Indeed! Africa youth must rise up

I was left open-mouthed and sentimentally electrified when I heard that All-Africa Students Union (AASU) has voted Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya as the best president of Africa.

Wow! Uhuru Kenyatta? The man who has been indicted by the ICC of human rights abuse? The man whose leadership has been accused of massive corruption and inability to combat the Al-Shabab terrorist group is now the best president in Africa? Of course, we can’t blame these students much.

The question is, who else aside Uhuru Kenyatta? Is it the Robert Mogabe? Paul Biya or the Jose dos Santos? If indeed Uhuru Kenyatta is the best president in Africa, then it means Africa really has leadership crisis. And this should be a wake-up call to all the youth in Africa.

It’s obvious that most of our leaders have failed. All Africa youth must rise up! The gear of our attitudes and conscience must be reversed from hatred, unpatriotic and political divisions to the love of our countries. This is the time we the youth in Africa must come together and face our challenges head on.

Most of the countries in the Western world are developed and their youth is well off, and this is not because the sun sets at the West but it’s because they are governed by laid down principles and concepts. “When the frog in the front falls into a pit, others behind take caution.” The fact is, most Africa leaders have fallen into dangerous pits, I mean the pits of mammoth corruption, mismanagement, over politicization of national issues and we the youth must take caution to escape from these pits.

Boko Haram has killed 432 innocent souls of Nigeria in the last 38 days. And we the young ones must keep on reminding one another that in 2057, Ghana will be 100yrs old, in 2060 Nigeria will be 100yrs, in 2061 Tanzania will be 100yrs etc. The question is what will be the state of our countries by then? Are we still going to be experiencing DUMSOR? Are we still going to be killed by Boko Haram? Are we still going to be wrapped with sharp poverty? These and many other questions Africa youth must be asking every day. Indeed! Africa youth must rise up!

Sometimes when I sit down and look through the corridor of time, I could see Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere, Sekou Toure, Patrice Lunumba etc even in their youthful age; they watered the plant of freedom and liberated Africa with their tears, sweats and blood. But today, the African youth is the most indiscipline person in their societies. We are very eager to reap where we have not sown so as to embrace cheap heroism. Indeed! The Africa youth must rise up!

We must use long spoons when dining with the devil. All Africa youth has a common devil; the devil is unemployment and an uncertainty future. We must collectively deal with this devil by pulling up our sleeves and equipping ourselves with skills and versatile knowledge. Most of today’s jobs didn’t exist when we were young and tomorrow's jobs are unknown.

We must prepare for the future now! We must begin to fiercely wrestle with our conscience and judge each other on the basis of our hearts and actions. We shouldn’t leave anyone behind, let's inspire our young women to rise up from the ashes of inferiority and sex commodities and ignite the spirit of “I can do it” and divine dignity in them.

My fellow Africa youth! I Ntenhene Felix have no doubt that one day, we Africans will stop climbing the hills of poverty and walk briskly through the valleys of riches. It can be done! Long live the youth, long live Africa.

“We are not children of a lesser god” Never! We are not.

Ntenhene Felix

(felixntenhene@gmail.com)

KNUST,