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Rising above the cerebral palsy stigma – Nii Anyetei’s story
Nii Anyetei
He was diagnosed with jaundice at birth which later developed into cerebral palsy, but that did not stop him from finding success despite the challenges he encountered growing up.
Cerebral palsy is a group of disorders that affect a person’s ability to move and maintain balance and posture. It is most common motor disability in childhood.
Born in 1990, 33-year-old Nii Anyetei Akogyeram was a victim of stigmatisation from friends and mates at school with some calling him with names like ‘saliva boy’, ‘snake worms’ and other weird names which often provoked him.
With the help of the late Dr W.Y Anoff, who nicknamed him Professor and helped him with his speech therapy, Nii Anyetei refused to let his disability affect his education and career.
He currently holds a Diploma in Software Engineering from IPMC and now works with KFC, North Industrial Area branch as a Surveillance Officer.
Speaking to The Spectator on Monday, Nii Anyetei said, he did not attend a special school based on the advice of his doctor. He had his nursery and kindergarten education at Super Day school in Cantonment and was one of the best pupils in the school.
After completing his nursery and kindergarten education, his parents enrolled him in Mother Care school at East Cantonment close to the Airforce Officer’s Mess where he had his primary education.
“At my primary school I had enough love and care from my teachers and classmates even though other children in the school were scared of me because of my condition,” he said.
He later left Mother Care in class six and continued at the Air Force Basic School in Burma Camp where “I had much fun,” and was appointed a general overseer of the school. He said when writing the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in 2006, the school had to request for extra time so he could finish all his papers due to his condition.
He wrote the papers and passed with flying colours. He attended Armed Forces Senior High School and offered General Arts. “I failed my papers three years later and had to stay home for four years,” he said. His father later took him to M&J computer institute in Labone in 2012 where he became the best student in class and later assisted the lecturer in teaching other students
He passed his final paper and started working at Kenthouse Security Company as a controller and was later moved to administration. In 2015, he enrolled at IPMC where he later obtained a Professional Diploma in Software Engineering and Programming but could not cope with both work and school so he resigned from work.
Nii Anyetei said he loves sports and adventure, so at his leisure time he either plays football or basketball, swims as well as go for camping. He is a Christian and a member of the Prince Emmanuel Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Church, at Ring Road.
He said in order to help curb the plastic menace, he and his friends make slippers and other products from plastics. “I am also an advocate for cerebral palsy because people with the condition are stigmatised, so I came up with a campaign to reduce it, or possibly end stigmatisation in the world,” he said.
Nii Anyetei is the founder of Cerebral Palsy Awareness Ghana, an organisation which seeks to create awareness, educate and help reduce stigmatisation of the condition.
“I want to help people with disability especially cerebral palsy, this is my burning desire,” he added. Touching on the country’s educational system with regards to inclusivity, he described it as very poor when it comes to persons with disability.
He explained that some head teachers refused to register children with disability for the BECE saying the only option for parents was to register their wards privately.
Nii Anyetei said, people with disability needed assistive devices for their education as most of them did not have good handwriting which affected them negatively in the examination.
“Due to my bad handwriting, I was not able to pass my examination, because the examiners could not see what I had written,” he revealed.
He, therefore, urges the government and the Ghana Education Service to provide persons with disability with assistive devices.
“It is needed, it’s going to be very useful because we can’t use our hands to write well,” he stressed. Nii Anyetei dreams of having a family of his own in the near future.
By Jemima Esinam Kuatsinu
Massive celebrations were recorded countrywide as the Black Stars opened their 2026 World Cup campaign with a 1-0 victory over Panama in Toronto on Wednesday.
Midfielder Caleb Yirenkyi scored the only goal of the match late in the game as he shot in a decent cross from substitute Brandon Asante.
The win gave Ghana a positive start in the competition, placing them in second position behind England, also with three points but with a superior goal aggregate.
After the final whistle, the streets and other viewing centres were turned into partying grounds as fans, mostly clad in the team’s paraphernalia, danced to several World Cup-themed music.
Others blew the vuvuzelas in joyous mood with others putting up a spirited ‘jama’ session.
Former New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate for the Adentan Constituency, Akosua Manu, has urged party members to move away from what she describes as an “entitlement mentality” and focus on unity, sacrifice and hard work as the party prepares for the 2028 general election.
In a statement titled “Is Loyalty a Queue?”, and posted on facebook, Ms. Manu argued that loyalty to the NPP should not be judged by how long a person has been in the party but by their contributions and commitment to its growth.
According to her, the NPP’s history shows that many of its leaders faced significant opposition from within the party before eventually leading it to electoral success.
She cited former President John Agyekum Kufuor as an example, saying he had to overcome resistance from influential figures within the party before winning power for the NPP in 2000.
Ms. Manu noted that after the party lost power in 2008, former President Kufuor faced criticism and accusations from some party members.
However, she said supporters eventually put their differences aside and worked together to rebuild the party.
She pointed to the experience of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who, according to her, faced opposition from some factions within the NPP despite his long service to the party.
“His trials were ten times what Kufuor endured,” she stated, adding that Akufo-Addo eventually overcame the challenges and became President of Ghana.
Turning to the NPP’s current flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Ms. Manu said he also faced resistance from different groups within the party while seeking leadership.
She praised Dr. Bawumia for contributing to policy-based political discussions in Ghana and for remaining composed following the NPP’s defeat in the 2024 elections.
According to her, party members must now rally behind him in the same way they supported former Presidents Kufuor and Akufo-Addo.
Ms. Manu, however, warned that internal divisions and a sense of entitlement remain major threats to the party’s future.
She argued that some party members place too much emphasis on how long individuals have belonged to the NPP rather than on their contributions and capabilities.
“This entitlement does not question impact. It does not ask what you sacrificed or what you built. It asks only how long have you been here,” she said.
The former parliamentary candidate cautioned that such attitudes could discourage committed members and prevent the party from selecting the best people for leadership positions.
She further called on the party’s incoming national executives to strengthen the NPP’s core values of sacrifice, honesty, integrity and dedication to national development.
Ms. Manu addressed the concerns of young party supporters, many of whom she said became discouraged following the NPP’s electoral defeat in 2024.
According to her, many young people remain eager to see the party return to power but are unwilling to support internal conflicts driven by personal ambitions.
She urged party elders to place the interests of the NPP above their individual goals and to demonstrate leadership that attracts rather than alienates members.
“The NPP is bigger than any one of us. It always has been. Our collective responsibility is to act like it,” she stated.
By: Jacob Aggrey
