John Mahama is married to Lordina Effah, and they have five children; four boys and a girl. The names of the former Ghanaian president’s children are Shafik Mahama, Shahid Mahama, Sharaf Mahama, Jesse Mahama, and Farida Mahama.
How Many Children Does John Mahama Have?
Some sources report he has as many as 18 children, others peg it at 9 while some have it that he has 7 children. However, John, from his marriage to Lordina Effah has 5 beautiful children named Shafik, Shahid, Sharaf, Jesse, and Farida. He shares an equal cordial relationship with all his children which makes them love him dearly.
In an interview with the New York-based magazine ‘Africawatch,’ widely reported by many Ghanian media outlets, John Mahama said in his own words ”There is this idea of me being a womanizer which is certainly not true. I have had a few children outside my marriage, but I’m at peace with my wife. She knows and understands the circumstances in which it all happened, and I have been a very responsible father to all my children.” Interestingly, John did not ever deny that he had children outside his marriage with his wife, Lordina.
1. Shafik Mahama
- Date of birth: 21st December
- Nationality: Ghanaian
- School/s attended: a University in Dubai
- Occupation: Media personality
- Siblings: Sharaff, Jesse, Shahid, and Farida
- His Age when Mahama was president: Unknown
- Mahama’s age when he was born: Unknown
- Marital status: Married to Asma
Shafik Mahama is the first son of John Mahama. He celebrates his birthday every 21st of December but his exact year of birth remains unknown. Following his father’s footsteps, Shafik on January 18, 2018, graduated with a degree in media and mass communication. Shafik is a very gentle and disciplined man and is passionately pursuing a career in the media. He recently bagged a first degree in media studies from a university in Dubai.
On July 16, 2020, Shafik got married to an Algerian lady, Asma who is based in Dubai. Their wedding ceremony was a private event attended only by the immediate families of the bride and groom. Reportedly Asma also came from a renowned family in the northern African country.
2. Shahid Mahama
- Date of birth: Unknown
- Nationality: Ghanaian
- School/s attended: Ndewura Jakpa Senior School, Damongo, Ghana and University of Cape Coast
- Occupation: Unknown
- Siblings: Shafik, Jesse, Sharaff, and Farida
- His Age when Mahama was president: Unknown
- Mahama’s age when he was born: Unknown
- Marital Status: Single
Shahid is the second son of John and his wife Lordina Mahama. He is known by his friend as ‘the guy with much beard’. Calm and energetic, Shahid likes to enjoy his life privately, consequently, little is known about him. However, he completed his secondary education at Ndewura Jakpa Senior School, Damongo, Ghana, while he went further with his university education at the University of Cape Coast.
3. Sharaf Mahama
- Age: 27 years old
- Date of birth: 21st September 1996
- Nationality: Ghanaian
- School/s attended: Unknown
- Occupation: Footballer
- Siblings: Shafik, Jesse, Shahid, and Farida
- His Age when Mahama was president: 16 – 21 years old
- Mahama’s age when he was born: 38 years old
- Marital status: Single
Born in Ghana, Sharaf Mahama is the third son of the Ghanaian politician, John Mahama, and his wife Lordina Mahama. He celebrates his birthday on 21st September each year. Sharaf had his university education in Dubai. He is a football lover who previously signed a professional contract with Belgian top-flight side KV Mechelen. In June 2015, he featured in ex Ghana captain Stephen Appiah’s testimonial match where he displayed his football skills. He currently plays for GPL club WAFA.
Sharaf has been supporting young people in his country who aspire to become footballers but lack the wherewithal. As a result, he returned to his hometown Bole where he hosted a football tournament, bringing all the footballers in the town to train with him. Sharif promised to subsequently support them with donations to help them achieve their desires of becoming professional footballers.
4. Jesse Mahama
- Age: 20 years old
- Date of birth: 22nd August 2003
- Nationality: Ghanaian
- School/s attended: Unknown
- Occupation: Student
- Siblings: Shafik, Sharaff, Shahid, and Farida.
- His Age when Mahama was president: 9 – 14 years old
- Mahama’s age when he was born: 45 years old
- Marital Status: Single
Jesse Mahama is the fourth and last son of John and his wife. He was born in 2003 and celebrates his birthday on August 22 each year. He is currently a student at one of the universities in Ghana. On father’s day 2020, Jesse and his siblings made a short video wishing their dad a happy Father’s Day. Their father later posted the video on his social media account to the admiration of man people.
5. Farida Mahama
- Age: 17 years old
- Date of Birth: July 15, 2006
- Nationality: Ghana
- School/s attended: Secondary school level
- Occupation: Student
- Siblings: Shafik, Sharaff, Jesse, and Shahid
- Her Age when Mahama was president: 6 – 11 years old
- Mahama’s age when he was born: 48 years old
- Marital Status: Single
Is Any of John Mahama’s Children a Politician?
Out of the five children John Mahama has, none wants to follow the footsteps of their father in politics. They have instead chosen for themselves different career paths. Farida, was once asked in a Q&A session she once hosted whether she aspires to become a politician and she replied that she is not interested at all.
Their decisions seem to have gone down well with their parents though as they have not been seen trying to encourage their children to go into politics. Be that as it may, we can’t conclude just yet for the Mahama’s as the future still holds a lot in store of them. For now, they are doing well pursuing their respective careers.
Meet Lordina Mahama, John Mahama’s Wife
- Age: 60 years old
- Date of Birth: 6 March 1963
- Nationality: Ghana
- School/s attended: Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration and De Montfort University, UK
- Marital Status: Married to John Dramani Mahama
- Her Age when Mahama was president: 49 – 54 years old
Lordina Mahama (nee Effah) is the wife of John Mahama. Prior to becoming Firstlady, she was the Second lady from 2009 to 2012. Born on March 6, 1963, and now aged 60 years old, Lordina is from Jema-Ampoma in the Nkoranza District, Brong-Ahafo, Ghana. Interestingly, it was during her secondary education at Ghana Secondary school that she met her better half, John Dramani Mahama. She speaks English, Dagbani, Hausa, and Twi fluently.
Her Education and Career
Lordina’s enthusiasm and interest in culinary business and enterprise drove her to consider catering at the Flair Catering Service. Hence, she went for a four-year college education in Hospitality Management at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA). In 2019, she graduate from De Montfort University, UK with a Master of Laws (LLM) in Business Law/International Business Law.
She became the second lady on January 7 2009 when her husband became the vice President of Ghana. Then, upon the death of his predecessor, John Mahama became the president of the republic of ghana in line with Ghana’s constitution, automatically making Lordina the first lady of the country. She remained the first lady till her husband was ousted from power in 2016 by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Lordina is currently the President and founder of Lordina Foundation. A nongovernmental organization dedicated to catering to the welfare of the less privileged in Ghana especially orphans and vulnerable children. The foundation has touched the lives of beneficiaries in many regions of the country. These are some of the activities the foundation has embarked on over the years:
- Offering equipment and medical supplies to some of the poorly resourced health centers
- Offering free health screening services to various communities
- Donating essentials to ostracised women and orphanages
- Offering scholarships to brilliant students to enable them to pursue their academic dreams
- Assisting destitute artisans to enable them to make meaningful livelihoods out of their acquired skills