continent.
Beyond the ceremonial wig and gown, however, lies a larger question: how will he use the law to improve the regulation of traditional, complementary and alternative medicine (TCAM) in Africa?
The early journey
Nyarkotey traces his roots to Doryumu in the Shai-Osudoku district. Part of his childhood was spent with his grandmother in the Suhum-Amrahia area, before his family journey took him to Teshie Lascala, where he began his basic education.
He later attended Ghanata Secondary School, Dodowa. These formative experiences preceded a career that would take him from classrooms in Ghana to professional legal training in Banjul and clinical and academic engagements in Asia.
Those beginnings matter because his achievements did not emerge from a single, straightforward professional path. He first built a name in Ghana’s developing natural medicine sector as an educator, researcher, author and advocate for stronger standards.
Education and difficult questions
That conviction informed the establishment and development of Nyarkotey College of Holistic Medicine in Ashaiman. The institution pursued structured professional education and competency-based training, including work connected to national occupational standards for naturopathy and holistic medicine.
Yet its growth brought the challenge familiar to emerging health professions: educational ambitions can advance faster than the laws governing those who complete the training.
The College faced questions within Ghana’s tertiary education regulatory environment, while Nyarkotey also became involved in a public dispute with the Traditional Medicine Practice Council (TMPC).
At the centre was disagreement over the reach of the Traditional Medicine Practice Act, 2000 (Act 575), and its application to naturopathy and other complementary and alternative medicine disciplines. The dispute entered the courts, where the interpretation of statutory authority remains a matter for legal determination.
Why he studied law
It was against this backdrop that law became increasingly central to his work. After obtaining his law degree, Nyarkotey proceeded to the Gambia Law School and was called to the Gambian Bar in November 2024. He subsequently completed the route to admission in Ghana, culminating in the October 2026 ceremony. The second Bar call gives his professional story an especially Ghanaian significance: the legal questions that shaped his ambitions can now be addressed with the benefit of Ghanaian legal qualification.
The distinction is noteworthy, but he regards it as a means rather than an end. His interest is not simply in representing individual practitioners. He wants to contribute to laws that separate legitimate professional training from unsupported claims, define safe scopes of practice, provide fair disciplinary processes and protect patients. The objective, he argues, should be regulation that is firm, clear and suitable for Africa’s diverse healthcare landscape.
India and a wider horizon
In August 2026, Nyarkotey led 16 Ghanaian naturopaths to India for clinical immersion at Arujiva Ayurveda and Naturopathy Hospital in Karnataka. Their exposure included Ayurveda, yoga, naturopathy, nutrition and lifestyle-based care.
Subsequent interactions with Indian universities and professional institutions widened the educational exchange. For him, the visit offered a practical view of how training, research, hospitals and public policy can interact within established traditional medicine systems.
India also supplied a lesson in patience. Nyarkotey recalls being told by an Indian colleague that gaining recognition for an educational institution can involve years of persistence. He drew from that conversation a renewed commitment to documentation, programme quality, clinical preparation and continued regulatory engagement. 
QAI partnership and standards
A recent development is the College’s Memorandum of Understanding with India’s Quality and Accreditation Institute (QAI). The partnership is intended to support quality assurance, curriculum improvement and professional development across naturopathy and related complementary medicine disciplines. It marks a shift from pursuing recognition principally through advocacy towards building systems that can be independently assessed.
For Nyarkotey, the agreement offers a platform for developing that quality culture while respecting the jurisdiction of Ghana’s own educational and professional regulators.
An African professional agenda
His thinking has also become continental. In March 2026, representatives associated with naturopathy from 11 African countries established the African Naturopathic Federation, with Nyarkotey as founding president.
The Federation seeks to advance professional education, research, ethics and cooperation. Its potential lies in helping African countries discuss common training benchmarks while allowing each country’s laws, institutions and healthcare needs to shape implementation.
Nyarkotey is additionally promoting an India–Africa AYUSH Centre for Education, Research and Regulatory Cooperation. The proposed platform would connect African institutions and policymakers with Indian expertise, not only in training and clinical exposure but also in standards, research and responsible investment.
He believes African traditional knowledge and India’s institutional experience can form a productive partnership without either being treated as a substitute for scientific scrutiny or patient safety.
A law firm with a specialised mission
Perhaps his most distinctive future plan is a law firm devoted substantially to TCAM and healthcare regulation. He envisages advising governments, professional bodies, colleges, hospitals, clinics and businesses on legislation, registration, licensing, contracts, institutional compliance, patient rights and professional accountability.
He also hopes to assist African countries seeking to draft or modernise legal frameworks for traditional, complementary and alternative medicine.
That ambition follows naturally from his own encounters with overlapping institutions and contested regulatory mandates. More coherent frameworks could clarify which authority regulates practitioners, which oversees academic qualifications and which controls medicinal products.
Such separation would help protect the public while creating lawful pathways for properly trained professionals. Any reform, however, will require consultation with health authorities, patients, conventional medical professionals and complementary medicine stakeholders.
An achievement and a responsibility
Nyarkotey’s story is not free of controversy. His positions on regulation have attracted criticism, and his institution has faced scrutiny. A balanced assessment must recognise those disputes without allowing them to erase the work he has undertaken.
Nor should international partnerships, professorial titles or two Bar calls be mistaken for proof that every proposal is sound. His legacy will depend on the standards he helps establish and the results they produce.
From Doryumu, Dodowa, Suhum-Amrahia and Teshie Lascala to Ghanata Secondary School, Banjul, India and the Ghana Bar, the arc of his journey is striking.
Yet its next chapter may matter more than its earlier honours. If his legal training helps African countries adopt workable TCAM legislation, if his educational partnerships deliver measurable quality, and if his proposed specialist practice contributes to patient protection, the impact will extend far beyond one individual.
The first African naturopath to have qualified as a lawyer in two West African countries now faces a larger professional assignment: turning a remarkable personal achievement into durable legal and educational progress for natural medicine across Africa.
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