Alhassan Abdulai Suhuyini
Lovingly known as “Gbalahi-Naa”
27 August 1944 — 5 December 2023 · aged 79
Headmaster and chief of Gbalahi who ate last and taught thousands of Tamale children
Tamale, Ghana Born in Savelugu, Northern Region Resting at Gbalahi Cemetery, TamaleAbout Alhassan
There is a Dagbamba saying that a chief is the one who eats last, and Alhassan Suhuyini took it literally. At every Damba feast he served the guests first, the elders second, the children third, and sat down at the end of the mat to whatever was left, laughing.
Born in Savelugu in 1944, he was the son of a farmer and Quranic teacher who insisted that his son learn both his alphabet and his Arabic. After Savelugu Middle Boarding School he entered the Tamale Teacher Training College, qualifying in 1964 and starting as a classroom teacher in a village school that had no desks. He taught there on a mat, under a neem tree, for two years before the district built a classroom.
Over thirty-five years with the Ghana Education Service he taught or headed schools across the Northern Region, finishing as headmaster of Gbalahi Primary School from 1979 to 2004. He walked or cycled to work in all weather with a flask of tea on his handlebars, and made a point of visiting the home of any child who missed more than two days. More than three thousand pupils passed through his classrooms.
In 2004 the elders of Gbalahi enskinned him as their chief. He settled land disputes with patience, attended every naming and every funeral, and saw to it that every child in his chiefdom enrolled in school, girls first. He loved tuo zaafi with ayoyo soup, the Harmattan mornings, and the long evenings of the Damba festival.
He died at the Tamale Teaching Hospital in December 2023 after a short illness. He leaves his wife, four children and twenty-six grandchildren, and a town full of former pupils.
“A chief eats last, and a teacher goes home last.”
- Faith
- Muslim
- Place of birth
- Savelugu, Northern Region
- Resting place
- Gbalahi Cemetery, Tamale
- Passed away
- 5 December 2023, Tamale
Janazah Prayer & Burial
Wednesday, 6 December 2023 at 08:00 UTC
Add to calendarLife journey
Middle School Leaving Certificate
Savelugu Middle Boarding School1956 – 1960 · Savelugu
Studied Arabic alongside the standard curriculum.
Teacher's Certificate
Tamale Teacher Training College1962 – 1964 · Tamale
Trained to teach primary education.
Teacher to Headmaster
Ghana Education Service1964 – 2004 · Northern Region
Headmaster of Gbalahi Primary School from 1979.
Married Hajia Mariama Yakubu
1970 · Tamale
A marriage of fifty-three years.
Gbalahi-Naa (Chief of Gbalahi)
Gbalahi Traditional Area2004 – 2023 · Tamale
Settled disputes and insisted that every child attend school.
Tap an organisation to find others who studied or worked there.
Family & connections
Alhassan is survived by
- Hajia Mariama Suhuyini· Spouse
- Fatima Alhassan Suhuyini· Daughter
- Abdul-Rahman Suhuyini· Son
- Mohammed Suhuyini· Son
- 26 grandchildren· Grandchildren
Tributes & memories
5 people have shared a memory of Alhassan.
Knew Alhassan? Share a memory with the family and everyone who loved them.
Sign in to write a tribute- KA
Former colleague, Ghana Education Service
I was a young teacher posted from the south, frightened of the dry north. Headmaster Suhuyini sat me under his neem tree with tea and told me, 'You are a guest for one week, then you are family.' It was exactly right.
- DA
Former pupil, physician at Tamale Teaching Hospital
He was the first to tell my father that a girl could be a doctor. He was also the first to attend my graduation, in a fresh smock, standing at the very back. I treated him in his final week, and he still asked about my studies.
- NI
Fellow chief, Dagbon
He settled the Gbalahi boundary dispute of 2011 in a single afternoon, using stories rather than rules. Both parties went home thinking they had won. That is the gift of a true chief, and very few possess it.
- HS
Neighbour, Gbalahi
He insisted on greeting every woman in the market by her mother's name. Where else would you find a chief who remembers your mother? We will keep his seat warm in our hearts for as long as Gbalahi stands.
- AM
Former pupil, now an engineer in Accra
The headmaster once visited my father's house after I missed school for a week. He did not scold me. He sat with my family and asked what they needed so that I could return. I have been in class, and then in engineering, ever since.