Kobina Sekyi

Kobina Sekyi was born on November 1, 1892, in Cape Coast. Educated at Mfantsipim School and University College London, he became the first African to graduate with an Honours degree in Philosophy from London University and was called to the Bar at the Inner Temple.

Upon returning to the Gold Coast, Sekyi famously vowed never to wear European dress again, wearing traditional Fante cloths even when appearing before colonial judges. In 1915, he authored the biting satirical comedy The Blinkards, which ridiculed coastal elites who uncritically aped Victorian European manners while scorning their rich ancestral traditions. He served as the last great president of the Aborigines' Rights Protection Society (ARPS).