Profile: Otiko Djaba husband, children, career and pictures
Otiko Djaba is a female Ghanaian politician who raised a lot of controversy in the country in 2017 after minority of the legislators’ boycotted the voting process on her nomination for her ministerial position as Gender, Children and Social Protection Minister. Hon. Otiko Afisa Djaba was born on January 21st, 1962 in Koforidua, in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Otiko Afisa Djaba also became a household name when she stood head high and condemned the government of Ghana's former president, Hon. John Dramani Mahama in 2016. The fact that she rarely uses the title Mrs. has raised eyebrows among Ghanaians as Otiko Djaba husband is still a puzzle.
Otiko Djaba biography
- Born: January 21st, 1962, in Koforidua, Eastern Ghana.
- Age: 56.
- Origin: Ghanaian.
- Occupation: Politician, former ambassador.
- Famous for: Otiko Djaba is renowned for strongly condemning Hon. John Mahama's governance. Apart from that, Otiko Djaba is also famous for fluently speaking eight local Ghanaian dialects; Dagbani, Twi, Gonja, Hausa, Ga, Fante, Krobo, and Wala.
- Twitter: @DjabaOtiko
- Instagram: otikoafisadjabaotiko
Otiko Djaba's education
Otiko Djaba attended the Tamale Senior High School, formally known as Tamale Secondary School, for her O level education. She later moved to the United Kingdom with her father, after her father had to serve his sentence of ten years in prison during J.J Rawlings’ military reign. Going to the UK meant that Henry Djaba and the rest of his family would stay in the UK for the ten years. While in the UK, Otiko Djaba enrolled for a Diploma in Communications and Marketing. Later she trained as a Computer Systems Analyst while still in the United Kingdom. Otiko Djaba also attended the University of Development Studies and completed her studies in 2009. She has not yet graduated. She claims that the University is still compiling her results and that is the reason behind the delay.
Otiko Djaba's career
Otiko Afisa Djaba started her political career in 2008 when she contested for the seat of Bole Bamboi. During this time, she battled for the seat of New Patriotic Party, (NPP). Unfortunately, Otiko lost it to Ghana's former president, Hon. John Mahama. Her efforts were not however in vain because she got appointed as Women's Organizer for the National Patriotic Party, (NPP). Later in August that same year, she got a more significant appointment as she received the nomination of the ambassador of Ghana to Italy.
In 2017, Otiko Afisa Djaba was nominated as the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection. This appointment was faced with a lot of challenges since the minority ministers boycotted the voting process. They argued that she was not fit for the office because she failed to do her National Service as per the Ghana National Service Scheme Act 426 section 7. They argued that Otiko was to face the consequences of failing to offer National Service. In their opinion, she was not liable for employment as stated in the constitution.
Apart from that, they also accused her of failing to make amends to the ministerial appointment committee after she boldly condemned the then president John Mahama. She made these utterances during a rally at Asawase, in 2016 when Otiko was the national women's organizer for the National Patriotic Party (NPP). She allegedly went out of her way and referred to Mahama as extremely wicked, evil, corrupt and a failure. She even went further and termed him as an embarrassment to the people of the Northern region.
These utterances brewed controversy in the country. Some of the politicians condemned her. They even came up and asked her to apologize to the president. In her defense, Otiko said that she did not regret her choice of words and had nothing to apologize. She insisted that her comments were non-provocative.
As though that was not enough, Otiko was also involved in another muddle when she raised claims that Charlotte Osei had received an appointment as chairperson of the Electoral Commission in exchange for sexual favours. These allegations also raised concern, especially during her nomination and most people questioned her ability to serve her Ministry.
Despite the controversial situation that she was in, Otiko still managed to score 152 more votes than the number of votes that she was required to gunner her to win.
Otiko Djaba has also served as a voice for the females in Ghana. Not only has she done so because it falls within her ministry but because she loves to defend women. She has been an activist for the women. Through most of the speeches that she has made in rallies and social gatherings, it is evident that Otiko Djaba has the interests of women at heart. Her feelings have always been that, women deserve an equal opportunity in the society just as men get.
One time that she has made remarks that made her sound feminist is during the launch of a mentoring and internship program in Accra, under the support of the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA). In her speech during this event, Otiko insisted that parents should teach their children about sharing house chores while they are young. She further said that career women should share duties with their husbands. She cited that parents are investing a lot of money in their children's education and therefore she does not see why females get looked down upon and treated as lesser human beings. In her speech, she gave the example of one of her daughters who is a student of Oil and Gas. In her case, she said that she would not expect her daughter to get home from her place of work, late in the evening and still cook while her husband is watching television. Her argument was based so much on gender equity. According to her, every child needs time to study so parents should train their children early enough.
With the effort she has put in through her political career and being a gender activist, she gives the satisfaction that she is fit for the ministerial position. Being an activist is a plus for her job because of the efforts she is trying to make towards liberating the females in Ghana. She is working alongside other activists to ensure that the norm that the women must do all house chores is entirely scrapped off. She insists that both the male and female are equal stakeholders and that should extend to household chores as well.
Apart from defending women in the society, Otiko Afisa Djaba's career has also extended to enlightening women on their position in the nation. In her opinion, she says that the women in Ghana stand good chances in politics and top-ranking jobs but cannot do so due to factors which only they can overcome. She further cites that these factors are early marriages, early pregnancies and the norm that women should perform house chores. She urges women to shun from these practices and grab their share of opportunities in the society.
In one of her speeches concerning the state of women in the country, Otiko Djaba commended the rule of President J. A. Kufuor for providing National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), School Feeding Programme, Free Maternal Care and Capitation Grant for the benefit that the programmes have been to women. She further congratulated the top women in some of the high ranking jobs in the country. Among them is Justice Annie Ruth who is the first female judge of the superior court in Ghana. She posed a challenge to females to take part in these top-ranking jobs in the country.
She, however, expressed her sentiments to the people of Ghana for the female representation that they have in the country. She said that she was dissatisfied with the 8.9% that the females have in leadership. Her bid is that the female population, which stands at the 51% must be reflected in the legislature too. Her final word was that women should come together and empower themselves and then go for these top political seats.
Apart from women, Otiko also has the interests of children at heart. Her effort towards children is through helping produce Kokrookoo, a local children's program that is broadcasted by the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation.
READ ALSO: Otiko Djaba kicked out of gov't in latest reshuffle
Otiko Djaba's family
This is a breakdown of the family life of Otiko Djaba.
Otiko Djaba's parents
Otiko Djaba was born in 1962 to Mr. Henry Kojo Djaba and Mrs. Rosalind Shieta Bawa in the Eastern part of Ghana, in Koforidua. Mr. Henry Djaba was once the chairman of Ghana Football Federation. He served his position during the reign of Dr. Kofi Busia as Prime Minister. The overthrow of Dr. Busia’s regime brought about the hardship that Otiko Djaba’s father had to go through until he relocated to the United Kingdom. Otiko is the second child in Mr. Djaba's family. Otiko Djaba has twenty-one siblings.
Otiko Djaba's husband
From her opinions, her career and being a voice for women in the society, many people ask themselves, ‘is Otiko Djaba married?' Whether Otiko Djaba is married or not is a question that very few people can answer. It is hard to point out Otiko Djaba's husband especially because of the fact that she does not refer to herself as Mrs and does not bear another man's name apart from her father's surname. What is clear and confidently known is that Otiko Djaba is a mother to three children, one boy, and two girls.
Otiko Djaba's children
Apart from her political life, where she has channeled her best efforts towards, Otiko Djaba is also a mother. She has three kids, one boy, and two girls. One of Otiko Afisa Djaba's children is a student of Oil and Gas.
Pictures of Otiko Djaba
At 56, Otiko Djaba's pictures do not make her look her age. She appears much younger probably because life has been good to her. She has taken good care of herself and looks like a thirty-year-old. She is not only keeping up with trends but also maintains a classy look. Most of Otiko Djaba pictures bring out her sense of fashion.
READ ALSO: 5 times Ghana's Gender Minister, Otiko Djaba has been reckless
Otiko Djaba latest news
Otiko Djaba has always mad the news and in recent times there have been more news about her.
1. Fears of a cabinet reshuffles loom
Recently, there has been a rumor that there is going to be a major reshuffling in the cabinet. The YouTube clip doing rounds online has been rather controversial as some people feel it is a sham while other take it as the truth. The reshuffling follows the sacking of the former Energy minister. ‘Where is Otiko Djaba?’ is the question that most Ghanaians are worried about. These worries come since Otiko Afisa Djaba is rumored to be among the most targeted ministers who would fall victims of the reshuffling. The reshuffling aims to reduce the number of legislators. However, this remains a rumor until proven otherwise.
2. Fashion hit or fashion miss?
In November 2017, Otiko Afisa Djaba was in the headlines of almost all the media houses. Her name was on the headlines after her sense of fashion went raw, and she went to parliament with a partly exposed cleavage. To worsen the situation, Hon. Otiko Djaba was supposed to appear before the members of parliament to state the commemoration of International Men's day, which was to be on the 19th of November. When she got up to present the statement, there were murmurs from the other members of parliament. The murmurs called for the attention of Clerk of Parliament who in turn signaled the deputy majority leader to save the situation. Ms. Adwoa Safo helped cover Hon. Otiko Djaba’s cleavage with a kente cloth.
3. Family or politics. Where do Otiko's priorities lie?
Otiko Djaba has diligently served her duties towards the Government of Ghana. She shines in her career and political life. She has however chosen to keep her personal life, husband, and children out of the limelight. She knows best why she decides to let topics such as Otiko Djaba's husband remain a puzzle that they are. Politics has always and forever been a dirty game. It is a career that in most cases leaves one in a turmoil whether to stand for what is right and make as many enemies as they could or make the wrong ethical decisions for the sake of securing their jobs and friends. For such reasons, names like Otiko Djaba have cropped up and probably make daily conversations. Many have mentioned her in ways that she may not like. Of major interest are the details on Otiko Djaba husband as many Ghanaians still cannot comprehend that part of her life. She has been accused of locking her sick husband in the house and failing to feed him. Otiko may be a bold feminist but details of her marital life remain top secret.
4. Bold or controversial?
She boldly came out and said the then president was corrupt and evil and had the heart of the devil. She further insisted that voting Hon. John Mahama for another term would cause deterioration in corruption and unemployment. Despite giving all these remarks, she still insisted that she did not owe him an apology. She also became the talk of the country when the minority ministers refused to take part in the elections after her nomination as Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection. It appears as though there is nothing she fears. She is a woman that speaks out her mind even when what comes out is not common or popular. This is probably one of the reasons she will continue being viewed as controversial.
READ ALSO:Cecilia Dapaah of the aviation ministry likely to be the next sanitation minister
Source: YEN.com.gh
