The representative of Ghanaian President, Mr. John Mahama, will arrive Nigeria, Monday morning, on a one-day visit.
But instead of Abuja, the nation’s capital, the Ghanaian President’s Chief of Staff, Dr. Julius Debrah will fly straight to Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, en-route Offa, also in Kwara State, where he will attend the maiden convocation ceremony of the University of Offa and receive the Exceptional Leadership Award conferred on him by the institution.
This was confirmed by the university’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Kazeem Gbolagade, explained that Mahama would not be physically present because of his engagement with very important state duties.
Ghana and Nigeria have maintained strong economic, diplomatic and cultural ties for decades, even before the former’s independence from British colonialists on 6 March 1957, followed by Nigeria’s own on 1 October 1960.
The bond between the two countries is not only expressed in geographical affinities but also in many areas of human endeavour with scores of citizens cohabiting peacefully and prospering in both countries.
Though it is difficult to establish the exact population of citizens within each other’s border since much of the movement within the West African sub-region is undocumented, it is, however, estimated that between one and two million Nigerians live in Ghana while an estimated 500,000 Ghanaians live in Nigeria.
But while formal expatriate concentrations in cities like Accra are easier to log, informal trade migration remains unrecorded owing largely to an ECOWAS protocol that guarantees freedom of trade and movement of persons among member countries.
Reports filtered from The Guardian and Punch newspapers, as well as President Mahama’s own words in his biography, show that the Ghanaian No. 1 citizen has a strong affinity for the agrarian town of Offa.
Offa is a major agricultural hub in Southwest Nigeria, renowned for growing sweet potatoes, maize, yams, cassava, and sorghum. Popularly referred to as the “Home of Sweet Potatoes”, Offa is also popular for traditional wrestling called Ijakadi in Yoruba language.
Mahama has deep, life-long personal roots in this agrarian town. The affinity spans family ties and formative experiences, which is why he fondly refers to the town as his “hometown in Nigeria”.
While domiciled in Nigeria, Mahama’s father, a Ghanaian rice merchant, met and married a Nigerian woman named Rabiat Igbayilola Aweni Balogun (otherwise known as Hajia Nusirat Balogun) from the Balogun lineage in Offa.
Rabiat, Mahama’s stepmother, played significant roles in raising the young Dramani, the man who would, later in life, become one of Ghana’s most celebrated Presidents.
In the 1960s, Africa was rocked by a rash of military coups and counter-coups. Ghana had its fair share, beginning with the 1966 overthrown of President Kwame Nkrumah. It was during that turbulent period that Mahama’s father fled to Nigeria on exile. Young John would later join his family in Nigeria, living in Offa for extended periods, mastering the Yoruba language in the process.
Little wonder, Mahama’s ties to the town penetrate deep even through revered traditional institutions with a string of powerful titles to boot. For instance, he is the Aare Atolase of Offa Kingdom, a protector of the nobility and development of the kingdom. The title was conferred on him in October 2015 by the Olofa of Offa, Oba Mufutau Gbadamosi Esuwoye II.
In December 2025, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, conferred the pan-Yoruba title of Aare Atayeto Oodua of the Source on President Mahama at Ile-Ife. Though the title, in the main, recognizes his contributions to African unity and celebrates the historical ties between Ghana and the Yoruba people, the honour further reinforced Mahama’s bond with his Yoruba roots.
So, the ovation would certainly be deafening in Offa today as Mahama adds another glittering feather to his cap as the University of Offa awards him the Exceptional Leadership Award.
