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‘Transformation Africa Conference’: …youth advised to take advantage of entrepreneurial, leadership opportunities
Achamfour Asafo Boakye Agyemang-Bonsu delivering his address
Asanteman is keen on complementing state and non-state actors in reducing unemployment and ending poverty through the provision of employable skills and scholarships, the King of Asanteman, OtumfuoOsei Tutu II, has asserted.
According to him, youth unemployment remained a challenge which needed a collective effort in addressing it.
In addition, he said “though a daunting task, it is achievable nonetheless, if we all put our shoulders to the wheel by venturing into entrepreneurship and digitalisation where opportunities abound”.
The Asafohene and Head of Akwamu Division (Akwamuhene) of the Kumasi Traditional Council of the Ashanti Kingdom, AkyamfourAsafo Boakye Agyemang-Bonsu, said these on behalf of OtumfuoOsei Tutu II at the launch of the 13th edition of the MTN Pulse Transformation Africa Conference and Africa Role Model Awards in Kumasi last Saturday.
Organised by the Young Professional and Youth Coalition (YPYC) on the theme “Future of our Youth: Job, Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Digitalisation,” the conference brought together academia, traditional leaders and entrepreneurs.
The purpose of the conference was to draw the attention of the youth, policymakers, government, local and global partners on prevailing developmental issues in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and finding solutions to them.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II bemoaned the low level of youth involvement in the formulation of policies that shape the future of the country and, therefore, called for the placement of the youth at the centre in that regard.
He added that “they must be educated to accept and take responsibility in their pursuit for greatness because at the end they cannot blame anybody for their failures”.
The youth were urged by the King of Asanteman to take advantage of leadership, entrepreneurial and career coaching skills while appealing to corporate institutions, individuals and philanthropists to sponsor such events.
The President of YPYC, Mr Andy Osei Okrah, in his address, noted that the future of the youth looked gloomy due to prevailing challenges.
He said the YPYC had made some observations which included the growth of laziness and search for quick fix among the youth, an increase in bet staking among university students, increase in negative sub-cultures and practices, development of negative leadership skills and corruption.
MrOkrah explained that the conference would help address the observations made by YPYC which would benefit the youth as well as the country positively.
The Commissioner of Police (COP) Kofi Boakye speaking to participants at the conference advised them to leverage on the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to help create sustainable job opportunities.
The Vice Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Prof. Rita Akosua Dickson, won the award for the African Role Model Women in Executive Leadership.
A total of 13 personalities and organisations were awarded for the tremendous role they had played in various fields.
By Spectator Reporter
President John Dramani Mahama has commissioned four career diplomats as ambassador-designates to represent Ghana in four countries.
The commissioning ceremony took place on Friday, October 16, 2026.
The new envoys are Her Excellency Nana Antwiwaa Dodoo, Ambassador-Designate to Angola; His Excellency Louis Kwame Obeng, Ambassador-Designate to Qatar; Her Excellency Evelyn Korantemaa Ofosu-Amable, Ambassador-Designate to Israel; and His Excellency Jedidiah Reuben Adogla, Permanent Representative-Designate to Switzerland.
President Mahama charged them to advance Ghana’s national interests through strategic partnerships, economic diplomacy, investment mobilization, and expanded access to international markets.
He said Ghana’s diplomatic engagements must deliver tangible economic benefits, create jobs, and strengthen the country’s standing on the international stage.
The four envoys are career diplomats with over 27 years of experience.
On behalf of her colleagues, Her Excellency Nana Antwiwaa Dodoo thanked the President for the confidence reposed in them and pledged their commitment to emulate his leadership and deliver on the mandate given to them.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
The professor who spends his days exploring the intricacies of African languages found himself at the centre of a different kind of lesson on Friday, October 2, 2026. 
This time, there were no lecture notes, academic arguments or university classrooms. Instead, there was the weight of tradition, the rhythm of a community celebration and the solemnity of an oath at a royal palace.
Professor Ọbádélé Kambon, a full Professor of African Linguistics at the University of Ghana, was enstooled as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene of Akuapem Mampong in the Eastern Region in a ceremony that brought academia and traditional authority together.
For the professor, the occasion was more than a new title. It was a moment that connected his academic interests in African languages and indigenous knowledge with the living traditions of an Akan community.
The day’s events unfolded through a series of customary observances. Kambon was first taken to the compounds of the Ɔkyeamehene and Gyasehene, where the preparations for his installation continued.
Then came the application of hyire, the white kaolin powder associated with traditional rites.
With the customary proceedings underway, the new chief was lifted onto the shoulders of celebrants and carried along the main thoroughfare of Akuapem Mampong.
The procession transformed the streets into a public stage for a ceremony rooted in the community’s traditional institutions.
There was something striking about the image, a university professor, accustomed to the measured language of academic discourse, being carried through the town in a display of traditional recognition.
Yet the celebration was not complete with the procession.
A ram was sacrificed at the Mamponghene’s compound before Kambon was taken to the palace, to swear the oath associated with his new offices.
The ceremony brought him formally into his roles as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene.
Beyond the colourful proceedings, the titles themselves carry layers of historical meaning.
Kambon in his research explores the historical connections between Apagya and Akan political and military organisation.
Accounts cited in his work linked Apagya to an asafo, or military company, while historical writing traces an Apagya stool in Asante to the reign of Opoku Ware I in the eighteenth century.
These historical associations offer a glimpse into the institutions that have shaped Akan society over generations, although they do not automatically define the precise responsibilities of the office in Akuapem Mampong.
Kambon’s own professional life reflects a similar interest in preserving and examining African knowledge.
His work encompasses Akan language structure, naming practices across the Black world, proverbs and indigenous intellectual traditions.
Through Abibitumi, the platform he founded, he also promotes language learning, scholarship and cultural engagement.
But tradition was only one part of the story that day.
When the formal ceremony gave way to a reception, the occasion expanded into a celebration of three milestones: Kambon’s enstoolment, his promotion to full professor and his daughter Ama’s admission to the University of Ghana.
The gathering therefore carried a personal significance that went beyond the honours bestowed on one man. 
It celebrated professional advancement, the continuation of family aspirations and a connection to cultural heritage.
For a father, seeing a daughter gain admission to the same university where he holds a distinguished academic position offered another reason to celebrate.
For the professor, the moment placed family achievement alongside his own professional and traditional milestones.
Kambon had already established a place in the traditional life of Akuapem Mampɔn through an earlier installation as Banmuhene Kyidɔmhene, recorded in 2017.
His latest enstoolment adds another chapter to that relationship.
In Akuapem Mampɔn, the day brought together the university, the palace and the family table in one celebration. And for Kambon, the journey from the lecture room to the traditional procession showed how scholarship, cultural responsibility and family achievement could converge in a single memorable occasion.
By Enoch Ntiamoah Siaw
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