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Hajia Mariama Bawumia, rest in peace!
From experience in life, we know for sure that death is inevitable for everyone but the passing away of Hajia Mariama Bawumia, mother of our current Vice President, Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia, came as a shock to everyone in Ghana, members of both government and opposition, sending sorrow to everyone who heard of the unfortunate news on Monday, September 13, 2021.
At the birth of a new baby when a new life is encountered or experienced, everybody expresses joy but when this life goes through the rigours of life and must return to the Creator, we all become sad at the loss of this life. This is not surprising because having lived closely with such life, we become so familiar with this life that when the time for departure comes at the point of death, it saddens our hearts.
Familiarity with a Person on Earth
Once we become familiar with a person, it becomes almost unacceptable for such a person to move on from this life and when this happens, we know for sure that we will not see him/her again in this life hence, the pain and grief that come over everyone in society. Matters even become worse when the person concerned is good and lived an exemplary life worthy of emulation by others in society. Once this is the case, we always find it difficult to forget about such a good person. This deepens the grief and pain that we encounter in the world.
It is this experience that has come over the people in Ghana including officials of political parties and government thereby making it difficult to accept that Hajia Mariama Bawumia has, indeed, left us behind. At this time, even though what has happened is true, it will be difficult for Ghanaians to forget entirely about this unfortunate event. Our hope is, however, in God who made the heavens and the earth and all the things that dwell in them. These bitter experiences, that occur from time to time to mankind, tend to go beyond human comprehension. But our faith in God encourages us to accept things as and when they happen to us in this way.
Departure of Loved Ones
From time to time, we experience this situation when we lose dear ones in our communities, societies, or nation. The departure of such people from us cause devastation to us and sometimes it calls for the grace of God to be able to stand firm and control ourselves. No matter who you are, the loss of a dear one always brings a devastating blow to society and our close associates, and this explains why the loss of our precious mother, Hajia Mariama Bawumia, came to us as a shock even though death, as we know, is inevitable.
Our mother was a devout Muslim who never joked with her religion and for this reason, we will make some attempt at what the Holy Qur’an says about death. There is one most frequently quoted verse in Qur’an about death which states that “Every soul shall taste death, and only on the Day of Judgement will you be paid your full recompense.” This shows that death is inevitable. The same Qur’an emphasises that mankind “Should not die except in a state of Islam” because “Truly, the religion in the sight of Allah is Islam”. Since our mother died in her religion, we believe, (both muslims and non-muslims), that Allah will embrace her into His kingdom and show mercy to her.
Death and Life
There is no doubt that it is God or Allah who created death and life. If this is the case, then we cannot blame Him for death that comes to us. Being the Most Merciful, Most Forgiving and Almighty, we pray to Him at this time to have mercy on our mother who we believe has been received into His kingdom.
The way numerous tributes poured in for our late mother shows that she was not only a mother to the Vice President and his siblings but to all Ghanaians who believe that we should care for one another in this world. People who testified about her, pointed out that she was a kind and lovely person who mingled with any other people she encountered. The presence of the Chief Imam at Kperiga, Walewale, as well as many other dignitaries including the various political parties shows that people saw her as a dependable mother who cannot be easily forgotten in this life.
Delightful Lady
Hajia Mariama Bawumia was a delightful lady who catered for all the people she met at Walewale for which reason we ask for God’s mercy for her. As was pointed out by President Akufo-Addo and the First Lady Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo, we ask for God’s blessings for her. We believe that she will have a peaceful rest in the bosom of God. In the same way as was pointed out by the President and his wife, we want to urge Vice President Bawumia to be firm to beat the challenges in the days ahead. At this time, the Vice President and his siblings will need to be encouraged for strength so that they can stand firm in the challenges ahead. People from all over the country have been touched by the death of Hajia and expressed their condolences to the family and the Government of Ghana.
For the people of Ghana, if there is nothing to remember at all, we need to know that it is Hajia who gave birth to Dr. Bawumia and together with other members of the family nurtured him to grow up and become a responsible citizen, shooting up in life across all challenges and difficulties to become the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana. The good virtues seen in the late Hajia – her beautiful temperament, smiles, laughter, friendliness, kindness, warm attitude towards others etc. – have all been exhibited by the Vice President and this shows why Dr. Bawumia is always smiling and caring for people in need.
Motherly Figure to All
The late Hajia Mariama has not only been a motherly figure, but also a great source of inspiration to her children and to all members in the country. It is not possible for mankind to bring her back to life otherwise many people would have struggled to do so. As has been pointed out, death is inevitable, so God knows why He allowed it at this time. May we continue to follow her life exhibited not only in the northern part of the country but in all parts of the country where she stayed so that as much as possible, people will follow her and do what is right as they encounter other people on this planet.
May the soul of our mother, Hajia Mariama Bawumia, rest in perfect peace. Amen!
Contact email/whatsApp of author:
Pradmat2013@gmail.com (0553318911)
One of the issues we have been grappling with as a nation is corruption, and it has had such a devastating effect on our national development. I have been convinced that until morality becomes the foundation upon which our governance system is built, we can never go forward as a nation.
Our traditional practices, which have shaped our cultural beliefs, have always espoused values that have kept us along the straight and the narrow and have preserved our societies since ancient times.
These are values that frown on negative habits like stealing, cheating, greediness, selfishness, etc. Our grandparents have told us stories of societies where stealing was regarded as so shameful that offenders, when caught, have on a number of instances committed suicide.
In fact, my mother told me of a story where a man who was living in the same village as her mother (my grandmother), after having been caught stealing a neighbour’s cockerel, out of shame committed suicide on a mango tree. Those were the days that shameful acts were an abomination.
Tegare worship, a traditional spiritual worship during which the spirit possesses the Tegare Priest and begins to reveal secrets, was one of the means by which the society upheld African values in the days of my grandmother and the early childhood days of my mother.
Those were the days when the fear of being killed by Tegare prevented people from engaging in anti-social vices. These days, people sleeping with other people’s wives are not uncommon.
These wrongful behaviour was not countenanced at all by Tegare. One was likely going to lose his life on days that Tegare operates, and so unhealthy habits like coveting your neighbour’s wife was a taboo.
Stealing of other people’s farm produce, for instance, could mean certain death or incapacitation of the whole or part of the body in the full glare of everybody. People realised that there were consequences for wrongdoing, and this went a long way to motivate the society to adhere to right values.
Imagine a President being sworn into office and whoever administers the oath says, “Please say this after me: I, Mr. …., do solemnly swear by God, the spirits of my ancestors and the spirits ruling in Ghana, that should I engage in corrupt acts, may I and my family become crippled, may madness become entrenched in my family, may incurable sicknesses and diseases be my portion and that of my family, both immediate and extended.”
Can you imagine a situation where a few weeks afterwards the President goes to engage in corrupt acts and we hear of his sudden demise or incapacitation and confessing that he engaged in corrupt acts before passing or before the incapacitation—and the effect it will have on his successor? I believe we have to critically examine this option to curb corruption.
My grandmother gave me an eyewitness account of one such encounter where a woman died instantly after the Tegare Priest had revealed a wrong attitude she had displayed during the performance on one of the days scheduled for Tegare spirit manifestation.
According to her story, the Priest, after he had been possessed by the spirit, declared that for what the woman had done, he would not forgive her and that he would kill. Instantly, according to my grandmother, the lady fell down suddenly and she died—just like what happened to Ananias and his wife Sapphira in Acts Chapter 5.
NB: ‘CHANGE KOTOKA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO KOFI BAAKO
By Laud Kissi-Mensah
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BY ROBERT EKOW GRIMMOND-THOMPSON
