Inusah Mohammed, a University of New Mexico graduate student in the communication and journalism department, pursues an activist lifestyle that emphasizes the need for youth literacy.
“I am involved with students and I'm involved with young ones. I always want young ones to go up, to come up, to rise up to the full potentialities of themselves,” Mohammed said.
Mohammed studied marketing in his undergraduate degree, to which he said communication was central. He said this was especially helpful in his hometown Nima in Ghana to highlight various issues or topics.
“I started highlighting issues of my community. I come from a community called Nima in Ghana. Yeah, so it's a community that needs a whole lot of uplift, a whole lot of upgrades. So I think that writing about the community, highlighting on the various media platforms in Ghana and putting it on the spotlight to the issues of Nima became topical in the country,” Mohammed said.
This inspired Mohammed to study communication at UNM.
“I realized that if I could do this on my own, because of the books I read — and I'm a voracious reader; I read and I try to write stuff from the things I read, the lessons I learned — why not go into communication because … communication can be used to effectively affect the lives of people,” Mohammed said.
Mohammed said he’s a literacy advocate for the youth and uses stories to encourage younger people to get into reading.
“I am a literal advocate. So anytime I'm speaking to youth or anytime I'm interacting with youth, I push them to books, not necessarily giving them books, but I entice them with stories I get from the books, with some of the statements I get from the books, some of the quotations and things that I get from the books” Mohammed said.
Mohammed has a book list he recommends to others, and some picks include “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” by Malcolm X and Alex Haley, “Long Walk to Freedom” by Nelson Mandela, “Dreams From My Father” by Barack Obama, “My Life” by Bill Clinton and “Decision Points” by George W. Bush. Friend and colleague Alhassan Ahmed also noted what a voracious reader Mohammed is and how important reading is for the youth.
“If our young ones are not engaged in reading, then the future is bleak. Because if our younger generations are not into reading, then who is there to protect our future?” Ahmed said.
It took 11 years for Mohammed to get his first degree, but he never gave up. He said going to school in the U.S. is also inspiring for his community back home in Ghana. Mohammed said in the future, he might go for a Ph.D. and enjoys teaching others as well as education in America.
“I have a nice style of teaching. I put the students in focus … So I want to go into Ph.D., and if possible, stay in the classroom to teach but I'm still open to many avenues,” Mohammed said.
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Mohammed is “accommodating and accommodative at the same time,” according to Ahmed. Other notable qualities Ahmed brought up were Mohammed’s leadership, patience and religious devotion.
“(Mohammed) is a very patient person. He acts very calmly. When he meets you, you can see his patience. And I think that’s one of the key components of a leader,” Ahmed said.
Mohammed joined the Avert Youth Foundation after he graduated high school in Ghana, an organization that Mohammed said via email “was formed to avert HIV/AIDS in the Nima/Maamobi community. It later branched off into (a) community organization that served as a platform for the youth to learn leadership and become change-makers.”
Mohammed also formed Success Book Club in Ghana, which he said is the most active book club in the country. This club allows “youth (to) uplift themselves and make (a) monumental impact in themselves, communities and world at large,” Mohammed said. Approximately six of its members are studying in the U.S. on scholarships.
Mohammed wants to be a writer in the future.
“Writing is magical … You can influence generations that will come. I mean, people don't even get a chance to meet you but through things that you write, you can influence them,” Mohammed said.
Mohammed also wants to start or work with nongovernmental organizations, which are typically nonprofit entities that work for humanitarianism.
“I look forward to working with NGOs, if possible, to affect … marginalized communities. That is one of my goals. If I don't start an NGO, at least I should be involved with an NGO that would be working in marginalized communities and it could be anywhere in the world, whether in America here or in Ghana or anywhere,” Mohammed said.
Megan Gleason is the Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at editorinchief@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @fabflutist2716
