Did you know that only one woman in Ghana has a son who has held the positions of President, Vice President, Minister, and Member of Parliament?
Her name was Hajia Abiba Nnaba, the mother of John Dramani Mahama. Many consider her one of the most successful mothers in Ghana’s history. However, there is limited public information about her personal life. She sadly passed away in June 2016.
John Dramani Mahama has had an impressive political career. He served as the President of Ghana from July 24, 2012, to January 7, 2017. He is currently the President of Ghana once again and is expected to serve until January 7, 2029.
Before becoming President, Mahama served as Vice President from 2009 to 2012 under President John Evans Atta Mills. He also represented the people of Bole Bamboi as a Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2004. Additionally, he was Ghana’s Minister of Communications from 1998 to 2001.
John Mahama spent his early years with his mother in Damongo before moving to Accra to live with his father, who encouraged him to value education. He began his basic education at Achimota Basic School, where he was known for standing up to bullies on behalf of other children. He later attended Ghana Secondary School in Tamale.
After completing secondary school, Mahama enrolled at the University of Ghana, Legon, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History in 1981. He returned to Tamale to teach history at Ghana Secondary School. However, due to political and economic challenges in Ghana, he fled to Nigeria to join his father, who was in exile.
In 1983, Mahama returned to Ghana with a growing interest in communication. He enrolled in a postgraduate program in Communication Studies at the University of Ghana, graduating in 1986. He later traveled to Moscow in the former Soviet Union, where he earned another postgraduate degree in Social Psychology in 1988.
While in Moscow, he observed the weaknesses of the socialist system and concluded that every country must develop its own unique path to growth, rather than blindly following rigid political ideologies.