Sir Nana Tsibu Darku IX alias Ekow Anaisie, alias Nicholas Andrew deHeer, was born in Cape Coast on Thursday 19th March, 1902.
His father was the late Adrian Nicholas deHeer of the Vanderpuye Anona family of Elmina, and a one time wholesale keeper of F&A swanzy at Axim. He was also a customs officer at Cape Coast until failing eyesight forced him to retire. He died in 1934.
His mother, the late Madam Efua Takyiwah, of the Assinie Royal family, Assin Atandansu, lived in cape coast. She traded in ”Aggrey” beads, often traveling between cape coast and Obuasi in Ashanti and thus become known as ”Nana Obuasi”. She was born in 1898 and died in 1964. Sir Tsibu was the third and last child.
Because of their mother’s frequent travels, their grandmother, Madam Nana Efua Sam, looked after them.
A frequent visitor to cape coast was their uncle, Nana Tsibu Mensah, Omanhene of Assin Atandansu Traditional Area. The far- seeing uncle, sent Sir Tsibu in 1908 to join his brother at the A. M. E. Zion School. When Sir Tsibu left Senior School in 1918 he entered S. P. G. Grammar School( Now Adisadel College) in 1919 and left in 1923 after passing the Cambridge junior school certificate Examinations.
He worked in the junior Division of the Political Administration as secretary to Mr. A. F. E. Fieldgate who was then the District commissioner, cape coast and they used to go on trek together in the cape coast district. In this way, Nana picked up a lot of his knowledge of British administration. The Assin stool family elders had opportunity to assess Sir Tsibu more than his elder brother. They used to bring all their problems to Sir Tsibu first before going to see the D.C or other officials.
Nana Tsibu Mensah abdicated in 1927 and went to live in cape coast. Later he left for Assin Nkran where he died in 1929.
The stool family put on the stool in 1927 a young teenager, Mr. Kweku Monney son of the Queen Mother of the Eku royal stool house and made one Mr. Bobie, the Gyasehene as Regent. This brought about so much dissention within the traditional area that the young chief abdicated in June 1930 and left to continue his education at S. P. G Grammar School. It was decided by the stool elders to take an older person as Omanhene and Sir Tsibu, who hailed from the Gyemfuah royal stool house, was unanimously selected and enstooled in October, 1930.
Nana’s primary concerns after his enstoolment were the Health and Educational facilities for the people.
He established the first native Authority Dispensaries at Fante Nyankumasi in 1936. A Maternity Clinic was added in 1939. The clinic is now a Health Centre. He was very instrumental in getting the Roman Catholic Church to establish the Catholic Hospital at Assin Foso and in getting successive government to recognise and support the Hospital.
He keen interest and leadership in promoting public health activities led to the digging of wells in all the towns and villages of Assin. This helped suppress the guinea- worm disease and the people of Ayaase sent a delegation to thank Sir Tsibu for delivering them from this pestilence.
There were only four schools in the whole Assin Area in the 1930s, namely the Methodist school at Assin Foso, the Methodist school at Assin Edubiase 8 miles away, the Methodist school at Assin Manso capital of Assin Apimanim Traditional area, and the catholic school at Assin Darmang. Sir Tsibu started the first Native authority school at Fante Nyankumasi in 1935 and subsequently during the second word war many towns and villages had their own primary schools.
More soon….
Source: Gnews.com/ Kofi Tutu
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