The Ghanaian Minaret

Accra: Abdul Nasir-Deen, Ambassador of Ghana to Turkey, said he had given up all hopes of returning to school when he completed his Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination in 1997.

This was due to the difficult life he had encountered as a young boy born on June 13, 1978, in a less privileged home to a family that placed less premium on secular education due to religious reasons.

Sharing his life experience at a farewell ceremony held in his honour by the National Mosque of Ghana Foundation, he recalled that his mother, after the passing of their father, had to provide for him and his four other siblings at Yeji in the Bono East Region.

“I have taken care of you to finish your secondary school, and so it is enough. Let the other children also continue their education,” he remembered his mother’s advice.

He said he gladly embraced his situation and decided to venture into farming, abandoning his dream of becoming a pharmacist.

Nasir-Deen disclosed that while on the farm on a particular day, he observed his Zuhr (noon) prayer, after which he asked Allah to grant him an opportunity out of the shores of the country.

“I raised my hands to pray. But then it looked like everything was off, and there was nothing to ask from Allah.

My hand was stuck up there, and suddenly I heard the sound of a flying aeroplane that looked like a bird high up there,” he said.

He recounted, “I said to Allah, ‘If we cannot school here, can’t there be a way for us to be in such a smaller…of yours and go somewhere and learn?'”

The ambassador, who was the immediate past chairman of the management committee of the National Mosque of Ghana, said it wasn’t long before he received a call from the father of an old school friend whom he assisted with his study at the Tamale Senior High School.

The benefactor, who happened to be Alhaji Alhassan Mahama Star, the former Chairman of the Ghana Hajj Agents Association, assisted him to apply for a scholarship opportunity, and he was chosen to be among some 11 people to study in Turkey.

Upon his arrival in Ankara, Turkey, in 1998, Nasir-Deen entered the Institute of Languages at Gazi University, where he obtained a Turkish Language Proficiency Certificate.

Upon completion in 1999, he joined Ankara University to pursue a Bachelor of Pharmacy programme at the Faculty of Pharmacy, which he completed in 2003.

He would later, in 2005, pursue a Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) at the Yakaza Personal Development Institute.

Nasir-Deen, who was the director of Human Development Association International (HUDAI), disclosed that his ambassadorial appointment was heavily influenced by Sheikh Usman Nuhu Sharubutu, the national chief Imam, and Naa Alhassan Andani, Chief of Pisigu, who was the chairman of the executive council of the national mosque.

He narrated that Naa Andani was highly impressed with his level of influence and network within the Turkish society when they paid a visit to the country to express gratitude to the financiers of the national mosque project.

In his remarks, Naa Andani, the former president of the Ghana Association of Banks and former managing director of Stanbic Bank, extolled the qualities of the new ambassador of Ghana to Turkey.

He relished his commitment to humanitarian services and the religion of Islam.

He observed that the sheer influence of Nasir-Deen in Turkey makes him the right candidate to be Ghana’s ambassador.

Abdul Nasir-Deen was among 18 envoys whom President John Dramani Mahama swore into office last Thursday at the Jubilee House and charged to deliver results-driven diplomacy under the Resetting Ghana Agenda.

In 2012, he independently facilitated high-level diplomatic visits to Türkiye and arranged strategic meetings for Ghana’s then Foreign Affairs Minister, Mohammed Mumuni, and the current Minister for Labour, Jobs, and Employment, Dr Rashid Pelpuo, with the Turkish President, Foreign Affairs Minister, and key stakeholders to strengthen bilateral relations.

He also played a pivotal role in securing key Turkish financiers for the construction of the Ghana National Mosque Complex and helped cultivate their investment interest in Ghana.

To ensure seamless operations for the construction and management of the mosque as well as investment in Ghanaian communities, he established and managed a foundation (NGO) to support and sustain their philanthropic and developmental initiatives in the country.

Leveraging his relationship with the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency and other key Turkish NGOs, he led the construction and refurbishment of eight schools in Ghana.

He has also organised strategic business tours to Turkey for key industry players in the car repair and spare parts manufacturing sector for the sub-region.

This initiative led to the formation of the Organisation of Magazine Union and the acquisition of 300 acres of land along the Offinso-Tamale Road for the development of a state-of-the-art automotive hub.

To help in the development of some key sectors in Ghana, he also facilitated the training of key members of Ghanaian institutions in Turkey.

About 100 teachers were also trained in ICT and pedagogy, while over 150 artisans from Kumasi Suame magazine were sent to Turkey for training.

In an attempt to fuel the interest of Turkish businessmen in Ghana, Nasir-Deen has facilitated several business tours for individuals and key stakeholders like the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce and the Independent Businessmen Association of Turkey (MUSIAD).

His personal and official links in the sector of education also led to the securing of scholarships for hundreds of Ghanaian students.

Through his foundation, the Paragon Foundation, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed with FIRAT University and Sabahattin Zaim İstanbul University, leading to the education and training of several Ghanaian students and teachers in Turkey.

He has also leveraged his partnerships with both the Turkish government and NGOs to supervise the construction of over 300 boreholes for selected deprived communities across the country.

He has also utilised his private and official relationship with key Turkish stakeholders to provide erzak (food package distribution) and Kurban (meat distribution) during Eid seasons annually to over 100,000 needy Ghanaians.