An Oak Has Fallen

“From dust do we all come and to it shall we all return.” These words set the tone for the mournful moments which followed the sudden demise of former Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama last Friday. It is a sacred and important Islamic recital uttered by Muslims when one of their kind passes into the spiritual world.

Indeed, those were the words uttered by Muslims who heard about the fallen oak as represented by the death of Alhaji Aliu Mahama. For a man who means so many things to so many people in both the two great faiths, he aptly represented that great tree. Little wonder that tears were shed for his death across the breadth of the country.

While some preferred to be in denial about the reality, others took it with a touch of philosophy since, after all, humans will taste death one day.

Alhaji Aliu Mahama’s death makes him the second top politician to pass away this year following on the heels of the late President John Evans Atta Mills.

When personalities in the mould of the late Alhaji Aliu Mahama pass away, it offers us those living rare moments to reflect upon life and to re-order our interpersonal relationships, deepen our faith and to take another look at life as a whole.

When we breathe our last, it is what people say about us, according to Islamic scriptures, which are recorded by the angels. We are therefore consoled by the many testimonies from the countless beneficiaries of this gem from Dagbon.

For a man whose importance is all-encompassing, from politics to sports and his prominent humanism, we can bet the Almighty God will have mercy upon his soul.

While the many who love him wanted his remains committed to earth in Accra, the people of Dagbon felt otherwise. Although the people of Tamale and Accra both had the opportunity of rendering their last respects to him, he was finally laid to rest in the former, thus closing a chapter on an illustrious son of not only Dagbon but the whole country.

For Muslims, he holds a special position in their hearts, being the first from their ranks to reach that pinnacle of service to the motherland and to indeed swear to serve the country using the holy book of Quran. The day he held the sacred Islamic scriptures to take the oath of office marked a significant turning point in the lives of many Muslims in Ghana. It laid out before them unambiguously the fact that there is no limit to what they wish to achieve, provided they set their sights on such heights and work towards them.

He has neither gone too early nor too late but just followed the path his Maker destined him to traverse. He came, he served, he achieved and returned to where we know little or nothing about. It is our prayer that the soul of this good man shall attract the favour of the Almighty God. Alhaji Aliu Mahama, rest in peace.