ALIU MAHAMA: EXCELLENCY WITH HUMILITY; POWER WITH MEEKNESS

Aliu delivering an address

Aliu, cool and collected

The first phone call I received the previous day from Ghana conveyed to me the news of the sickness of H. E Aliu Mahama. "Apostle Ntumy, your friend, the former Vice President, is sick. It has been reported over TV that his condition is critical" the caller told me. Subsequent calls, SMS notifications, and emails followed, conveying the same news.

Then the following day the news of his demise; Alhaji Aliu Mahama, the former Vice President of Ghana is no more.

And so it happened---that within one calendar year and only a few months apart, Ghana had lost a sitting President and a former Vice President.

Aliu in traditional outfit

The late Alhaji Aliu Mahama stepped into the political limelight in an amazing manner---directly into the office of Vice President.He considered his office as a sacred duty to God and his people. This undergirded all his actions which he undertook without self-advertising or ostentation.

In an amazing manner, Aliu Mahama combined Excellency as Veep with humility, power with meekness, officialdom with simplicity and gave governance a genuine human face. These qualities, as many people know, are scarce commodities, especially, in the arenas of power.

Aliu and I, both in traditional outfit in his Castle office

When I heard of the news, tears streaked down my cheeks. I have lost a friend. He invited me many times to his office at the Castle. He visited me at home when I survived what looked like an assassination attempt against me. He was in church to launch my autobiography. He was the guest of honor at my end-of-term service as Chairman of The Church of Pentecost and sat through the entire four-hour service.

At the official level, I served with him on the Ghana AIDS Commission. He attended our General Council meeting a couple of times and attended the funeral of my predecessor, Prophet Martinson Yeboah. The amazing thing he did was to go to the Osu Cemetery with us. He really endeared himself to us.

With his death, Ghana has lost a precious son who served his nation with great devotion and decorum, selflessness and faithfulness.

On this sorrowful ccasion, I extend my deepest condolences to the President, H. E, John Mahama, the Government and People of Ghana, his widow, Haj Ramatu, and their entire family.

Ghana's "Political Quartet" 2008
"Number One Man"--H. E John Agyekum Kufuor, then President, 2nd from right
"Number Two Man"---H. E Aliu Mahama, then Vice President, 1st from right
"Number Three Man"---Rt  Hon Sekyi-Hughes, then Speaker of Parliament, 1st from left
"Number Four Person"---H. L Georgina Theodora Wood, Chief Justice

 In this life there are many people who do not know how to play the "number two" position, the supportive role. They must be in the driving seat or our car is on the wrong road; they must be in the spotlight otherwise we are off tangent: they must be the Number One man otherwise nothing is happening.  Among the numerous tributes that could be offered, this is my greatest to Aliu Mahama:
HE SHOWED GHANAIANS HOW TO PLAY THE NUMBER TWO POSITION IN LIFE---AT ALL LEVELS