An awe-inspiring and heartwarming speech of our time: President Mahama’s extempore address to UN General Assembly is a shining example of African leadership
The two billion Muslims across the world, the gallant sons of the Gonja-Tampulma families of the Savannah Region of Ghana, freedom fighters across Africa, and all seekers of truth and solidarity in the human family need to offer an unalloyed ‘Dua’ (solemn prayer) to His Excellency the President of Ghana for the brilliant and fearless speech he delivered before the 193 nations at the 81st Session of the 2026 UN General Assembly.
His speech stands to embolden and inspire African youth far into the future. We owe our brother and President an incalculable debt for making the Islamic world, Africa, Ghana and, particularly, the Gonja-Tampulma families of the Savannah Region truly proud. His name is written in gold on the hearts of Palestinian children still alive and hoping for a dignified, free and prosperous Palestinian State.
His Excellency, in his awe-inspiring speech, has wiped the tears of the traumatised children of Gaza and sent a lesson to the sanguinary despots of the West who forget that all creation belongs to Allah alone.
His reminder that NO CIVILISATION CAN BE ANNIHILATED is a sufficient admonition to all states across the world.
The speech should also serve as a wake-up call to the Arab monarchies over their attitude towards the Palestinian plight. Allah will certainly require an account of their failure to take over the Gaza humanitarian food support, which was unfortunately left in the hands of heartless elements, resulting in hungry children being maimed and others killed while scavenging for food.
The message also goes to the capitalists who profited from the trans-Atlantic slave trade, in which thousands of fellow humans perished during the Middle Passage. They should be prepared to pay reparations to Africa and still await the recompense on ‘Yaumal Qiyamma’.
His Excellency has fully exhibited the valour of the Gonja and Tampulma families of Gonjaland. We therefore beseech all Imams across Ghana and the world to offer an unalloyed ‘Dua’ for Allah to continue to fortify His Excellency John D. Mahama in his resetting agenda for Ghana and the UN.
I also wish to admonish students and teachers across Ghana to study the speeches of His Excellency John D. Mahama, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere, Nelson Mandela and others as part of their Communication Skills Proficiency studies.
Academic empowerment of Muslim youth
Inspired by the positive impact of the President on African youth academic revivalism, we in the Islamic fold in Ghana are devising novel academic empowerment strategies to reignite competitive yearning among Muslim students.
We are therefore advocating the launching of a National Quranic/Maths/Science/Communication Proficiency Quiz Competition, comprising Junior and Senior categories — an Islamic version of the National Science and Maths Quiz (NSMQ).
Having observed over the years the excitement generated by the final stages of the Annual National Science and Maths Quiz, it is necessary to consider adopting a similar academic empowerment strategy for Muslim students across Ghana.
The programme is not intended to segregate Muslim students from mainstream national academic competitions. Rather, it seeks to embolden and prepare them for academic competitions at national and international levels.
The success of participating students and schools in existing competitions demonstrates the value of developing a competitive academic culture. We must therefore nurture this spirit among Muslim students from their formative years.
The Prophetic Hadith injunction requires that we emulate good examples from others, irrespective of their origin, and place the good outcomes at the service of Islam.
Muslims in Ghana have not yet devised a progressive annual academic exercise that could enrich Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha.
These occasions could provide opportunities to recognise excellence in academia, business, Islamic philanthropy, motherhood and childcare, community development, healthcare and sanitation, corporate social responsibility and exemplary leadership.
This initiative could become a game-changer in efforts to secure a stronger place for Muslims in the national and global space.
As the saying goes, if we fail to think and plan, we are only planning to fail. Something must be done to transform our situation because time and tide wait for no man.
As enshrined in the Prophetic Hadith, our Final Prophet taught us:
‘Live in this world as if you are departing from here tomorrow and at the same time live in this world as if you are to remain here forever.’
This is our humble proposal as fathers and Muslim Youth Empowerment Activists, spanning more than 40 years, to be presented to other Muslim professionals for deliberation, fine-tuning and implementation.
Clarification of the proposal
The proposed competition would:
Prepare Muslim students for academic competitions at national and international levels.
Give brilliant Muslim students an opportunity to express themselves publicly and exhibit their potential.
Motivate students to study harder and prepare for the WASSCE.
Address the existing academic gap and help Muslim youth realise their potential.
Provide a youth empowerment programme that could be incorporated into the annual Eid celebrations.
Reward hardworking teachers, education managers and philanthropists who contribute to improving education.
The Quranic component would comprise students’ level of Quranic knowledge, Arabic language proficiency and in-depth knowledge of Islamic Studies, providing a holistic Islamic education system.
Proposed academic excellence awards
The proposed awards for the grand finale include: The Ibn Sina Prize for Excellence in Science and Technology for the winning team, with full scholarship awards for finalists covering tuition and hostel accommodation, laptops and other support.
A three-bedroom house for the headmaster of the winning school, together with a package for teachers who prepared the candidates.
The Al-Khwarizmi Prize for Excellence in Maths and Science.
The Al-Bukhari Prize for Excellence in Quranic, Arabic and Islamic Studies.
The Ummu Aisha Prize for Girls Who Excel to the Final Stage.
Potential sponsors
Sponsorship is expected from institutions and individuals, including the Kuwaiti Fund, Kuwaiti NGOs, the King Salman Humanitarian Organisation, Africa Relief and Community Development, the Islamic Development Bank, the Muslim World League, Turkish humanitarian NGOs, UNICEF, UNESCO, Muslim businessmen and philanthropists in Ghana.
Selection of participants
Junior level
To manage costs, the Regional Managers of the Islamic Education Units would rank Islamic JHSs based on their performance at the BECE or existing Regional Quiz Competitions.
The top four schools would present their best four students for the Regional Quranic/Maths/Science Competition. A Regional Team would then be selected to represent the region at the national level.
National competition
The national competition would comprise four participants from each of the 16 regions, giving a total of 64 participants.
The candidates would be grouped into Groups 1, 2, 3 and 4 and taken through an elimination system — 64, 32, 16, 8, 4 and 2 — through the semi-finals to determine the overall winner.
SHS level
At the SHS level, the programme would cover Muslim students in public SHSs, not necessarily Islamic SHSs.
Sixty-four Muslim students, comprising 50 per cent boys and 50 per cent girls, would be selected from SHSs in each region. They would go through elimination stages of 64, 32, 16, 8, 4 and 2.
The best four would represent the region at the national level, with the 16 regions subsequently going through the elimination system — 16, 8, 4 and 2 — to produce the final winner.
Funding the maiden edition
The funding strategy for the maiden edition would require the collective effort of well-meaning Muslim professionals.
They would be expected to brainstorm and identify the least-cost methods, potential sources of funding and appropriate modalities for raising the resources required to launch the programme.
The objective should be to ensure that cost does not prevent the initiative from being implemented.
Conclusion
The proposed National Quranic/Maths/Science/Communication Proficiency Quiz Competition is intended as an academic empowerment initiative for Muslim youth in Ghana.
It is not designed to isolate Muslim students from mainstream academic competitions but to prepare them to compete more effectively and confidently at national and international levels.
The initiative could create a platform for recognising academic excellence, rewarding teachers and schools, and encouraging Muslim professionals and philanthropists to invest more strongly in education.
As stated in Quran 13:11: ‘ALLAH WILL NOT CHANGE THE CONDITION OF A PEOPLE WHO FAIL TO CHANGE THE CONDITION IN THEMSELVES.’
The time has therefore come for Muslim professionals, educators, philanthropists and other stakeholders to deliberate on the proposal, refine it and explore practical ways of implementing it for the benefit of Muslim youth and the wider Ghanaian society.
BY HAJJ B.M. ADAM
The writer is a Muslim youth academic empowerment activist. He is also a former CEO of the Zakat & Sadaq Trust Fund.
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