Nii Okai, the Ghanaian endurance runner better known on TikTok as Nii The Menace, has completed a 240km journey on foot from the University of Ghana, Legon, to the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi.
Okai covered the distance in seven days to raise awareness of breast cancer and encourage women to undergo screening.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in Ghana, where many cases are identified only after the disease has advanced.
Specialist obstetrician-gynaecologist Dr Roland Paaga said this month that almost 70% of patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage. Ghana records an estimated 4,650 to 5,000 new cases annually.
Globally, the World Health Organization estimates that 2.3 million women were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2022, while 670,000 died from the disease.
Okai began the run on Monday, 12 October, sharing a video from the route each evening. His seventh and final update was posted on Sunday night after he arrived in Kumasi.
He travelled along the Accra–Kumasi highway, passing through the Eastern Region before entering the Ashanti Region. The Regional Health Directorate in Ashanti recorded 561 breast cancer cases in 2024 and 351 in 2025.
Each of Okai’s posts linked the run to “pink October”, the breast cancer awareness campaign, and the importance of early screening.
“Doing this run for all women out there to create awareness to get screened,” he wrote in an update on the fifth day.
Health screening services are also being offered in Kumasi during October. The Asokwa Municipal Health Directorate is providing free breast screening at the Nana Ama Serwaa Health Centre in Kaase throughout the month.
Health workers in the city have also been encouraging women to examine their breasts at least once a month.
In his final post, Okai thanked his sponsors, Ecobank Ghana, Munchee Biscuit Ghana, Ofosu Mensah and Sons, and Win Energy.
He describes himself as a wellness enthusiast and endurance athlete and owns Runner’s Haven, a store selling running gear. He is not the gospel musician who shares his name.
The seven-day challenge was not Okai’s first long-distance run. In early August, he completed a 60km cross-regional route from North Legon to Koforidua.
Okai reached KNUST on Sunday, one day after continuing students were scheduled to return to campus following the delayed start to the academic year.
His TikTok account, @the.nii.okai, has about 13,400 followers.
