Written by Ato Aidoo, on behalf of " Media Diaspora", a non-governmental organization dedicated to former Ghanaian journalists based in the United States/North America.
When the history of Ghana is re-written, it would be classified as a mere satirical mimicry, an intellectual injustice, if the name- Hawa Yakubu Ogede is not inserted and amplified.
And for a woman whose death has brought shock to a nation still grappling with its political differences and ethnic confusion, Hawa , as she was affectionately referred to by those of us who worked in the Ghanaian media once upon a time, her demise would forever leave an indelible mark in the annals of our country’s geo-politics, and orientated feminist culture.
When the "culture of silence" was at its apogee, Hawa Yakubu Ogede taught all of us how to break that silence, and to liberate ourselves from the shackles of dictatorship and its precepts.
During that era, media work had become subjective, whilst the state-owned media danced to the tunes of the government.
That was when Madam Hawa Yakubu became "a voice for the voiceless", and not only did the media at that time explore every opportunity to interview her. We all wanted a "scoop" out of her.
During the interview process, she would urge us to "wake up.
"Wake up my sons and daughters", Hawa would tell us, and she would later become a source of inspiration to all of us.
"Hawa makes news", journalists quickly attest to that as they praise her as a generous woman who also extended her benevolent influence into Ghanaian politics.
She was bold, truthful, firm, a strong woman who was not unsettled by male dominance in the legislature, a "political corazon" who was not stingy with sharing her ideas and wealth with others.
At the high point of her political career, not only did she diffuse the concept of matriarchy .She advocated strongly for inter-gender solidarity and peaceful political co-habitation.
Hawa Yakubu helped redefine and consolidate the nature of a woman’s place in society, guided by her own knowledge and expertise.
She stood for equal gender rights, and showed respect for all, a unifier of all sexes.
In her, indeed, Ghana has lost a great individual whose intuition, understanding and intelligence would be grossly missed by all.
May She Rest In Absolute Peace.
