Dr. Wambaka Kosea giving a key note speech about mindset revolution at the launch of the National Career Guidance Day at Kololo Independent ground on the 20th of March 2023.
By Richard Kintu
Africa’s most educated man, Dr. Kosea Wambaka has yet again stamped his status as a worldwide academic titan after a leading European university courted him to inspire global academics.
Dr. Wambaka’s new milestone was bestowed upon him by Zurich-based Robert Kennedy College (RKC) which is an affiliate of the University of Salford in the United Kingdom (UK).
Information reaching our desk indicates that on March 23, 2023 Dr. Wambaka was informed by Vidhi Kapoor, the RKC College blog admin (who also doubles as the College’s Marketing and Social Media Executive) that the Zurich-based tertiary College had landed on an article about his academic exploits and subsequently found it very inspirational.
As a result, the college now wants to co-opt the article onto its website and use it to inspire generations of its students who are drawn from 140 countries around the universe.
“Our Dean Dr. Iur David Costa recently shared with us an article commending your academic achievements. We would like to feature your experience on the college blog… We believe your life-story will be an inspiration for many of our students who are currently studying our Master’s programmes and prospective students as well,” Kapoor said.
For the record, Dr. Kosea Wambaka is Uganda and Africa’s most educated man, with his qualifications including two PhDs, four Master’s and one Bachelor’s degrees. Specifically, these degrees — all in diverse fields — are: PhD in Economics from Makerere University, Kampala, PhD in Management from University of Central Nicaragua, Masters in Economic Policy and Planning from Makerere University, Masters in International Commercial Law from University of Salford, Manchester-UK; Master’s in Business Administration from East and Southern Management Institute (ESAMI), Arusha, Tanzania, and Masters in International Events Management from the University of Salford. Others include a Bachelor of Arts with Education (Economics) degree from Makerere
University as well as 21 certificates— also from diverse fields, including a professional certificate in politics and economics of international energy from the Sciencepo University in France.
WHY WAMBAKA WAS CHOSEN
A child who washes his hands clean shall dine with the elders, goes a time-tested African proverb. It is safe to say that in the world of academia, Dr. Wambaka has earned his right to pick pieces from the pot of knowledge with the elders and feed those still striving to join the scholarly Big Boys club. That’s how clean he has washed his academic hands!
Academically, a PhD sits highest on the educational ecological ladder. Attaining one therefore pits the holder among the best of the best, or the wisest of the wisest. With two PhDs therefore Dr. Wambaka becomes a double moving encyclopedia or if you like a grandmaster of knowledge worth being equated to the African King Solomon. The admins at Robert Kennedy College know this, which is why they chose him to inspire the world’s best.
That formal education is a pure toil and sacrifice is known by even those that have never labored to attain a grain of it. It therefore means that to get all these academic qualifications, Wambaka has had to defy fate which placed him in the shambles and wretches of Bugwagi village in the heart of Bugisu, Uganda to rewrite his destiny by fighting his way up to the pinnacle of global academia.
He’s now an international academic phenomenon whose accomplishments have already been published on the RKC college blog; to further immortalize his growing status.
Man Of Endless Solutions
Whereas success warms the hearts of those who attain it and the well-intentioned, it burdens the hearts of the jealous. In this regard, Dr. Wambaka has had to encounter a few naysayers; especially those that have tried to water down or dismiss his achievements either as unattainable or illogical in actual sense! But if there’s anything the Academic Colossus of Buwagi has mastered, then it is strategy. For all doubters, Dr. Wambaka chose authenticity amidst reasonable silence as the perfect dose to cure such affliction.
This, for instance, explains why all his degrees are certified by the New York based World Education Services (WES).
Secondly, Wambaka’s qualifications are validated by the fact that they are acquired from credible global academic institutions (such as Makerere University, University of Oxford UK, Harvard University, University of California, Frankfurt School of Finance and Management-German, Queensland University of Technology Australia, Sciencepo University France, University of Pretoria- South Africa, International Tax Academy -Singapore and Moscow, University of Central Nicaragua and University of British Columbia among many others), where with the contemporary technology they are just a click of a button away from being confirmed. Such is the way they speak for themselves without their owner harping about them.
As part of his strategy, Wambaka decided to spread his qualifications across a myriad of fields.
This, he says, is meant to give him diverse knowledge on the different sectors of the world, such that he can be a man of limitless solutions.
“As you can see, the modern world is so fast-moving and therefore needs someone with the knowledge to move very many things at a go. In fact, multitasking today is not just a skill but rather a survival requirement,” he says.
The prolific author
Those who have studied up to PhD level must by now be aware that this prestigious academic gong signifies breathing new life into the body of knowledge. With his two PhDs and 4 Master’s, Dr. Wambaka has immensely contributed to the body of knowledge and today he boasts seven (7) groundbreaking research publications to his name.
All published in reputable international journals, they include: Impact of Bilateral and Multilateral Aid on Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Mediating Role of Institutional Quality (published in the Journal of Business and Economic Development: Vol.7, No.2, 2022), Product Differentiation Strategy and Perceived Financial Performance of Commercial Banks in Uganda (published in the International Journal of Business and Management Invention. Volume 10 Issue 7 Ser. II, July 2021, PP 52-60); Cost- Leadership Strategy and Perceived Financial Performance of Selected Commercial Banks in Uganda (Journal of Business Management and Economic Research (JOBMER), Vol: 6, Issue: 2, 52-65) and Impact of bilateral and multilateral aid on domestic savings of Sub-Sahara African countries and the Mediating Role of Institutional Quality (Journal of Economics and International Finance. Vol. 14(4), pp.103-111, October- December 2022). Others are: Product Differentiation Strategy and Perceived Financial Performance of Commercial Banks in Uganda: Moderating Effect of Managerial Discretion (Journal of Business and Management. Volume 23, Issue 7. Ser. II (July 2021), PP 53-59); Impact of Bilateral and Multilateral Aid on Domestic Savings in Low and Middle-Income Sub Sahara African Countries: Mediating Role of Institutional Quality (being published by Journal of International Business Research. 2022 Volume 16, p26) and Impact of Bilateral and Multilateral Aid on Economic Growth in Low and Middle-Income Sub Sahara African Countries: Mediating Role of Institutional Quality. (International Business Research. 2023, vol. 16, issue 1, 44).
These publications have been cited 267 times by other global researchers, with “Impact Of Aid On Low & Middle Income Countries” alone attaining 64 citations since it was published in 2022.
On top of these, he has 4 Manuscripts under review and awaiting publication. These are: The impact of public borrowing on economic growth, a case of G8 member countries; The impact of public borrowing on domestic savings, a case of G8 member countries; The impact of International exhibition events on domestic tourism, a case of the Dubai Expo; and The impact of FIFA World Cup On Domestic Tourism Of The Host Country, A Case Of Qatar. Such work has earned him recognition and membership to global scholarly and professional bodies including: Full time Member of the World Economics Association, Member of the American Economic Association (No: 000450542) and Member of the Royal Economic Society of UK.
Dr. Wambaka In The Eyes of the World
Africa has had to put up with the shame of having PhD elites who can hardly create jobs in their fields of specialty. Most times they end up job-hunting for teaching posts at universities. Not for Wambaka! The African academic ambassador has proved to be a rare gem, who through his 6 companies trading under Strategic Group brand, he has executed top class work which has earned him both local and international rave reviews. In short, Wambaka has already ably defended his overflowing pot of knowledge with exceptional ability to transfer it into what he does.
This manifested on February 10, 2022 at a function at which was organized to celebrate Wambaka’s academic achievements.
At the party, speaker after speaker went into superlatives to share their experience of how Dr. Wambaka’s genius impacted them. The first witness was Wambaka’s first son, Romeo Wambaka, who gave a glimpse of how Wambaka’s consistency at multitasking overwhelms them at home.
“We are so lucky to have Dr. Wambaka as our father. We admire him and actually call him “Alien” at home because he does things which are beyond human,” Romeo revealed.
To Francis Muganzi, the RISO Oil & Gas Area in Hoima, Wambaka is a bulldozer for solutions, who makes the impossible seem stupidly very easy! Muganzi revealed that he learnt this while working with Wambaka on an oil and Gas project in the Albertine Graben.
“In my entire life I’ve never met a person as clever and efficient at work as Dr. Wambaka. He has exceptional knowledge and skills and I discovered this in him when he was working as a consultant in Oil & gas. The truth is that the activities in Hoima are very difficult but this is the first person of his kind who did his work without being challenged. Many people came and got challenged but ever since Dr. Wambaka came on board, we’ve never gone back,” he testified, going on to appeal to people and agencies with contracts to give Wambaka twice as many contracts because single ones are just a walkover for him.
Wambaka A National Pride— Tourism PS
To Katusiime Doreen, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Tourism, Dr. Wambaka is an embodiment of perfection and excellence, who is also a living reason why Ugandans must believe in their own to do serious things.
In her speech at the same event, Katusiime says she learnt this when the ministry awarded a contract to Wambaka Strategic Friends International company. According to Katusiime, Wambaka performed beyond expectations when he led a team of young Ugandans to develop the 20-Year Master Plan & SEA Report For Developing Source Of the Nile project.
“All I want to attest today is that Kosea means a lot to us as a country. I got to know him when the government wanted to develop the source of the Nile. We advertised a tender for consultancy to develop the 20-year Masterplan and SEA report for developing the Source of the Nile. Kosea through his Strategic Friends Company put in the bid and everyone was curious because such consultancies were usually done by bazungu. None of us at the ministry knew him but luckily he emerged the best evaluated bidder on pure merit,” Katusiime explained.
She added that with a little known purely local firm in charge of the contract, everybody at the ministry crossed their fingers to see what kind of output “these young men would deliver”. Katusiime adds that she was so curious to the extent that when Kosea and team went to sign the contract she summoned him to her office so that she could actually interface with this Ugandan who had demystified the fallacy of white supremacy!
The PS added that when Wambaka got to work, he personified perfection at it, doing it on record time as well. The Ministry would later give him other jobs including doing the Feasibility study for the Tourism School in Kasese and Uganda Wildlife Educational Centre (UWEC).
“From that day we know Dr. Wambaka for always pursuing excellence and that’s how he has branded himself; we just pray that he maintains that enviable track record,” Katusiime noted.
Wambaka the Shining Light — Prof. Hisali
A common motto in the school setup says that education is light. This in essence means once one attains education then they see light. To Associate Professor Eria Hisali, however, Dr. Wambaka did not only see the light with his education, but also became real light itself.
Ass. Prof. Hisali is the Principal College of Business & Management Sciences (COBAMS) at Makerere University, where Wambaka attained his Master’s in Economic Policy & Planning and PhD in Economics. His assessment of Wambaka is therefore grounded in absolute authority as he has worked with him on some projects and was also his second supervisor on his Makerere PhD programme.
Just like Katusiime, Prof. Hisali also believes Dr. Wambaka is a national treasure which Uganda must harness and tap to help offer solutions to some of the country’s most pressing challenges.
“At Dr. Wambaka’s level, he no longer belongs to only his family and clan but he is now a global resource. I therefore appeal to his family to be willing to sacrifice and enable him to make bigger contributions to community, country and humanity as a whole,” Hisali said. He added: “Dr. Wambaka is truly a shining star and a good example of what we call light. Once he shines, others follow while he leads the way. He has a diverse range of qualifications and therefore a diverse range of abilities. It is now up to him to choose which path he wants to take. It could be Consultancy or a career in government so as to contribute to policy formulation, politics or international civil service.”
And while reading Dr. Wambaka’s citation at the event, UWEC Executive Director James Musinguzi highlighted that one advantage the world shares about Dr. Wambaka is that he chose to publish and not perish, so his works will eternally continue to shape global policies for the betterment of mankind.
Word of inspiration
In a parting shot, Dr. Wambaka encourages those who have chosen the path of knowledge not to be discouraged or derailed, saying knowledge is the nucleus and spark of anything man wishes to do under the sun.
He however preaches the need to remain humble despite one’s achievements in life, saying many times success doesn’t entirely depend on one’s own abilities but rather God and the support system around you.
When I look back at my journey I truly believe that it’s been the work of god almighty and those people that god placed in my path to spur me on in different ways. That’s why I can’t even get annoyed at those who doubted me or tried to put me down in some way because their purpose was to make me stronger and more determined and focused,” he says.
Wambaka is aware that many people believe amassing all this knowledge was a wastage especially in a country like Uganda. He however says he chooses positivity in dealing with such criticism.
“Many people treasure physical riches but I choose to see myself as a person who must use my knowledge to be an agent of riches; remember knowledge is wealth itself,” he says. He adds that everyone in this world needs knowledge because it is knowledge that solves the challenges of humanity by being the bedrock of unprecedented solutions and innovations that make life better.
“For instance just look at the Parish Development Model (PDM); it was innovated by one person’s knowledge but it will create wealth for millions and not necessarily the person who initiated it. You also need to understand that a person with knowledge can just use a single signature or pen to sign off something that can change the life of so many; therefore let’s look at knowledge as a means to so much potential rather than all of us focusing on tangible riches. Knowledge can make and sustain riches for a better life but riches do not make one necessarily better,” he says.
People should understand that agents of riches don’t look at riches as a final destination. We instead try as much as possible to develop mechanisms that generate sustainable riches not only for oneself but for others and humanity at large,” he says.
