In Malawi students from primary schools were just smoked with tear gas a few days ago, and some of them are celebrating their Day in police holding cells.
The people in power who, happen to be the parents of the young are instructing the police to wound and injure the very generation that has its day today – June 16.
Youth make the majority of the population of the continent of Africa, but youth are denied opportunities and access to not only quality education, but education.
The taxes that they and their parents pay instead of utilizing it for sustainable development in education, infrastructure and social amenities, African leaders and governments use the taxes for their personal and individual greed.
This is the Africa we fought for from colonial and apartheid hands.
Today we still blame colonial powers but forget to point to our own greed. Over half a century, to some nations, and almost over 30 years to other nations, Africa has been independent of colonial rule. Despite knowing the ills of colonialism, African leaders joined the bandwagon of colonial mentality by continuing to oppress and suppress their respective fellow citizens.
Today Africans have failed Africa. Our failure of Africa is giving the colonial agents the upper hand to subject Africans as clueless, visionless, blind and inferior.
We have failed to reclaim our own land that was forcefully and violently taken from our ancestors on the continent. As our leaders and governments submit to the ideologies of colonialism, corruption, selfishness, tribalism, nepotism and racism, have blanketed the entire continent.
Natural resources that were meant to uplift the lives of the youth, are exchanged for personal wealth and amassing national wealth into the pockets of those dining with the colonial agents.
This is why Africa is poor and the youth of the past and the youth of today combined with the youth of the future, will remain blind, clueless and visionless, mainly only if the youth remain financially poor and knowledge-incapacitated.
As we celebrate the day of the African Child let us take care of youth because tomorrow is for them, not for us. However, mindful of the political persecution inculcated on our youth for voicing and speaking out truth, justice and peace, we need to stop brutal acts against our youth, because every change and revolution begins with the youth.
We appeal to all governments of Africa to provide space and accommodate the youth in decision-making bodies for the better future of our continent of Africa.
It is and it must come from all Africans to know and realize that Africa’s future will not and shall never be realized from external ideologies, but from our own policies and ideologies from within.
The only thing we need to do in Africa is to do away with hatred, tribalism and disunity.
Our race is unique therefore we need to cherish and consolidate on our existence. Blessed must be the African child.
The chains on our youth are the chains denying Africa our future.
The views expressed in this article are neither the cries of the Publisher nor the Editor of Maravi Post.
