An ethnic Dagomba, Aliu Mahama as a young man studied at the Government Secondary School in Tamale from 1960 to 1967 for his Ordinary and Advanced Level Certificates.

In 1982, he successfully established his own civil engineering and general construction firm, LIDRA Limited, and became its managing director.

Their son Farouk Aliu Mahama is currently the Member of Parliament for Yendi constituency and the board chair of the Ghana Integrated Iron and Steel Corporation.

[9] In addition, he was accorded ceremonial military honours including an army procession accompanying the cortège and a 19-gun salute usually given to departed vice-presidents.

[10] His body was later flown in a Ghana Air Force jet to Tamale in the Northern Region for burial at his private residence.