Dr. Osman Nuhu Sharubutu
Residents of the ancient fishing town of Axim in the Western Region were excited when the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Dr. Osman Nuhu Sharubutu visited the area last Thursday, the location believed to be his hometown.
It was a historical visit which the cleric without doubt relished so much.
The queen mother of Upper Axim, Nana Egyasie II, explained why the area is the hometown of the National Chief Imam in remarks which captivated her audience.
According to her, somewhere in 1515, the then Governor of the Gold Coast went to Axim with two men from Nigeria to assist in the construction of a fort in the town.
She said the two Nigerians who were the aides-de-camp of the governor were Moslems.
She added that after completing their assignment, the younger among the two brothers saw that the then queen mother of Upper Axim who thumb-printed the documents for the land on which the fort was built, was pretty.
“So the Nigerian Moslem asked the queen mother if he could get a woman from the family to marry. The queen mother then gave her younger sister, Akosua Kwamba, who got married to the Nigerian.
“Akosua Kwamba’s name was later changed to Amina,” she disclosed.
Nana Egyasie II, said the couple later went to Nigeria and had children including Sheikh Nuhu Sharubutu, the father of the Chief Imam who later returned to Ghana.
She said the last time the Chief Imam visited Axim was about 40 years ago.
So last Thursday, it was all joy when the Chief Imam and his entourage stormed the ancient fishing town to among other things cut sod for the construction of an Islamic University in the Nzema area.
After parading through the principal streets of Axim, the National Chief Imam and his entourage gathered at the Axim Victoria Park where a durbar was organised in his honour.
The entourage included Most Rev. Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle, who also hails from Axim.
It was attended by people from all walks of life including traditional leaders, the clergy and the Moslem community in Nzema land.
Addressing the gathering through an interpreter, the Chief Imam encouraged Christians and Moslems to continue to coexist since they are all Ghanaians.
“Let us love one another irrespective of where we come from,” he stressed.
He called on the youth of Nzema to take their studies serious in order to become great personalities in future.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Axim