Men die but once, and the opportunity of a noble death is not an everyday fortune. It is a gift which every noble spirit prays for. An individual whose aim was to assist in the development of a nation, if human being wish, should not die at a tender age, but when life was planning; death was laughing at it and also, the wish of human being is not the wish of God and death. The greatness of most great men is seldom felt in their life time; but, their great works are being reflected in the background during their eternal rest.
The above messages were sounding in the minds of Ghanaians when on Monday, March 19, 2007, Madam Hawa Yakubu surrendered to a year-long battle with internal cancer after a couple of painful surgeries which culminated in the removal of her gall bladder at a London hospital (1).
Madam Hawa Yakubu’s political life began in the 1970’s. From 1992-1996, she stood and won as an independent candidate in the parliamentary election in her area (Bawku). According to Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah and Donald Ato Dapatem (2), she joined Paa Willie, Adu Boahen and R.R Amponsah to form the United National Convention (U.N.C) and contested in the 1979 elections but lost. Their repot added that she sought political asylum in London after the December 31, 1981 coup until 1991 when she came home to contest in the 1992 general elections. Madam Hwa Yakubu became the lone voice in parliament from 1993-1996- the House dominated by the National Democratic Congress (N.D.C) and its partners in an alliance, after wining as an independent candidate for the Bawku Central seat in the said general election. She stood on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party (N.P.P) in the 1996 general election of which she again won the seat. She maintained the seat in the 2000 general election and when NPP assume power in 2001, she was appointed Minister of Tourism, a position she later resigned to take up membership of ECOWAS Parliament. She however lost her seat in the 2004 general elections.
As a native of Pusiga in the Bawku District, she attended Navrongo Secondary School and continued to the Accra Polytechnic to study catering. She went back the Navrongo Secondary School to work as a Domestic Bursar and later doubled as a Housemistress. Madam Hawa Yakubu was elected unopposed to the Constituent Assembly that drafted the 1979 Constitution of Ghana, and was the only one out of the five(5) people to be elected, with the rest getting their positions by appointment. In the recent Delegate Conference of NPP in December 2005, Madam Hawa Yakubu who was elected the First National Vice Chairperson (the position held until her death), was the only candidate among the elected executives who pooled the highest vote in the elections.
Hon. Kwame Osei Prempeh, Deputy Attorney General of the Republic of Ghana meant it when he stated after hearing the sad news that; “most men were inspired to go into politics because of Hawa’s contribution during the first parliament and no one can take the credit from her”.
Hawa was not born great, she didn’t have greatness thrust upon her but she achieved greatness in her life (3). The Chairperson of Gender and Children Committee of Parliament of Ghana and MP for Abrem, Ms. Esther Obeng Depaa described her as an inspiration to women politicians in the country and beyond. She, therefore called on women politicians to strive to build upon the achievements of Madam Hawa Yakubu and come together, no matter their political inclinations, to fight for the cause of women and children in the country. The Minority Ranking Member of the above committee in parliament and MP for Ho East, Mrs. Juliana Azumah-Mensah, described the iron-fisted lady as the “the epitome of Yaa Asantewaa in our time”, explaining that she represented women in the country and beyond. “I was looking forward to her becoming either a presidential candidate or a running mate of the political party she belonged to”, she added.
Madam Hawa’s achievement is a lesson to all Ghanaians that women are capable and needed to shape our political life. It is very sad that according to the recent 2000 population census in Ghana, about 51% of the population was counted as female, but yet, most of them seemed to be sidelined in all aspect of life. It is the submission of the writer that many women apart Madam Hawa are doing great works hence, the need for them to be recognized, encouraged and supported.
The famous Indian statesman Mahatma Gandhi observes:
“Man and woman are peerless pair, being supplementary to one another; each helps the other so that without the one, the existence of the other cannot be conceived and therefore it will involve the equal ruin of them both”.
Woman was not taken from man’s head to be above him, not from his feet to be walked upon, but from his side to be equal. The celebration of our 50th Anniversary should be a wake up call to all Ghanaians and people of Africa that for a successful development, a quest for all cannot be achieved if women are denied their due place. To equip our females to take active part in national development, education and other forms of human training should be designed to embrace them. Besides, every form of discrimination that militates against their advancement should be uprooted.
The contribution of Madam Hawa Yakubu, the iron-fisted lady should serve as a cogent proof to the entire woman folk that, notwithstanding, whatever factor that is militating against them, they can still move forward. Madam Hawa had to seek asylum in the 1980’s for a period of 10 years, lost her child and other hardships but all these could not deter her. After several years of struggle, she emerged tall among Ghanaian women and even among men if one takes into consideration, her contribution to the economy by being a lone voice in the first parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana. Besides, it can be inferred from the above that, Madam Hawa’s educational background was not something comparable to her feat hence, a lesson to women politicians that every little potential in them should be tapped. The major role she played on the local and international political scene, with her influence stretching from Liberia to Nigeria, when she was a member of the ECOWAS Parliament, chairing the important Committee, all attest to her great works.
“Indeed a great tree has fallen, the nation has lost a fearless, brave, articulate, sympathetic,charismatic and a mother, who would be fondly remembered by all” (4).
Women and for that matter, women politicians should continue with her good works and strive to achieve more heights.
(1) “Daily Graphic”, Thursday, March 22,2oo7. Front page.
(2) Ibid
(3) MP for Akim Oda and former Minister for Finance and Planning and Minister for Youth and Sports, Yaw Osafo. THE CHRONICLE Thursday, March 22, 2007. Front page. Mr. Peter Mac Manu, National Chairman of NPP
FACULTY OF LAW, KNUST.
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