African youth 2.0

By Jacqueline Muna Musiitwa

It’s a scary time to be a leader of a country, especially a country in which youth (“youth” defined by the African Youth Charter as those aged 15 to 35) issues are not adequately being addressed. With the uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East, some leaders must stay awake day in and day out figuring out how to prevent the domino effect of such revolutions from befalling their countries. One hopes they are figuring out how to appease the youth and develop pro-youth policies that incorporate them into their “Vision 20XX”. Is it a coincidence that the theme of the 2011 African Union summit in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, is “Accelerating Youth Empowerment for Sustainable Development”? I think not. This theme signifies that leadership is finally taking notice of youth and their issues. The pending question is what actions will be taken thereafter?

The first step towards ensuring youth participation at all levels of society is understanding youth demographics. According to some statistics, approximately two-thirds of the population in Africa is below 25 years of age. Let us not forget the additional youth who were not counted; that is a whole lot of people. Then it is important to understand who represents their interests. Are youth in leadership in business, politics and civil society? Further do such youth represent the constituency of “youth” or other interests? If not, who is liable? Are mechanisms in place to hold those liable accountable?

What are the challenges that are making young people in North Africa light themselves on fire? What is making the youth join the “walk to work” or the “ride-drive and hoot campaign” (youth blow vuvuzelas and honk car horns to signify their concerns at not being heard by the government) movements in Uganda? Generally, unemployment/underemployment, difficulty finding financing for businesses, access to education and skills training and other social needs, a muddled political voice and so on. If Libya has taught us any lesson, it is that provision of basic needs that is housing, basic education and other such provisions are not enough for this generation. The youth are demanding more! The youth are fighting for individual freedoms. The youth want to define themselves as relevant changemakers in society. As such, liberation is achieved at the expense of a period of uncertainty and a degree of chaos. For some youth, what matters the most is the principle of being part of change and making their own decisions for their future. Youth participation in the election of President Barack Obama attests to this.

The youth need hope! For some hope comes in the form of Julius Malema, the controversial ANC Youth League leader in South Africa, William Kamkwamba from Malawi who built a windmill after reading a book and at other times it comes from the renewed vibrancy of development in their countries, for instance Rwanda, Liberia, Cape Verde and so on. Youth need hope that they can dream big and achieve those dreams, for instance they can become successful innovators or entrepreneurs not only because of money, but also providing solutions for society at large. The youth need evidence that leaders understand their issues, are finding solutions to them and are also training future leaders to be good servant leaders with the interests of the people at heart (unfortunately some leaders are teaching lessons in “do what I say, not what I do”).

To connect with the youth, leaders must understand the above, but also the modus operandi of the youth think and communicate. Word of mouth and radio remain a powerful communication tool in Africa. That said, nowadays the youth use cellphones and also communicate using web 2.0 technology like Facebook, MXit, and Twitter. Unless leaders understand these methods of communication, it will be hard to communicate with their youth constituents. Some leaders have figured it out. If there were an award for the most tech-savvy president, it would go to Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame for being the only African president who personally responds to tweets on Twitter (find him @PaulKagame). The ability to directly communicate with a president ensures he hears his people’s voices. Another attempt to appeal to the youth was Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni who rapped his way to a successful election with a song titled You want another rap?. The bottom line is youth want to communicate to the government what they care about. More internet platforms such as Huduma which allow people to do so are vital.

With the upcoming African Union summit, the lingering question for leaders is what lies ahead beyond youth being an agenda item. How will the meeting impact on youth policy across the continent? Will such policies be adequately executed? Will the youth be given an adequate opportunity to personally voice their concerns and be part of the problem-solving process? How can they be part of “the process” before violence and chaos creates a revolution in sub-Saharan Africa?

Jacqueline Muna Musiitwa runs Hoja Law Group, a boutique New York law firm that uses the law to bridge the African development gap through advising on deals that create wealth for Africa. HLG advises foreign investors investing in and expanding into Africa and African governments and companies contracting with American, European and Indian companies. She is a frequent speaker and writer on African affairs.