Dear African Youth,
In the past few weeks, many of you have taken to the streets to express displeasure of the way you have been treated unjustly by the people who are supposed to protect you. Most especially, a lot of you are from Nigeria, Cameroon, South Africa, Congo, Namibia and other African countries. With issues ranging from police brutality to gender based violence, exploitation to outright disregard of freedom of speech, it is most certain that we are a generation who won’t keep quiet and watch things pass us by.
On speaking up and fighting for our right
It is amazing to watch how much attention we have gotten this period. It is as though, we have all been waiting for the right time to speak up. With the pandemic putting the whole world on lockdown, it feels like that awakened something in us.
There has been this impulse on us to endure the activities of the government, both favourable and otherwise. Almost like we have been keeping quiet so our response to issues have been underrated. But unlike the generation before us, we are definitely not going to accept a lot of the things they accepted. Current events have shown that we are more powerful than we think we are. We have reached a point and there’s no going back. This outcry is not in vain. Definitely not in vain.
We have seen the possibilities that exist by us just speaking up and doing the best we know how to. We are indeed powerful. And we must channel that power to build structures the next generation will be proud of.
Dear African Youth,
You cannot be silenced.
But we need wisdom. We cannot respond like a wailing child who is hungry but waiting for the parent to discern that we are hungry. We are more than that. While we take to the streets to voice our concerns, let us also strategically position ourselves in a way that ensures we are able to do what is best for us. If we keep showing that we are against who we are facing, we won’t get things done as we desire. So the responsibility is on us to ensure that we are committed to what we fight for, which is a better nation with a leadership that cares for her people.
The transformation you are seeking in your nation and her environs will come as a result of how much growth has happened in the heart of her citizens.
Also know that though the family is the smallest unit of the society, it has the biggest influence on everyone you see around you. No one comes into this world seeking to cause hurt and pain. No one came into this world to make life difficult for the next person. So when we experience a leadership that seems not to care about its people, we can trace that to the family. Not to say that people can’t make choices for themselves, just that a lot is shaped in the family setting.
One of the hard truths we have to realise is that the government does not have all the answers to all of life’s problems, but they seem to position themselves in a manner that gives them the feeling of being in control. No government has all that power you think they have. Let us realise this and have understanding.
The greatest weapon we have is the call to service. Let us seek to serve one another in love right there in your family. There is this saying that charity begins at home, yes, love is first experienced at home before anywhere else.
Love and government should not be 2 separate worlds and words that should not exist in the same space.
Dear African Youth,
You cannot be silenced.
Recognise your worth and realise that that is the only way you can effectively serve your nation and those around you.
There is hope. There always is.
