Arua district woman MP Lillian Paparu O'biale and her sibling carrying the portrait of their late father, Rtd. Col. Nelson O'biale

By Morish Dramadri

Arua

The joint West Nile regional council has eulogized late Rtd. Col. Nelson O’biale the regional coordinator of the operation Wealth Creation OWC, as an educationist and icon in the restoration peace in the region.

Rtd. Col. Nelson O’biale who join the army on April 8, 1969 rose to the different ranks in the army up to the current rank before retiring from active service in the military in 2017 after being appointed as the OWC regional coordinator in 2016 where he served till his demise on April 8, 2024.

While paying tribute to the late at his ancestral home in Ala lower village, Anzu parish Vurra sub county Arua district on April 12, 2024 during the regional special council, Arua city Mayor Wadri Sam Nyakua eulogized the late Rtd. Col. O’biale as an educationist.

“As we eulogize the late Col. O’biale, our education standards have gone very low across West Nile. It was this soil O’biale exploited to pay fees, none of his children is uneducated. Actually for me people like O’biale don’t die they remain living and multiply into a thousands of yellow flowers”, Nyakua extolled.
 

Arua district council speaker and other speakers inspecting the casket
bearing the remains of Late Rtd. Col. O'biale

Meanwhile Luiji Candini, the male district councilor for Arivu Sub County in Arua district lauded late Rtd. Col. O’biale for spearheading peace restoration in the region.  

“We had a number of negative forces, like UNRF 1 and UNRF 2, we had West Nile Bank front orchestrated by Juma Oris, he would mobilize people who have left army you come and we fought the rebels out, recovered good numbers of weapons just to pacify West Nile region” Candini said.

Madi Okollo district chairman Drabe Ismael Adris remembered the late for his effort in championing mindset change among ex combatants. “The late has been a champion of mindset change, he has been conducting trainings yearly in Madi Okollo for veterans and some few opinion leaders, and we even didn’t know where he was raising his funds for conducting these trainings from” Drabe acclaimed.

But Geoffrey Fetaa the Member of Parliament for Ayivu East constituency in Arua city challenged the members of the Uganda People’s Defense Forces UPDF in West Nile to emulate the legacy of the late.

“We thank God for the gift of this great man who would only appeal to the nation, how much you appeal to people depends on your character. O’biale appealed to West Nile, he appealed to the nation and those who are in civil service and in uniforms, check your records, may your records prove your right in your hour of need,” Hon. Fetaa challenged.

Late Rtd. Col. Nelson O’biale was born on April 5, 1947 and succumbed to Cancer at Uganda Cancer Institute Mulago April 8, 2024.