Vice President counters assertions that Ghana is not worth dying for. “I will bleed for it,” he says.
The Vice President, Dr Mahamadu Bawumia has refuted assertions by many disappointed Ghanaians that their country was not worth dying for after dedicated service to the nation.
Dr. Bawumia who represented the president, Nana Akufour Addo at the official renaming of the Tamale Sports to Aliu Mahama Sports Stadium on Monday.
The stadium was constructed in 2008 for CAN football tournament.
Renaming the stadium, the veep said was in recognition of the instrumental role played by the late vice president, an illustrious son of the north.
“I want to remind all citizens that Ghana is a land worth dying for,” Vice President told hundreds of Ghanaians including students from second cycle institutions at the inner parameters of the stadium.
The late Mahama was a political leader and served as a vice president form January 2001 to January 2009 in the former John Agyekum Akufour administration.
Dr. Bawumia observed that Alhaji Mahama used sports to unite many fragmented football teams, the stadium thus should be seen as a symbol of unity for the people in the north.
Eulogizing the former veep, Dr. Bawumia said the ceremony was also to fulfill the NPP 2016 campaign promised made by himself and the then presidential candidate Nana Akufour Addo.
He added that Alhaji Mahama was a nationalist and a philanthropist whose contributions to the nation cannot be over emphasized. Though he was not involved in any sporting activity as an athlete, the late veep, nonetheless, played a critical role in developing sports in the north, Dr. Bawumia said.
He pointed out that Alhaji Mahama contributed immensely to the formation of the Real Tamale United, and among the many things Alhaji Mahama did to boost morale was to add most of the players of the team to his company’s payroll. Alhaji Mahama also bought a 70 seater bus for the team to facilitate its travel outside the region, Dr Bawumia recounted.
The late vice president again played an influential role in setting up meetings with the CAN 2008 organizing committee on several occasion and was able to convince them to construct the new sports stadium in Tamale.
The former second lady Hajia Ramatu Mahama and her children, the Sports minister, Mr. Isaac Asimah, the president of the Ghana Football Association(GFA), Mr. Kwasi Nyantakye, Mr. Gabby Asare Otchere-Darku, chairman of the renaming committee and Dr. Samuel Kwadwo Frimpong, executive director of the Aliu Mahama Foundation, the northern regional minister and his deputy among others graced the occasion.
