On many scales, she could be described as a “drop in the ocean” kind of person when it comes to the subject of popularity, as compared to her husband, the National Chief Imam of Ghana, Sheikh Osmanu Nuhu Sharubutu.
But with the help of the Oman Channel on Facebook, the identity and all there is to know about the wife of the Chief Imam have been documented on video.
Speaking to Theophilus Annan through an interpreter, Adiza Osman explained that she and the Chief Imam never quite met until the time of their marriage ceremony.
She added that although she was from a much-better well-to-do background, her arranged marriage was to the Chief Imam, who was not from such a great background, financially.
She went on to say that she didn’t like him as a suitor at first, but that the decision to like or dislike him was not in her hands.
“My grandmother and the Chief Imam were in the same group. My grandmother was taken into marriage through the hands of the National Chief Imam and so it was an arranged marriage. It was through this that I also came into the picture and got married to the Chief Imam.
“Take note that in the past, a daughter could not make her own choice of a suitor. There was the need for her the parents to do that and mostly, they would have made up their minds on which house their children will marry from.
“All I knew about him before we met was that he was a father and a Muslim scholar who taught in the big Islamic school that was demolished at Makola. I knew him as my father’s senior brother. I did not know I would marry him, but there was no room for me to accept or not because it was settled. It didn’t matter if I liked him or not.
“But in all honesty, I didn’t like him much initially because where he used to live wasn’t so nice: somewhere before they moved to Old Fadama. The area did not even have electricity, and it was a very muddy place. They actually used to use lanterns then, but I was coming from a rich background where I had everything, including electricity,” she said.
Adiza Osman also explained that, beyond all these, she realised that the person she was to marry, Sheikh Nuhu Sharubutu, was equally loved in his family as she was in hers.
She added that the family from which he came was equally influential and respected by many, despite their unwealthy status in society.
“That notwithstanding, just as I was loved and cherished in my home, the same was with the Chief Imam: he was loved by his family dearly. So, it was like a union between a prince and a princess. And besides, the Chief Imam’s family was well-known and very influential too.
“In fact, the sister of Mallam Abbas, who was there before him, is the one who gave birth to the National Chief Imam so, even though his family was not wealthy, they were very influential and highly respected,” she explained.
