By Joseph Burite
The combination of a Ugandan groom, a Namibian bride, a Ghanaian bestman and a Nigerian pastor will on January 21, 2023, grace Namibia’s capital and bustling metropolis of Windhoek with a pan-African wedding.
The particulars are straightforward enough: The groom is Mr David Obal, Ugandan President Museveni’s senior aide in-charge of youth affairs, the bride is Ms Daisry Mathias, Namibian President Hage Geingob’s advisor on youth matters and enterprise development, and the best man is Mr Jake Bediako, Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo’s coordinator for youth engagement and strategy.
Just last year, Mr Obal, 25, was recovering from a bruising election defeat at hands of the current government Chief Whip, Hamson Obua in Alebtong’s Ajuri constituency when the President sat him down for a chat. The leader, always keen to tap post-election synergies, subsequently appointed Mr Obal his aide in-charge of youth affairs with a key mandate to devise strategies for engagement with such a key segment.
As soon as he had clarity of purpose, that February, Mr Obal was dispatched on a continental tour with a view of understanding youth policies in other African countries. This saw him go from east to west of the continent, central and to the south. By his admission, this benchmarking activity that included visits to Ethiopia, Ghana, Tanzania, Namibia, among others, disabused him of some long-held perceptions about youth structures that exist in his motherland. Click to read more…
