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If you can’t recall a single African warrior you learned about in school, it doesn’t mean you were a terrible student of history. It means your school, like most schools in the U.S., probably failed to teach you about any African warriors. 

We are here to introduce you to 5 African warriors you’ve probably never heard of. 

1. Yaa Asantewaa

Yaa Asantewaa was a Ghanaian brave warrior queen born circa 1840 into the Ashanti Kingdom. She managed to form and lead an army that fought against the British invasion. The area where she ruled was under attack from the British and Kind Prempeh was exiled to Seychelles.

For the Ashanti people, the Golden Stool is at the very heart of their existence. However, not knowing this fact, British Governor Frederick Hodgson made a huge mistake: he demanded to sit on the Golden Stool as well as to own it.

This really enraged the Ashanti people. Under the control of Yaa Asantewaa, they took on the British.  She was also exiled in Seychelles, where she lived until her death.

2. Almamy Suluku 

Born in 1820, Almamy Suluku was a smart, powerful Limba ruler who managed to maintain his independence for a long, long time. When he became war captain, he made his Kingdom, Biriwa, one of Sierra Leone’s largest. The kingdom became prosperous and rich, as Almamy Suluku fostered trade in gold, foodstuffs, ivory, and hides. He is still renowned as one of Africa’s most powerful warriors.  

3. The Dahomey Amazons 

This was a Fon women-only military regiment in the Kingdom of Dahomey, which is nowadays’ Republic of Benin.

The Dahomey Amazons, also known as Mino, translates as ‘our mothers’. These women were very well trained to become ferocious fighters and they had the reputation of decapitating soldiers right in the middle of battles. Moreover, they were serving as torturers to those who didn’t become their captives.

In 1851, Seh-Dong-Hong-Beh, one of this regiment’s most famous leaders, led an army of approximately 6,000 women against the Abeokuta’s Egba fortress. Despite the fact that the Dahomey Amazons fought with swords, spears, and bows, only about 1,200 of them survived this battle, because of Egba’s deadly European cannons.

In 1890, they battled the French forces along with the King’s male soldiers in the First Franco-Dahomean War. During this war, the French army lost multiple battles to these skilled women warriors, as they weren’t prepared for the females’ agility and ruthlessness. 

4. Kwame Nkrumah

Kwame Nkrumah was Ghana’s very first Prime Minister and later became the country’s president. He was a revolutionary that led Ghana to independence from Britain in 1957.

Nkrumah was a Pan-Africanist and anti-colonialist who trained and prepared to be a teacher. He also founded the Convention People’s Party (CPP). He was sentenced and jailed but freed when his party (CPP) won the elections in 1951. Kwame was a firm believer in the Africans’ liberation.

In 1964, he formed a one-party state and became Ghana’s president. 

5. Amanirenas

Amanirenas was one of the most courageous Kingdom of Kush’s Queen-Mothers. Between 40 BC and 10 BC, Amanirenas ruled over the Meroitic Kingdom of Kush.

During her reign, more specifically in 24 BC, Augustus, the renowned Roman Emperor, attached Amanirena’s people. Along with her son, Akinidad, she conducted an army of approximately 30,000 soldiers and defeated the Romans in Aswan, Egypt. Additionally, they knocked down Caesar’s statues in Elephantine.

Although the Romans tried to fight back, they were held back by Amanirenas’s and her troops’ powerful resistance. After about 3 years of violent fights, the parties decided to negotiate a peace treaty. Besides other agreements, the Romans finally agreed to return their soldiers and give back the land that they’ve taken. Amanirenas remains famous for her devoted combat and for fighting together with her soldiers.

These are just few of the most influential African warriors in the history of Afria. Let us know your personal favorites below!

Known to be third largest of the three major ethnic groups in Nigeria, the typical Igbo communities are found in the southeastern part of Nigeria.

And according to oral tradition and many writers of Igbo history, Eri is to the Igbos, what Oduduwa is to the Yoruba.

But unlike Oduduwa whose father is unknown, Eri was the fifth son of Gad, the seventh son of Jacob (Genesis 46:15-18 and Numbers 26:16:18).

He was said to have migrated from Egypt with a group of companions just before the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt thousands of years ago.

Eri and his group were said to have traveled by water and finally arrived at the confluence of Ezu and Omambala Rivers, located in present-day Aguleri, Anambra State.

We were not told how long their voyage took to get to their promised land, what we were told is that Eri and his group was divinely instructed to make the confluence of Ezu and Omambala Rivers their final destination.

They would move into the hinterland and make a settlement in the present-day Aguleri. It was here that Eri lived and died.

Meanwhile, amongst Eri's children was Agulu, the eldest son who took over from his father after his demise.

It was him who appended the name of his father, Eri, to his name and founded Agulu-Eri (Aguleri) by calling the settlement where his father Eri died and he (Agulu) lived AGULERI.

However, apart from the story of how they came into being, the Igbos also shares some similar practices with the biblical Jews. And among the Igbos, these traditional practices predate the coming of the Christian missionaries.

Examples of shared traditional practices between the Jews and the Igbos include circumcising male children eight days after birth, refraining from eating "unclean" or tabooed foods, mourning the dead for seven days and celebrating the New Moon.

Supporting this belief is Daniel Lis, a foremost researcher on Jewish Identification among the Igbo from the University of Basel, Switzerland.

He affirms that there has been a clear continuity of Jewish identity among the Igbo. "It's not just something that happened yesterday," he said.

In addition to the shared practices between the Jews and the Igbos, there is a striking evidence that forces one to see a link between the Igbos and the ancient civilization of Egypt: It is the Ancient Igbo Pyramids, which is also known as the Nsude Pyramids.

The Ancient Igbo Pyramids or Nsude Pyramids is a testimony of ancient civilization among the Igbos.

READ: The forgotten Igbo pyramids

Nobody knows when it was built, but archeologists have said that the pyramids have lasted centuries and are believed to have been built at the same time the first or second wave of Egyptian pyramids were built by the Nubians.

With similar features to that of the Stepped Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara, Egypt, one is forced to contemplate on the mystery behind their resemblance.

And without exaggeration, it can be suggested that the knowledge of one must have led to the building of the other.

Be that as it may, it should be stated here for the purpose of clarity that the word Ndi Igbo/ Ndigbo mean the "Ancient People." And according to them, the British called us IBO or (Heebos): A word synonymous to Hebrew.

There are other interesting arguments, with regard to the topic of this article, that has been presented by concerned Igbo scholars.

Notable among them is the claim that the following Igbo words/phrases were used in the bible.

1. Jee na isi isi (Genesis)

Known to be the first book in the bible, some Igbo scholars believe that the word is a corrupted version of the Igbo phrase "jee na isi isi" which when translated in English means "go to the very first".

2. Detere nu umu (Deuteronomy)

Known to be the fifth book in the Bible, the word “Deuteronomy” is from Latin Deuteronomium, from Greek Deuteronomion and originally from Igbo phrase "detere nu umu".

The Igbo phrase, "Detere nu umu" means "written down for the children". And actually, the book of Deuteronomy was words written down to serve as laws for the children of God.

3. Asaa bu taa (Sabbath)

According to the biblical story of creation, God rested on the seventh day. Sabbath is a day set aside for rest and worship. The word is said to be thesame with the Igbo phrase "asaa bu taa" which means "today is seventh."

4. Chere ubim (Cherubim)

Described in the Bible as a winged angel and represented in ancient Middle Eastern art as a lion or bull with eagles' wings and a human face, Cherubim is regarded in Christian angelology as an angel of the second highest order of the nine-fold celestial hierarchy.

However, the name is believed to be a distorted version of the Igbo phrase "chere ubim" which means "guard my home." And of course, angels are guardians.

5. Nta lite kuo ume (Talitha cumi)

According to the book of Mark 5:41, Jesus was storied to have raised from death- the daughter of Jairus. And "Talitha cumi" were the words he used.

"Talitha cumi" or "Talitha kum" or "Talitha koum" is an Aramaic phrase and believed to be an Igbo phrase "nta lite kuo ume" which means "little child wake up and start breathing".

On Monday, the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office announced five homicide charges against a former police officer who fatally shot an unarmed Black man during a 2017 incident. In a statement, District Attorney Chesa Boudin said this is believed to be the first time the city has ever charged a San Francisco Police Department officer with on-duty homicide.

The charges against former cop Chris Samayoa include voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, assault with a semiautomatic firearm, assault by a police officer and discharge of a firearm with gross negligence. The victim in the shooting was identified as 42-year-old Keita O’Neil.

“For too long, we have seen the failures of our legal system to hold police accountable for the violence committed against the members of the public they are entrusted to keep safe.  In my administration, police officers are not above the law,” Boudin said in the statement. “Police officers are obligated to follow the law when using force—even when responding to serious crimes.  As District Attorney, I will continue to hold accountable officers who inflict unlawful violence and breach the trust the public places in them.”

The December 2017 incident occurred when O’Neil, a suspect alleged to have carjacked a California State Lottery minivan, was being followed by Samayoa and his partner. After O’Neil drove to a dead-end during the pursuit, he got down and took to his heels, the statement said.  

In an attempt to get away from other patrol cars that were preventing him from escaping, O’Neil ran past the vehicle Samayoa and his partner were in. Samayoa, who was in the passenger seat of the police car, opened fire, fatally striking an unarmed O’Neil. His death was ruled as a homicide.

Though Samayoa only turned on his bodycam afterward, the gadget still recorded the shooting as the body cameras are set up to automatically record thirty seconds before its activation, according to the statement. Samayoa was fired from the force in the aftermath of the incident.

“Body camera footage shows that not a single other officer pulled out their service weapon or pointed at Mr. O’Neil,” Boudin said during a press conference on Monday, KQED reported. “As a result of Officer Samayoa’s terrible, tragic and unlawful decision to pull and fire his gun that day, Mr. O’Neil was killed and my office is filing charges today.”

Responding to the announcement of the charges, O’Neil’s family expressed their satisfaction. “I am happy to hear this news, and hoping it brings some justice to our family,” the deceased’s aunt said.

Shamann Walton, the Supervisor whose district the shooting occurred, said the “prosecution is an important, historic step towards showing that Black lives matter and that unlawful police violence will not be tolerated.”

“Bayview residents deserve to know that law enforcement officers who inflict violence and harm in our community will be held accountable,” he said.

A civil rights attorney and former Police Department Commissioner, Angela Chan, also said the charges are justified as they have to “confront the problematic culture of SFPD that allows officer involved shootings to occur without serious and objective investigations.”

“For many years, the highest ranks of SFPD have rewarded officer involved shootings by awarding medals of valor when an officer shoots and kills a community member, particularly Black, Latino, and Asian American community members, and even when an internal affairs investigation is pending,” Chan added.

A warrant for Samayoa’s arrest was signed by a judge with a $1,000 bail.