It’s time for youth to offer alternative leadership the country needs

East Africa Legislative Assembly MP Kennedy Musyoka (second right) and nominated Senator Mercy Chebeni with participants during a regional youth forum at the United States International University-Africa, Nairobi, on April 10, 2018. PHOTO | DENNIS KAVISU | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • It is depressing how every election, politicians promise young voters a change and a better future, only for them to turn their back and abandon them.
  • Given that 78 per cent of the Kenyan population is under 35 years old, youth can change the voting profile of the country.

  • By setting clear and long term agendas, the youth convention should take a deliberate action to lay foundation on which to elect future leaders who will rhyme with their inspirations.

The 2018 National Youth Leaders Convention to be held on Thursday in Nairobi should come up with a concise and an elaborate strategy on how the youth will meaningfully participate in future leadership.

It has come at a time when the country has gone through a huge political turmoil that has exposed the soft-underbelly of the country’s leadership in general terms.

Kenya is truly in need of good leaders with bold visions and actions to ensure prosperity for all, broaden opportunities for the youth and also address the many challenges facing the country. It needs leaders who can inspire hope and help build a better and inclusive future that we deserve.

INCLUSIVE

By drawing representatives from 47 counties and with a strong theme: “Create an inclusive society and promote cohesion: a call to action by the Youth”, the convention must come up with a clear roadmap that will help youth get into leadership positions at all levels.

To set this agenda, there is great need for the convention to first interrogate the challenges that have hindered the youth participation in politics, despite their huge number that can change the course of destiny. The debate and outcome of the convention should send signals to the rest of Kenyans that the youth are thinking of alternative leadership that this country deserves. 

Without a youth-centered, bold, vibrant, selfless and visionary leadership, it will be extremely difficult to rid the country of the self-serving elite that dominates leadership in Kenya today.

 It is the former Chief Justice, Dr Willy Mutunga, who said that Kenyan youth are the only genuine opposition, who must use elections and every opportunity that they can find, to reconfigure the political landscape and midwife a new and better Kenya for all.

QUALITIES

But the big question is: Do we have that person or a collegiate of like-minded people with good leadership qualities that will appeal to young voters and socialise them in politics in a manner that can shape the Kenya we want? I think they have the biggest asset to bring a desirable outcome. Their huge numbers.

It is depressing how every election, politicians promise young voters a change and a better future, only for them to turn their back and abandon the cause immediately after elections. A bad character trait is slowly creeping in the nation where politics seeking personal gains dominate our polity most of the time.  

And truth be told, the voter apathy we are seeing in the country today has everything to do with this. Kenyans see politicians as only driven by self-interest. This particularly affects young people since they yearn for leaders who can resonate with the challenges facing them.

WELLBEING

Given that 78 per cent of the Kenyan population is under 35 years old, youth can change the voting profile of the country, if they can craft a focused strategy that appreciates the fact that leadership is inextricably linked to their wellbeing.

Just having many of them in leadership position in the country is not enough. We today have one of the most youthful parliament in the history of the country. Lamentably, studies have shown that most of the leaders are only young in age – but they have not supported youth causes. Instead, they have continued to entrench in patronage and sycophancy because this is the environment in which they have been socialized and groomed into positions of power.

DIGNITY

By setting clear and long term agendas, the youth convention should take a deliberate action to lay foundation on which to elect future leaders who will rhyme with their inspirations and influence policies that will provide resources they need to fulfill their potential.

One of the key elements of this is the quality education - the opportunity to attend school and acquire necessary skills. They will also require opportunities to meaningfully participate in nation building in a manner that guarantees them dignity.

Today, official statistics show that Kenya’s unemployment rate stands at 40 per cent. Sadly, seven out of every 10 people who are jobless are youth, who also constitute 60 per cent of Kenya’s population. We must therefore ensure that leaders work for us and not the other way round like it has been the case for a long time.

Mr Obonyo is the author of the Conversations about the Youth in Kenya; [email protected]