Adua held for late Hajia Ramatu Mahama
The funeral rites of the late Hajia Ramatu Mahama, who passed on early this year, were climaxed with Islamic prayers (Adua) at the forecourt of the State House in Accra last Saturday morning.
The late Hajia Mahama, who was the wife of the late former Vice-President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, died at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital on April 7, this year, aged 70, and was laid to rest according to Islamic custom.
Advertisement
Last Saturday’s Adua, which lasted two hours and was to remember the dead, was interspersed with Quran recitals and prayers, led by the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Osmanu Nuhu Sharubutu, with support from other Islamic clergies.
There were three special prayers, the first and the second of which were dedicated to the late Hajia Mahama and her late husband and which sought forgiveness and compassion from Allah, while the third, which was from the family, was dedicated to the peace and security of the country and the economy.
Dignitaries
The ceremony attracted a host of dignitaries, among them President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his wife, Rebecca Akufo-Addo; Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and his wife, Samira Bawumia, as well as the Chief of Staff, Akosua Frema Osei-Opare.
Also in attendance were former President John Agyekum Kufuor, the wife of the late former President Limann, Fulera Limann; Ministers of State, Members of Parliament, officials of political parties and traditional rulers.
Notable among the traditional leaders were representatives from the Yaa Naa; the Pishigulana, Naa Alhassan Andani; the Tumu Kuoro, Kuoro Richard Babini Kanton VI, and the Asantehene, who was also represented by the Sumankwaahene, Baffour Asabre Kogyawoasu III.
Also at the ceremony were the children and the family of the deceased and members of the public, many of whom were in special customised fabric with the image of Hajia embossed on it.
Eulogy
The Spokesperson for the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Aremeyaw Shaibu, in an eulogy, said death created a gap, for which the pain of separation and the worry of departure could be telling on a family.
He paid tribute to the late educationist, who he said dedicated her life to God, adding that everyone would have a taste of death, which came with experiences human beings were unable to contain.
He paid tribute to Hajia Mahama for effectively playing her role as a mother and mentor to keep her family together and encouraged people to provide support for the Mahama Family.
Sheikh Shaibu also urged all to be good to one another, avoid hatred and wickedness and not subject people to pain.
Tributes
In a tribute, read by a Deputy Minister of Information, Fatima Alhassan, the government said with her many years of rich teaching experience, Hajia Mahama nurtured and raised many children who had become useful to society.
It described Hajia Mahama as a determined and dedicated personality who showed a lot of love and care to people, which also epitomised true compassion to serve.
The General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), John Boadu, also in a tribute, described the late wife of former Vice-President Mahama as a motherly figure and wise counsellor.
He said the late Hajia Mahama was one of the reasons her husband had a blossomed political career and also gave the country a Member of Parliament for Yendi, in the person of Alhaji Farouk Aliu Mahama.
There were other tributes from the children and the husband’s family.
Hajia Ramatu
Born on October 16, 1951, Hajia Ramatu Aliu Mahama, the daughter of late Imoro Egala, a Minister in the Third Republic, was the sixth among 12 children.
She was a teacher for many years until she retired as an assistant director in the early 2000s.
Her status as the wife of a Vice-President spanned from January 7, 2001 to January 7, 2009 during the tenure of President Kufuor.
She had four children with her late husband, namely, Salma, Farouk, Fayad and Halim.