Anita Akpeere

(author and second eldest of Dr. Akpeere’s four daughters)

Dr Honorius Akpeere

(July 1939 – July 5, 2014)

Dr. Honorius Akpeere was born to Velal Akpeere and Amaalie in Wiaga- Yisobasa in 1939. His elementary education at St. Francis Xavier Primary School, Wiaga, was divided between school attendance in the morning and herding the family’s livestock after school in the afternoon. A good pupil, he proceeded to St. Mary’s Middle School in Navrongo in 1951 and later to St. Augustine’s College in 1954, a school that emphasized the importance of Catholicism in child education. After completing St. Augustine’s in 1957 he was drafted into the National Young Pioneers of young Ghana where he worked assiduously to become a senior instructor.

In 1961 he became one of thousands of Ghanaian and African students who gained a high profile diplomatic scholarship to study in Moscow, Russia, in the then Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). There he studied at the Central Institute of Physical Culture and Sports earning a Master’s in Science and a PHD in Physiology. He also studied Marxism-Leninism as required in the USSR. While a student in Russia, Dr. Akpeere became President of All African Students in the Soviet Republics by virtue of his diligence and discipline. In that leadership role he became a regular visitor to the Kremlin, a privilege that was restricted to only very few people.

After Nkrumah’s overthrow in 1966 and the termination of educational assistance to Ghanaian students, Dr. Akpeere left the USSR for Germany where he sojourned for five years before returning to Ghana in 1971 after the political tension had reduced. In acknowledgement of his expertise in his area of learning and knowledge he was assigned to head the Northern Regional Sports Council for some years before he was personally requested by Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) to assist in his government as Secretary (District Chief Executive) of the new Builsa District. In acknowledgement of his competence and leadership qualities he was appointed head of Sports Development at the National Sports Council in Accra where he worked until his retirement in 2000.

Dr. Akpeere was married to Felicia Akpeere, and left behind six children: Angelica Akpeere, Amedius Akeepre, Andrews Akpeere, Anita Akpeere, Emelia Akpeere and Alvina Akpeere.