The Woes Of The African Youth

By Adjetey Emmanuel

The Africa youth are struggling to survive in spite of all the natural endowment bestowed on the continent. The African continent is undoubtedly blessed with uncountable resources. But in the midst of all these natural resources, the youth live with empty optimism. It’s often said that the youth are the future leaders of every country but to the African continent it seems there would be no real future leaders tomorrow. Why? This is because the current leaders in Africa have virtually marginalised the teeming youth.

Who are we to blame for these woes? We cannot blame anyone than our very own leaders. Leaders who only think about their immediate families. It’s very pity! Most leaders in Africa only think about how they can amass wealth for their unborn generations. The Africa youth have nothing to boast of except the corrupt leadership of their leaders. Many of these youth are dying with their intelligence, knowledge and abilities. Why? This is because the economy has been made so hard for them that they cannot even venture into any business of their own. Greed and selfishness on the part of most African leaders has by and large compelled majority of these youth to seek greener pastures elsewhere. Obviously enough, most of the youth citizens of Africa have the will-power but as a result of the no job opportunities in the continent they are force to seek economic salvation outside the continent. Many lost their precious lives through illegal means-stowaway. The leaders cannot pretend that they don’t know what these youth are going through. The ruling patterns of successive government also makes the youth to believe there is no hope for them. Why are the African youth seeking ways to free themselves from this economic prison? However, most of these youth will wake from their beds thinking deeply about this state of affairs confronting them and the continent as a whole. Those who cannot continue to think about the entire situation quickly employ themselves-armed robbery, prostitution, drug trafficking etc. it’s very pathetic to see able-bodied youth engaging in these social vices. I still find it difficult to understand why African leaders are not moved by the current plights of the youth citizens. Do African leaders have the same mindset? The kind of leadership African leaders practice has also given way to a severe social class. In the light of this, people with the same economic, social and educational background move together. This has really intensified the woes of many youth. There are even great social classes in the churches, thus the manifestation of Karl Marx’s theory (Marxian Class Theory). The most influential people in the church are segregated from the commoners. And these influential people are always given the utmost attention. No wonder church services have now become a booming business in Africa. As a result of the hard economic problem, many youth have now become “stomach” pastors and ministers. To them this is where and how they can also survive. The writer is a freelance journalist Tel: +233247265478 Email: [email protected]