Behind every successful man, they say is a strong woman, but events that have made Ghana the spotlight of the world over the past few weeks have proven the reverse.

This has become the case with two strong men giving everything to support their wives in their unprecedented attempts to break world records.

In the nation’s capital, Accra, Afua Asantewaa, a media personality and former beauty queen, completed a singing spell after 126 hours, from December 24, 2023, to December 29, 2023, in her bid to break the existing world record for the longest singing marathon by an individual – sing-a-thon – of 105 hours, which was set by an Indian, Sunil Waghmare, in 2012.

At Tamale, the capital city of Ghana's Northern Region, Chef Failatu Abdul-Razak cooked for 227 hours, from January 1, 2024, to January 10, 2024, in her bid to break the official Guinness World Record for the longest cooking marathon – cook-a-thon – of 119 hours and 57 minutes held by an Irish chef, Alan Fisher, and an unofficial record of 144 hours by a Ugandan chef.

As these two brave Ghanaian women stood on their feet for hours, one singing and the other cooking, one constant feature amid the rousing support from Ghanaians was the support of their better halves – their husbands.

These men are now also enjoying the fame and glory brought to their families by their wives, whom they stood with for every second of their attempts to set new world records in their respective feats.

But what do we know about these two gallant men?

Here are the husbands of Ghana’s world-record heroines and the roles they played to help their wives achieve their respective feats:

Afua Asantewaa's husband, Kofi Owusu Aduonum



Afua Asantewaa’s husband, Kofi Owusu Aduonum, was her greatest cheerleader when she was attempting to break the world record for the longest singing marathon.

From being part of the organisers of the sing-a-thon, which took place at the Akwaaba Village in Accra, Owusu Aduonum was mostly the last man standing, as many of the supporters took their rest.

He was spotted on several occasions at the sing-a-thon grounds, wearing T-shirts with inscriptions about his wife and holding a placard with the inscription ‘More strength Afua’ to support her when the crowd had not started even started mounting up yet.

On one occasion, he stood before his wife’s ‘performing space’, waving the placard as she smiled and waved back. An unidentified woman was also captured in the background, praising him for gracefully honouring his wife.



Owusu Aduonum was also captured severally in the company of his in-laws, leading the support team for the feat.

He has now become a joint-celebrity with his wife, accompanying her to almost all their public and media events.

Owusu Aduonum is now calling on the government to commemorate his wife’s unwavering contributions to the promotion of Ghanaian music by naming the venue for the sing-a-thon (the Akwaaba Village) after her.

"Somebody even suggested that we maintain the structures to serve as monuments. It hasn’t happened in our history. If it did, we would have read it in books. My appeal to the tourism ministry or government is to... the Akwaaba Village is a perfect name, but I think it is high time we honoured my wife, Asantewaa," he said in an interview on JoyNews.

Chef Faila’s husband, Lieutenant Reginald Ofosuhene Adjei



The Ghana Armed Forces took centre stage in Chef Faila’s cook-a-thon bid because her husband, Lieutenant Reginald Ofosuhene Adjei, was an army personnel.

The army’s presence at the venue of the cook-a-thon, the Modern City Hotel at Tamale, was felt from the very first day of the event.

The army provided security, helped prepare Chef Faila for the event, and provided health professionals, including doctors, to check her health as she was cooking.

Morale HIGH ????

Soldiers from the 69 Airborne Force of the Ghana Armed Forces based in Tamale are at the Modern City Hotel with full vim to support Chef Faila#CookathonByFaila#CookathonOnGTV pic.twitter.com/BBOh8oBIrt

— GTV Ghana (@GTV_Ghana) January 2, 2024

Army personnel were always at the grounds for the event; leading cheers for her.

In fact, the support was so far-reaching so much that the General Officer Commanding Officer of Northern Command of the Ghana Armed Forces, Brigadier General Matthew Kweku Essien, with his senior supporting officers, were also there.

And in his own words, he said they were there to “support our wife”.

The army leadership was also present on the final day of the cook-a-thon, where they led the singing of the National Anthem of Ghana and played brass band music through to the night as Ghanaians celebrated the feat chalked by Chef Faila at the event.

#failcookathon: @JahBless_Faila has finished her 227-hour cook-a-thon. We are incredibly proud of her. ???????????? pic.twitter.com/uDhxt37LUY

— Class 91.3FM (@Class913fm) January 10, 2024

Lieutenant Ofosuhene Adjei was there himself throughout the 10 days of his wife’s world record attempt.

He was seen always leading his wife to the hotel room and back during her break sessions.

On several other occasions, he was captured going into her kitchen to encourage and cheer her up with hugs and kisses any time she got emotional.

BAI/AE

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