Thursday, 11th December, 2025
Hon Abdul Kabiru Tiah Mahama
Walewale
Mr Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the people of the Walewale Constituency and indeed, the entire North East Region, to pay a solemn tribute to one of Ghana's distinguished sons — Naa Professor John Sebiyam Nabila, Wulugunaba of Kpasenkpe — a scholar, statesman, traditional ruler and a servant of the Republic whose life was devoted to the pursuit of knowledge, public service, and the preservation of our cherished customs and traditions.
Born on 15th December, 1940, Naa Professor Nabila rose from humble beginnings in the then Northern Region to become one of Ghana’s foremost academics and traditional rulers. His journey from the classrooms of Kpasenkpe, of Gambaga, of Pusiga, of Tamale, of Ghana’s Premier University to the world’s great universities stands as a shining testament to the transformative power of education and the unrelenting desire of Naa Prof to attain knowledge.
He obtained his Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Geography from the University of Ghana, and proceeded to Michigan State University, U.S.A., where he earned both his Masters and Doctoral degrees in Geography, specialising in Population and Medical Geography. For over four decades, Professor Nabila served with distinction at the University of Ghana, rising through the ranks to become Professor of Geography and Resource Development. He guided countless students and mentored generations of Ghanaian scholars. His intellectual leadership and pioneering research in population, health, and environmental studies influenced policy at national and international levels. In recognition of his academic excellence and dedication, he received the Best Teacher Award at the University of Ghana in 1998.
Mr Speaker, beyond academia, Naa Professor Nabila answered the call of public duty. He served as Member of Parliament and Minister of State for Presidential Affairs and Information during the Third Republic, contributing to the strengthening of our democratic governance. He later served as Vice Chairman of the National Population Council, three term Member of the Council of State, and subsequently, as two-term President of the National House of Chiefs from 2009 to 2016. In that capacity, he distinguished himself as a bridge between tradition and modern governance, guiding the institution of chieftaincy with wisdom, integrity, and foresight. The idea of codifying chieftaincy especially with regards to lineage and succession and also establishing a research desk at the National House of Chiefs were his brainchildren.
In the words of the National House of Chiefs, the late Wulugunaba was “distinguished statesman, academic and traditional ruler whose life embodied humility, wisdom, and commitment to national unit” As Wulugunaba of Kpasenkpe, Naa Professor Nabila took the skin name “Naa Pugangsoa,” meaning “Chief of all people irrespective of tribe, status, or association.” Simply, a chief who does not discriminate. This name captured his heart and spirit — inclusive, compassionate, and profoundly human.
Though a royal, he carried himself with striking humility. He was as comfortable in academic robes as he was among his people in the village — listening, guiding, and uplifting. His leadership was defined not by the distance of privilege, but by the closeness of service. He led his people with dignity and compassion, upholding peace and promoting education and development in his traditional area.
Mr Speaker, for his lifelong service to Ghana, he was awarded the Companion of the Order of the Volta, one of the nation’s highest honours. Naa Professor John Sebiyam Nabila exemplified the finest qualities of the Ghanaian spirit — humility in leadership, integrity in service, and devotion to knowledge. He was a man who served with both the pen and the skin/stool — a scholar who never lost touch with his roots, and a chief who embraced the promise of progress. As we mourn his passing, let us also celebrate a life that enriched our nation and strengthened the fabric of our democracy. He was one of our own — a pioneering legislator representing the Walewale Constituency. His passing is not just a loss to the North but the nation at large. Ghana has lost a bridge builder and a patriot.
Mr Speaker, we however take solace in his legacies. His legacy lives on in the institutions he built, the students he mentored, and the example he set for all who believe that service to one's people is the highest calling of all. His Royal Highness was a towering symbol of traditional leadership, cultural preservation, and national service. His life’s work bridged the sacred and civic, leaving an indelible mark on the Mamprugu Kingdom, the Gbewa Chieftaincy fraternity, and the Republic of Ghana. As a pioneering figure of the Assemblies of God Church in Ghana, his deep faith and moral uprightness are virtues we take pride in.
Mr Speaker, may the soul of Naa Professor John Sebiyam Nabila, Wulugunaba of Kpasenkpe, rest in perfect peace, and may his life’s work continue to inspire generations of Ghanaians to serve with wisdom, humility, patriotism, dignity and honour. Rest well, distinguished son of Ghana; rest well, Naa; rest well, Prof; rest well, servant-leader. Your nation salutes you.
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
Hon Haruna Iddrisu
Tamale South
Mr Speaker, I should thank the Hon Member for Walewale for the befitting tribute to his Royal Naa Prof John Nabila, Wulugu Naba, a distinguished academic, an achieved politician and a sober personality.
Indeed, Mr Speaker, I should add that the traditional royalty of Mamprugu have lost a towering personality whose influence in northern Ghana — in particular, he left an indelible mark at the University of Ghana when he was head of the Geography Department. There were many who got to campus those days and did not know where to lay their heads because they were travelling. Mr Speaker, if you would recall, in our generation, there were many young students from the north who travelled to the University of Ghana, and probably on arrival in Accra and on the university campus, it was their first opportunity to be in Accra. Prof Nabila then helped settle many of those young ones into the University of Ghana.
Mr Speaker, we benefited enormously as a country from him when he worked at the National Population Council on matters of reproductive health for young people. I did not even know the difference between adolescence and adulthood. I learned it from him when he gave the cohort of the age category; those who were adolescents and those who were adults and what was expected of their behaviour at that time.
Mr Speaker, he served the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) government very well and for many who knew him, he was very instrumental in resolving many conflicts using the influence of his traditional authority. I hope that, Mr Speaker, to his memory, we will work to revive the Wulugu Farms in honour of his memory.
So, Mr Speaker, I join the Hon Member for Walewale in extending our profound sympathies and condolences to his family, the Wulugu Naba of Kpasenkpe. Kpasenkpe is one of the areas where we can easily get a Category A school. Whether from A to B or not. It has a befitting infrastructure for it. May his soul rest in perfect peace. May his work continue to inspire more young people to be academics and along the line, if they have to be political, to serve with integrity and with purpose.
Allah Wa Ta’ala grant and repose the soul of the Wulugunaba. Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Hon Mustapha Ussif
Yagaba-Kubori
Thank you so much, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to also comment let me also use this opportunity to thank the Hon Member for Walewale for making this very important Statement.
The demise of Naa Prof John Sebiyam Nabila has left a very deep void in our country and in the hearts of many who knew him. His life was a remarkable gift to the people of Mamprugu and in fact, Ghana as a whole. He carried himself with dignity, wisdom and quiet strength that touched many lives across the nation and also generations. Naa Prof John Sebiyam Nabila, as a traditional leader, served with real humility and authority.
He guided his people with patience, compassion and unwavering commitment for peace. As an academic, he stood tall as one of Ghana’s finest in Geography. His scholarship, dedication to research and lifelong devotion in pursuit of knowledge shaped countless students and strengthened our national institutions.
Mr Speaker, our revered chief, Naa Professor John Sebiyam Nabila, gave himself fully to the nation, never seeking the spotlight and never demanding recognition. Whether in the lecture hall or in national service or as a traditional tool, he remained steady, thoughtful and deeply principled. His legacy is one of integrity, discipline and love for Ghana.
For us in the north and for me, his loss is very painful. He was a father figure to many, a custodian of our heritage and a source of guidance for leaders at all levels. His counsel is always honest, calm and grounded with fairness.
On behalf of the people of YagabaKubori Constituency, I wish to extend my heartfelt condolences to the family and to the royal family of Kpasenkpe and the entire Mamprugu Kingdom. May the almighty God grant him peaceful rest and strengthen all who are mourning him now. Naa Prof John Sebiyam Nabila’s journey must have ended on earth, but his legacy will continue to guide and inspire many generations. Thank you so much, Mr Speaker.
Hon Clement Abas Apaak
Builsa South
Mr Speaker, I am grateful to you for giving me the opportunity to comment on the wellpresented eulogy by the Hon Member for Walewale in the wake of the passing of a noble, well-respected, astute and humble Ghanaian intellectual, traditional leader and politician.
Mr Speaker, I got to know the late Naa Prof Nabila in person in 1992 when I gained admission to the University of Ghana. But even before then, I had known of him through my father, who is now late as well, because they were mates at the university. It was always my dream to be a geographer, and so when I gained admission to the University of Ghana, I was hoping to be in his department. He was the head of the Geography Department at the University of Ghana in 1992.
As fate would have it, I was not given geography as one of my three subjects. But I impressed upon my father, and I cried severally, for him to take me to see Prof Nabila, the then head of the Geography Department, to change one of my courses, that was Archaeology, to Geography. Naa Prof Nabila agreed to take me as his student.
Unfortunately for me, the then Dean of Social Sciences, the late Professor Anquandah, who happened to be an archaeologist, refused to sign the change form, arguing that if all students were allowed to leave archaeology, his discipline would come to an end.
Later, in my life, I got to meet him when he became the Chief, and I can recount his humility and how welcoming he was. In fact, he is one of those personalities who made people feel at ease and at home. Indeed, his demise is not just a loss to Mamprugu; it is a loss to academia, it is a loss to the Republic, and it is a loss to our traditional rulership. May he rest in perfect peace. Thank you.
Hon Nurideen Muhammed Mumuni
Nalerigu/Gambaga
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I would first of all want to use the opportunity to thank MP for Walewale, Dr Mahama, for making this Statement.
Mr Speaker, the people of Mamprugu have lost a great son. The people of Ghana have lost a statesman. Mr Speaker, Chief Prof Nabila was not just an ordinary chief in Mamprugu. If you come to the Mamprugu tradition, he was the first son of the overlord of the Mamprugu traditional area, the Ti Dugma Nayiri. Mr Speaker, Prof Nabila served his people as chief, and if one goes to the Wulugu traditional area, you will realise that a great man was occupying that school.
Mr Speaker, he did not just occupy the school as a chief, but he also made sure that he lobbied for development to his traditional area, in the area of potable water, healthcare, provision of CHPS compound, and other health needs of the people.
Mr Speaker, during the time of Prof Nabila, when he was the president of the National House of Chiefs, one of the things that he did at the National House of Chiefs that made a lot of chiefs in this country very happy, was when he authored the National House of Chiefs’ Code for Chiefs. Mr Speaker, it was a great thing that he did at the National House of Chiefs.
Mr Speaker, in 2015, he also used his position as the president of the National House of Chiefs, when there was a dispute between striking doctors and the Government of Ghana at that time, it was the president of the National House of Chiefs, the late Chief Nabila, who helped in resolving the dispute between the striking doctors and the Government of Ghana. At that time, H.E. President John Dramani Mahama, was the President.
Mr Speaker, he also used his position to serve this country in many ways. During his time as the president of the National House of Chiefs, at the time we were approaching elections, he used his position to bring preach the people of Ghana for peaceful elections.
Mr Speaker, in conclusion, I want to use this opportunity to send my condolences to the chief mourner, who is the Ti Dugma Nayiri, HRM Naa Bohaga Abdulai Mahami Sheeriga, who is the overlord of the Mamprugu traditional area and the people of Mamprugu. May the soul of the good professor and the good chief rest in perfect peace.
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
Hon Ayariga Mahama
Bawku Central
Mr Speaker, I also got to know Prof Nabila when I became a student of the University of Ghana. On one occasion, my mother mentioned to me if I knew my uncle, Prof Nabila.
Subsequently, I got to meet him. I worked at the Human Rights Centre of the Faculty of Law which was then run by Professor Quashigah, and also a German NGO called Friedrich-EbertStiftung. The NGO, in the transition days, when Ghana was transitioning from military rule to a democratic government, and we were trying to build our institutions, including the institution of chieftaincy and others, there were a lot of workshops and seminars that these NGOs funded. At several of them, I listened to Prof Nabila present one paper or the other. Clearly, this man was a highly knowledgeable person, had great institutional knowledge about our country and how it should be structured.
Later, as I got to delved deep into his background, I got to know that during the People’s National Party (PNP) regime, he was indeed the Minister for Defence of the then Government led by Dr Hilla Limann. Then I connected, because my own father was also at that time the Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, on the ticket of the same party, which is the PNP.
So, Mr Speaker, it made us closer. Subsequently, Prof Nabila’s daughter took over from me as the head of an NGO that I had established with my colleague, Professor Raymond Atuguba, and up to date, she is the head of the NGO, which is the Legal Resources Centre. So, I have had a very long association with the Professor. I have had a long association with the family, and indeed, politically, we have had a long association in terms of our families and the parties in the 1970s and government in the early 1980s.
Mr Speaker, it is indeed sad that he has left us. Of course, he was very aged. And we all pray that we get to live such a life of service to our community, our society, our country, and our governments. The ceremony is at the Accra International Conference Centre, so I urge Colleagues to make time at 9 a.m. for us to join the family and his friends to pay tribute to such a glorious life, a life well lived, a life of service, a life of dignity, a very accomplished life. Even though whenever somebody passes, it is a sad moment. But when we know that a person passed through this earth and left an indelible mark, we should be celebrating that life.
A lot has been said about his role in maintaining peace in the North, and I believe that first, we need more people like that in the North, especially at this critical juncture where the North is beset with a lot of unfortunate incidents of lack of peace and security. We, those who come after them, must follow after their footsteps and work together and build on the legacy of building enduring peace which people like Professor Nabila have bequeathed to us.
Let me once again express my condolences to the family; express my condolences to the people of Wulugu; and express my condolences to the Mamprugu Kingdom.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
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