Florence Naana Esi De Souza (Nee Newman) was born on the 23rd day of July, 1954 in the garden city, Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti Region, Ghana. Her late father Mr. Charles Emmanuel Newman was an accomplished licensed surveyor and building contractor, a very strict disciplinarian of the highest order; her late mother Mrs. Hannah Baker Newman was a retailer of essential commodities. Naana Esi as she was affectionately called by her parents, was born a very fair coloured baby, and the midwife who attended her birth at the time exclaimed in our local dialect “Maame Newman you have had a white baby”. 

 

Naana being the last of the nine children was the darling baby of her parents, and she was very much loved and pampered.Her parents being staunch Methodists baptized Naana into the Methodist faith, and was later confirmed at the Wesley Girls High School, Cape Coast. Naana is one-eighth Nigerian, and that is by virtue of her great-grandmother who was a Nigerian. Interestingly, her grandmother and mother were all born in Northern Nigeria, where her Ghanaian great-grandfather and grandfather were both colonial officers working for UAC Nigeria.

 

At the age of three, she was enrolled in kindergarten at the Queen Elizabeth II Day Nursery, Kumasi and then to Mrs. Holdbrook-Smith’s Primary School in Takoradi. Naana was then moved to the Takoradi International School, the most prestigious multi-racial school at that time. She completed her primary education at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Boarding School. After passing her Common Entrance Examination, she gained admission to Wesley Girls High School in Cape Coast, Ghana, where she completed her O-levels.

 

At Wesley Girls High School she won a National Essay Competition organized by thepublishers of the popular story book “Mills and Boons”, after having almost read all the series. In 1972, she proceeded on a Student Exchange Programme to the U.S.A, and spent a year at the Oak High School in Morgan Hill California, where she developed her creative writing skills. Naana was a prolific reader, and had a natural flair for reading and writing. No wonder she was always surrounded with all sorts of international newspapers and magazines.

 

After leaving the U.S.A, she spent a year in Iserlohn, West Germany with her elder sisterCharlotte. From there she gained admission to Joyce Green Hospital, Dartford, Kent, England, to study a three year SRN Nursing course. She later abandoned nursing to pursue other interests. She had a stint at the London Academy of Modeling in Bond Street, and started modeling.

 

In 1978 she was employed by the Punch Newspaper of Nigeria as an Advertising Executive in London. In 1982 she was transferred to Lagos as an Advertising Manager, and was accommodated at the Punch Compound in Ikeja, Lagos. Naana met and later married Mr. Magnus De Souza at Our Saviour’s Anglican Church, Ikoyi, Lagos on the 10th of December, 1983. The union was blessed with four lovely children.

 

Naana joined Our Saviour’s Anglican Church, Ikoyi. She was a committed member who participated actively in the church’s life, especially as a worker, and she served faithfullyand cheerfully in the Guild of Stewards. Naana accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as her personal Lord and Saviour, and testified privately about the wonderful and miraculous things God had done in her life.

 

Naana was imbued with the tenets of right and wrong, good and evil, and this helped her surmount all challenges and temptations that came her way. She had a good heart, was very generous and kind. She would go to any length to show her fellow human beings kindness; indeed she was kindness personified.

 

Naana was a public commentator, a media consultant and a researcher who read widely and extensively about areas that engaged her. She was a columnist in the Punch and City People, two very popular Nigerian newspapers. In the late 90s, she had a TV Talk show, “Face to Face with Naana” and later “Naana’s World” on NTA (Nigerian Television Authority) where she interviewed celebrities and experts on various issues. She also briefly co-hosted Sunrise Daily on Channels. In the early 2000s she went on to co-host on “The Breakfast TV Show” on Silverbird TV, and had a radio show on Rhythm FM.

 

Naana was passionate about all things fashion, and organized a fashion show in Lagos in the 70s and another Accra in the early 90s. Both shows featured a blend of African and European models and fashion designers. Naana was highly sought after for television events, and was invited several times to guest judge at beauty pageants such as Most Beautiful Girl Nigeria. Naana was also asked to perform a stand-up routine for a comedy 

show, which she was happy to oblige, showing how confident she was on stage.

 

Within her immediate community Naana was greatly concerned with safety and security. In the early 90s, she took on the challenging task of building the foundation for Maryland Estate Residential Association (MERA). The residential fees paid, were used to pay for 24 hour security, surveillance and road safety measures such as speed bumps. For many years Naana hired and managed the security guards and developed their security process. In addition to security, Naana organized as part of MERA, children’s Easter and Christmas events. This involved caroling, bonfires, barbecues and wall painting. MERA is a key legacy of Naana’s as it is still in operation 20 years later.

 

Naana was involved in many schools; Bambi Crèche, Grange School Lagos, and most especially Atlantic Hall. Here she served as a board member of the prestigious private secondary school in Lagos, Nigeria for several years. Naana was an advocate for many charities and NGOs concerning issues such as breast cancer and sickle cell anemia. Naana also spent some time working for the Women’s Health Organization Nigeria in Administration.

 

Naana was a strong willed personality with an incredible sense of humour, and great ability to make people laugh. Anyone who knew Naana well, will always remember a special nickname or a joke she shared specifically with them.

 

Naana came to Ghana in 2009 to celebrate her late sister Mrs. Esi Owusu-Ankomah’s 60th birthday, and had to seek medical attention for a condition which culminated in her remaining in Ghana for medical treatment. She was admitted at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital on April 7th 2015, and was called to be with her Maker on April 20th 2015.

 

She left behind four children: Paul, Annabel, Vanessa and Fernando. She also left behind several brothers and sisters, and many friends.