HomeOld_PostsLet’s not leave the West to prepare our youths’ future

Let’s not leave the West to prepare our youths’ future

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WE say the youth are the future, that they are our tomorrow.
Statistics show that over 60 percent of Africa’s population is aged 30 and below.
And a few years from now, this young population will be making the decisions that will determine the direction which the motherland takes.
As we celebrate Africa Day, it is important to take cognisance of the great steps young African men and women took in shaping our continent, but more important should be the realisation that until and unless the younger generations are taught and empowered to ensure that the push for a truly independent Africa remains on course, Africa Day will become just another holiday.
Peace, security, education, skill, health and knowledge; these are some of the many factors that will contribute towards a well developed continent.
What African leaders invest in today will determine the development of Africa and will become their legacies. It is with this background that Africa should robustly examine its politics in order to lay the groundwork for the next 100 years.
In 2015, as part of International Republican Institute’s annual Freedom Award ceremony, the Institute announced the creation of Generation Democracy, a new global youth network that equips young men and women with the leadership skills necessary to become the next generation of democratic actors in their communities and countries.
The fruits of this network are visible and invisible, but one thing is certain.
The IRI has managed to create a network that has already grown into a global coalition of committed, politically active young people and more than 200 youth organisations with the drive to make a difference in their communities. 
Of importance is the recognition that for ‘democracy’ to work, participants have to be active, they have to be nurtured, they also need to be aware of the bigger picture and most importantly, these are long-term projects.
Interestingly, as a continent, Africa is lagging behind when it comes to creating platforms and networks for its young people to not only be heard, but articulate their issues and be groomed to be tomorrow’s leaders.
This could be the reason Westerners are making progress in shaping discourse among young Africans, especially in political matters.
It could also explain the emerging trend of young radical political leaders who are taking on the liberation struggle movements.
The objectives of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) spelt out the expectations of the young men and women who represented their countries when the organisation was articulated and brought to life.
This vision of co-ordination and intensified co-operation of African states in order to achieve a better life for the people of Africa; to defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of African states; to eradicate all forms of colonialism and white minority rule; to ensure that all Africans enjoyed human rights; to raise the living standards of all Africans and to settle arguments and disputes between members – not through fighting but rather peaceful and diplomatic negotiation — was an expression of the dreams of an Africa that would exist centuries after the 1963 signatories had long left this earth.
The AU has indicated that this year’s theme for the Africa Day celebrations is, ‘Harnessing the Demographic Dividend through investments in Youth’.
I for one believe that it is time Africa puts its money where its mouth is and truly invest in the youth.
It would be a great travesty for the OAU’s founding principles if the strides made in uniting and setting goals towards a free Africa, 50 years from now, are reversed by a generation that has no knowledge, respect and understanding of what Africa’s struggles have been all about, because their education came from across the ocean and not from the mouths of their leaders in the AU.

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