The Ghanaian Minaret

Accra- The former Chairman of the Ghana Football Association, Mohammed Nuru-Deen Jawula has been buried in the Tennessee State of the United States, on Sunday, January 22, 2023.

His burial ceremony was witnessed by some relatives and undertaken by the Islamic Centre of Nashville (ICN), Bellevue Mosque in the State of Tennessee of the United States of America (USA).

The former football administrator who died on Saturday is the Lepowura of the Kujolobite Gate of Lepo-Kpempe.

Born in May 1949, the 74-year-old attended Kpandai Primary and Middle schools and proceeded to Tamale Secondary school in 1961.

While in Upper sixth and as senior Prefect, he won an award to continue with his sixth form in Marling School in Stroud of Gloucestershire in England.

He would later return to Ghana after the programme in 1968 to gain admission to UCC where he read English and Economics.

While in UCC, he was the President of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS).

After his graduation in 1972, he did two years of teaching at Tamale Secondary School (Tamasco) before going back to school at the University of Ghana, Legon for an MA in African studies, specialising in African literature.

After Legon, he joined the civil service of Ghana and served as Assistant District Chief Executive in Yendi in 1976 (the days when senior civil servants were appointed DCEs in Ghana).

In 1977, he went to GIMPA for a Post Graduate Diploma in Public Administration.

He returned to the civil service in 1979 as DCE for the then newly created district of Walewale and then to Gambaga/ Nalerigu as DCE between 1981 to 1983.

Jawula was later posted to the Tamale Regional Administration office as Deputy Director between 1983 to 1988 and proceeded to Carleton university in Ottawa, Canada as a Lester Pearson Fellow.

On his return to Ghana in 1989, he worked briefly in Tolon as DCE and then got posted to the Ministry of Finance in Accra.

He rose through the service from Deputy Director to Director and Head of Administration till 2003 when he was posted to the then Ministry of Harbours and Railways as Chief Director.

In 2006, was posted to the Ministry of Health as Chief Director.

In 2008, he resigned from the civil service for wearing an NPP T-shirt at a rally in Kasoa.

MND Jawula retired from civil/public service on his birthday in May 2009 and registered for another masters programme in Social policy at the University of Ghana, Legon which ended in 2010.

In between his civil life, he was a football administrator. He has a passion for Chieftancy, too.

Between 1997-2001, he was Chairman of the GFA and became Lepowura (Chief of staff to the Kpembewura) in 2006.

Before that, he supervised Ghana’s 1995 U-17 World Cup success in Ecuador and later was in charge of the Black Starlets that finished second and third in the 1997 and 1999 U-17 FIFA World Cups.

Under his management, the Black Satellites finished second in the 2001 U-20 World Cup.

Until his demise, he was a member of the CAF Inter-club committee and CAF/FIFA Match Commissioner, and Chairman of the GFA’s committee for Ghana’s Premier league.

Otumfuor, the Asantehene invited him to chair the Otumfuor Traditional Leadership Centre at the University of Professional Studies where he trained several Chiefs and Queen mothers until his 70th birthday.

He left behind two wives, 10 children, and 20 grandchildren.