First Lady of Ghana to Speak at Commencement

Lordina Dramani Mahama, First Lady of the Republic of Ghana in London in  June 2014. Courtesy Wikimedia

Lordina Dramani Mahama, First Lady of the Republic of Ghana in London in June 2014. Courtesy Wikimedia

By Jeff Coltin

Nana Lordina Dramani Mahama, advocate for women and the poor and wife of the Ghanaian President, has been chosen as the commencement speaker for Fordham’s 170th Commencement.

According to the University’s release, Lordina Mahama, as she is known, is president of the Lordina Foundation, which works to improve healthcare accessibility and expand educational opportunities in the West African nation.

“In conferring an honorary degree upon Mrs. Mahama, it is we who are honored,” said Joseph M. McShane, SJ, president of Fordham in a statement. “Her work with women and children in Ghana and across Africa reminds us of persistence of kindness and the will to make a difference in the world.”

Mahama was born in Ghana and received a bachelor’s in hospitality management and a master’s in governance and leadership from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration. Fordham will grant her with an honorary doctorate of humane letters.

She became First Lady in July 2012 when her husband, John Dramani Mahama took office upon the death of his predecessor.

Doreen Bentum, FCRH ’15, was born in Ghana and lived there for most of her teenage years. She was not thrilled by the pick.

“[Mahama] does what most first ladies do. Donate to orphanages during the Christmas season,” she said for example. “She’s no Michelle Obama. She’s just kind of silent and in the background.”

Bentum also said the first family is not too popular among Ghanaians.

“People in Ghana are not to happy with the state of affairs regarding the government and how they’re running stuff,” she said.

An October 2014 survey of Ghanains from Afrobarometer found 76% believed the government has failed. A full 82% believed the country was moving the in wrong direction.

A more recent survey from Trends and Rating Consult found 48% of people in the capital city of Accra trusted President John Mahama to fix the national health insurance program.

Health is where Lordina Mahama seems to have put most of her focus. A Feburary article from ModernGhana.com notes Mahama appearing at a health clinic in Greater Accra to deliver medical items. She said them the government is hoping to reach its vision of universal health care. A Ghanaian Deputy Minister complimented her at the event, saying Mahama is “the first First Lady to champion the cause of maternal and public health to prevent diseases and unnecessary death.”

Despite her issues with Ghana’s government, Bentum was happy that a woman was chosen as Commencement speaker. Two women have given the keynote address at graduation in the last 20 years. Most recently, President of Ireland Mary McAleese spoke in 2010.

Mahama will not be the first Black woman to speak at commencement. Lawyer and children’s activist Marian Wright Edelman delivered the address in 1991.

Commencement for the Class of 2015 will be held Saturday, May 16 on Edward’s Parade at the Rose Hill Campus.

Also receving honorary degrees will be

  • Retired Navy Adm. Michael Mullen, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
  • Douglas M. Brooks, director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy
  • His Eminence Jaime Cardinal Lucas Ortega y Alamino, Archbishop of Havana
  • William Loschert, GABELLI ’61, former Fordham trustee and retired chairman of ACE Global Markets
  • Matthew Goldstein, Chancellor Emeritus of the City University of New York
  • Dennis M. Walcott, GSS ’80, former chancellor of the New York City Department of Education.

More information on Fordham’s website.

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