What Ails the Youth in Kenya Today and why we need Un-Yoke the Status Quo

What Ails the Youth in Kenya Today and why we need Un-Yoke the Status Quo

By Emmanuel Dennis - July 29th 2010

Since the 90's the young people in Kenya have been championing for meaningful participation in the national agenda. In deed many young people came out fighting for the space and to them we owe a high respect for the democratic space that has been achieved. Some of them were maimed and harmed some even jailed and other killed. For those that were killed championing for the rights of their fellow youth, their blood should not be left to drain to the oceans. A few too many organizations have sprung up to addressing the issues of the youth and in the long run. Some have been extremely successful and others have ended up as projects of a few individuals to perpetuate the culture of self sustainace at the expense of Kenyan youth. Indeed many organizations today lack the capacity to lead Kenyan youth to a better country. While it should be respected that some of this organizations have been a source for livelihoods for the few who serve them, the occupants have become too comfortable as to continue the culture of sustaining problems in order to stay afloat.

The Generational Change in Kenya is yet to be realized after the first group of octogenarians took over the leadership of Kenya. That generation has now come to its sunset days but continues to control almost all the resources that Kenya has from the economy to the social strata that is the bedrock of our future.  Young people have continued to linger in poverty and hopelessness while the system continues to rot through misrule.

The Uhuru Generation (post Independence) that was supposed to take over Leadership has not come out strongly to give a stab at the National leadership of Kenya. In deed the same generation looks at the politics of 2012 as their last chance. Younger generations have been upset and extremely disappointed at the lack of good will and bold move to clinch the Kenyan leadership by the Uhuru Generation. The younger generation, now also focuses on the 2012 elections as its launch pad for the leadership. The leadership baton has long been abandoned and the country lacks in a transition mechanism that should be the system to enthrone the younger generation to take over the responsibility. Without the transition systems, our society becomes a place where leadership becomes like a tug of war among frustrated individuals. This fuels violence and that is why many communities avenge the tactics of the other in the quest to clinch leadership.

The Kenyan politic has been marred by same old tactic every year that elections have been held. The clamor for good governance has now become more but a profiteering process for a few individuals both in the August house as well as the Civil Society. The society has become a man eat man society and thus the country is under grabs from those who are championing for change, just to turn out to be worse than those who went after them. The Current Parliament being a perfect example of the pro reform leaders who have ended up becoming the most gluttonous Members of Parliament on the face of earth who are only interested in attaining more allowances and salaries at the expense of tax payers. In deed earlier on last week all MPs united under the Speakers Kamkunji and decided not to be taxed should the president not ascent to their selfish scavenging habits of increasing their pay and allowances that are tax free.

The way of doing things in Kenya has to be relooked, reworked and radically changed if the young have to take over the leadership of Kenya. An innovative, yet radical approach must be found so that the voices of young people are heard on national agenda.

This will be the main focus of the discussions that a select group of passionate young leaders will be exploring in the next couple of weeks in order to come up with a futuristic approach of addressing the challenges that the young have been facing in Kenya. In deed independent thinking individuals, committed, and angry enough about the status quo driven by the factor of doing something for Kenya are the ingredients of the kind of leadership that Kenya needs today. It is only through a few committed individuals that Kenya will begin to change. But it shall not only be a few individuals, every community in Kenya, needs that kind of dialogue. The dialogue that will extrapolate the thinking of tomorrow with local solutions. The grassroots will need to be part of this dialogue. It is only through organizing the grassroots that the whole country will have a buy in. It shall not be a pre set agenda but an open space for locally designed solutions. A people's solution that will un-yoke Kenya from misrule and modern day dictatorship.  The FUTURE Platform will be leading you through the various discussions and many young people are welcome to be part of this discussion that will explore different options that  the Kenyan youth have today to resolve the puzzle of leadership into a meshwork of possibilities as we head to the general elections in 2012.

Keep reading this space.

ED

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