Former US President Barrack Obama will be in Kenya on Sunday afternoon til Monday when he will fly to Kisumu for the launch of his sister, Auma Obama’s Sauti Kuu NGO for youth empowerment.
There after the 44th POTUS will fly to South Africa to mark Nelson Mandela’s 100th anniversary and will be joined by TV Personality Oprah Winfrey, who reports indicated would be among the celebrities accompanying him to Kogelo, Siaya.
“In South Africa, the Obama Foundation will convene 200 extraordinary young leaders from across the continent and I’ll deliver a speech to mark the 100th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s birth. Kenya, of course, is the Obama ancestral home. I visited for the first time when I was in my twenties and I was profoundly influenced by my experiences – a journey I wrote about in my first book, Dreams from My Father,” Obama said on social media.
The father of two says that he has over time been drawing inspiration from some of the best written African books.
He recommends that people read “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, a true classic of world literature that paints a picture of traditional society wrestling with the arrival of foreign influence, from Christian missionaries to British colonialism.
Also on his list of a Must Read African literature is Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s “A Grain of Wheat” which the former POTUS says is a compelling story of how the transformative events of history weigh on individual lives and relationships.
He also highly recommends “The World As It Is” by Ben Rhodes, who he says might not have African blood running through his veins but his memoirs tell a story about how it really is like to serve the American people for 8 years.
Read: American Songstress Keri Hilson Coming To Kenya In August
Also top of his to read list is “Americanah” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, ‘a story of two Nigerians making their way in the U.S. and the UK, raising universal questions of race and belonging, the overseas experience for the African diaspora, and the search for identity and a home.’
Obama will reportedly pay President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga a courtesy call on Sunday before leaving for Kisumu.
His schedule is a closely guarded secret due to security reasons.
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