Mohammed Abdul-Saaka was a lawyer and a Ghanaian politician. He was a deputy minister in the second republic. He served as deputy minister for defence and later deputy minister for internal affairs (now ministry of interior).

Early life and education

Mohammed Saaka was born on 22 July 1935 at Janga, a village near

Walewale Walewale is a town and the capital oMamprusi West Municipalin the Northeast Region of Ghana. It lies on the main road from Bolgatanga to Tamale, at the junction of the road west to Nalerigu, the capital of the newly created Northeast Region. It wa ...

. He is the son of Namoraa Yimbasi who was a subchief within the Soo Traditional Area, he is also a qualified candidate for the Soo Namship (kingship) through the Naa (chief/king) Kobri Gate in Janga. Mohammed hailed from Janga in the Northern Region of Ghana. He had his early education at the

Gambaga Gambaga is the capital of the East Mamprusi Municipal Assembly in the North East Region of Ghana. Once a residence of Mamprusi-kings it is still the capital of East Mamprusi Municipal Assembly, a municipality in the North East Region of Ghana. ...

Primary Boarding School from 1947 to 1951 and the

Nalerigu Nalerigu is the largest town in the East Mamprusi Municipal Assembly in the North East Region of Ghana as well as the traditional capital of the Mamprusi people, the seat of the Paramount Chief, the NaYiri. Nalerigu is also the capital of the No ...

Middle Boarding School from 1952 to 1954. He later proceeded to

Prempeh College Prempeh College is a public secondary boarding school for boys located in Kumasi, the capital city of the Ashanti Region, Ghana. The school was founded in 1949 by the Asanteman traditional authority, the British Colonial Government, the Metho ...

for his secondary and sixth form education from 1955 to 1959 and from 1960 to 1962 respectively. He entered the

University of Ghana The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It the oldest and largest of the thirteen Ghanaian national public universities. The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the Br ...

Legon Legon , a suburb of the Ghanaian city Accra, is situated about north-east of the city center in the Accra Metropolis District, a district in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Legon is home to the main campus of the University of Ghana. Ghanaia ...

in 1962 where he studied law and was called to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in 1966 alongside Lawyer Ibrahim Mahama and former speaker of parliament Ebenezer Sekye Huse.

Career and Politics

He practised law privately in

Tamale A tamale, in Spanish tamal, is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of masa, a dough made from nixtamalized corn, which is steamed in a corn husk or banana leaf. The wrapping can either be discarded prior to eating or used as a plate. Tamale ...

before he ventured into politics. He was also a leader in the Northern Youth Association. He was appointed ministerial secretary at the ministry of defence in 1969. That same year he was elected as a member of parliament for

on the ticket of the Progress Party. He contested with Kansoni B. Asabigi of the

National Alliance of Liberals The National Alliance of Liberals (NAL) was a political party in Ghana during the Second Republic (1969–1972). The party was formed after the ban on party politics was lifted in May 1969 and was dissolved along with all other political part ...

and Alfred Asaana Illiasu of the

All People's Republican Party The All People's Republican Party (APRP) was a political party in Ghana during the Second Republic (1969–1972). In elections held on 29 August 1969, the APRP won 1 out of 140 seats in the National Assembly. On October 20, 1970, the APRP, the Nati ...

. In 1971 he was moved to the ministry of interior (internal affairs) as its ministerial secretary. He served in that position until January, 1972 when the

Busia government This is a listing of the ministers who served in Busia's Progress Party government during the Second Republic of Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Gu ...

was overthrown by the Supreme Military Council. The overthrown prime minister

Kofi Abrefa Busia Kofi Abrefa Busia (born 11 July 1913 – 28 August 1978) was a Ghanaian political leader and academic who was Prime Minister of Ghana from 1969 to 1972. As a nationalist leader and prime minister, he helped to restore civilian government to the ...

was then in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and members of the then erstwhile government were being arrested. He sought asylum in

Ouagadougou Ouagadougou ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Burkina Faso and the administrative, communications, cultural, and economic centre of the nation. It is also the country's largest city, with a population of 2,415,266 in 2019. The city's n ...

the capital of

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

which was then known as Upper Volta. In Burkina Faso, he went to the American embassy in Ouagadougou to inform the then American ambassador about the situation in Ghana and requested for arrangements to be made so he could meet the overthrown prime minister. In December, 1972 he left Ghana for the

Personal life

Mohammed identified a Muslim by religion and he has two children Jamila and Roland. He lived in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in his later life.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdul-Saaka, Mohammed 20th-century Ghanaian lawyers Ghanaian MPs 1969–1972 Progress Party (Ghana) politicians University of Ghana alumni 1941 births Living people

Early life and education

Career and Politics

Personal life

See also

References