Ex VP Aliu Laid To Rest In Style

The casket containing the mortal remains pf Aliu Mahama. Inset: (L) The Dagomba round grave being dug in Tamale yesterday

The late former Vice President Aliu Mahama has put to rest the controversy surrounding his final resting place as his body was flown to Tamale for final interment yesterday.

Alhaji Mahama refused to pitch camp at the Asomdwee Park burial grounds where the late President John Evans Atta Mills was buried.

After much haggling over where to put the remains of the former Vice President, the mention of the Asomdwee Park was the suggestion and the near possibility which saw members of the NPP frown over why their man should be buried at the location, going by the controversy surrounding it.

While for the state it was a befitting resting place for the former Vice President, for both Dagombas in the NPP and others outside the ethnic group, the suggestion fueled their resolve to have their beloved one flown to Tamale for his interment.

The General Secretary of the NPP, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie aka Sir John, remarked rather humourously that since the late President was already in heaven as advertised on television, the former Vice President was going to be lonely if buried at Asomdwee Park.

He said it was therefore reasonable to heed the family position of wanting the body in Tamale.

Islamic And Christian Rituals

For the first time in the history of state burial services, Ghanaians saw a fine blend of Islamic and Christian burial rituals when both clerics from the two great faiths participated in the pre-burial service at the Independence Square yesterday.

In his tribute to his former Vice, former President John Agyekum Kufuor stated that the late Alhaji Aliu Mahama was great.

“Aliu Mahama was the best Vice President any President can have,” an emotion-filled ex-President Kufuor said at the special ceremony organised for him at the Independence Square.

According to Mr Kufuor, during their eight-year tenure, Alhaji Mahama was very cooperative with his superior, and even though they often had divergent views on certain policies; the dissent was “quickly ironed out”.

“Alhaji Aliu Mahama was hardworking, diligent and contributed immensely to the successes of the [NPP] government,” the former President noted in his eulogy of his departed colleague.

Alhaji Mahama was the longest-serving Vice President in Ghana’s democratic dispensation since independence.

President Kufuor paid glowing tribute to his deputy who he referred to as “My friend and brother”.

Cause of Death

Alhaji Mahama died at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) in the early hours of Friday November 16, 2012 aged 66.

The cause of his death is unclear, as information about it varies. Sources at the KBTH conceded that he was admitted at the hospital with a heart condition; however, on Friday, ex-President Kufuor was quoted as saying he died of stroke.

“I never thought he was unwell till about three weeks ago when we learnt that he had collapsed during campaigning in the Atebubu area. He was flown to Korle Bu and recovered after days,” Mr Kufuor told Citi FM.
According to the former President, “He [Mahama] went up North to celebrate the Eid, but after some days, the report came that he had collapsed again and had been brought back to Korle Bu.
“I visited only to learn that he had been stricken with a stroke from which he didn’t recover.”

Controversies

Family sources of the late Vice President were astonished by the tragic news of his death because according to them, prior to his admission at the hospital, he was healthy.

He was spotted attending various functions including participating in political campaigns of his party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP), in the Northern Region.

On Wednesday, November 14, 2012, news broke that the Vice President had died, sparking a wave of controversy in the country when family members and the general public were at each other’s throat.

The two sides stuck to their conviction as the media and the general public were convinced that the Vice President was dead, but his close aides and family members, led by his elder son, Farouk Mahama, insisted he was still alive that Wednesday, even though they conceded that his condition was critical.

He was hooked onto a life-support system at the hospital.

The speculations had been fuelled some weeks earlier.

President Mahama, last month, while addressing Muslim worshippers during the Eid ul Adha festival at the Independence Square in Accra, had said, “Let us spare some prayers for former Vice President Aliu Mahama who is always with us here but cannot be with us today because he is sick and at the hospital receiving treatment.”

Unknown to President Mahama, the former Vice President was, that very day, addressing Muslim worshippers in Tamale, having recuperated from the first the sickness. He had left Accra the previous day and was on the same flight with the Minister of Communications, Haruna Iddrisu and deputy Minister of Energy, Inusa Fusseini.

This speculation drew the anger of Alhaji Aliu Mahama who spoke personally to several media outlets, saying President Mahama’s “unsolicited” concerns were baseless.

However, he was soon after to suffer a stroke in Accra after returning from Tamale, from which he never recovered until he breathed his last.

The funeral also suffered some teething challenges when government and the family were locked in a stalemate over where to bury him.

The ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) government wanted him to be buried in Accra: first at the Military Cemetery at Osu, then later at the Asomdwee Park where President John Evans Atta Mills was buried in August.

Eventually, the family’s wish prevailed and the former Vice President, who died while campaigning vigorously to see his beloved NPP back in power, was laid to rest in Tamale, his regional capital.

High Society

However, a special funeral ceremony was conducted at the Independence Square in Accra to precede the actual interment in Tamale.

At the grounds was a high-profile gathering of the business and political crème de la crème of the society.

President Mahama delivered a tribute on behalf of the Republic of Ghana, the two living ex-Presidents; Jerry John Rawlings and John Agyekum Kufuor graced the occasion.

Close on their heels were all the presidential aspirants for this year’s polls.

They stormed the place with their party faithful. But the NPP’s presence was most overwhelming.

There were hundreds of people at the Independence Square to pay their last respect to the departed Vice President.

NPP Tribute

The NPP held a candle light vigil at the party headquarters at Asylum Down where the flagbearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and his running mate Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, were in attendance.

Nana Akufo-Addo said as a mark of respect to Alhaji Aliu Mahama, he would work to bring peace to Dagbon.

The NPP flagbearer explained, “If anything will ensure that Aliu rests in peace, it will be the establishment of full peace and reconciliation in Dagbon, and I pray that we all work to achieve this.”

According to the NPP presidential candidate, the most disturbing incident for the late Vice President and indeed for the whole NPP government under President Kufuor was the tragic death of “his good friend, the Ya-Na Yakubu Andani II.”

“It shook him to his core and he worked tirelessly to find a solution to the problems of peace and reconciliation for his beloved Dagbon,” Nana Addo added.

“Dagbon has lost its most illustrious son, the North has lost a powerful advocate, the Muslim community has lost a devout Muslim and its only Vice President in our history, the NPP has lost a valued and hardworking activist, John Agyekum Kufuor has lost his dependent and competent vice, who helped him reinforce the unity of our country, and the Ghanaian nation has lost a patriot and dignified public servant,” he said.

The NPP, Nana Addo said, would work hard to keep the Aliu flame alight and urged Ghanaians to pray for the repose of his soul and also for the Almighty Allah to grant him eternal rest.