Africa’s brave have already been born!
By Lerato Motaung, (Youth Co-ordinator, Oxfam South Africa)
As we celebrated and promote unity on Africa Day, the 25th of May, we turn to the words of the late Thomas Sankara who reminds us that we “… cannot carry out fundamental change without a certain amount of madness. In this case, it comes from non-conformity, the courage to turn your back on the old formulas, the courage to invent the future.”
In these words, Sankara, a passionate advocate of Pan-Africanism, encapsulated the spirit of African youth. Historically, the African youth has played an integral role in the continent’s various liberation movements. From Cape to Cairo, history’s pen has recorded the youth changing the continent and shaping the face of liberty. From the mouths of babes, songs of freedom express a new way of being.
So what does a new future, in Africa, look like? If, in the words of Sankara, fundamental change can only be achieved through an employment of madness, where does the greatest resource of our courage lie? With a significant rise in youth protests across the continent, it appears that this is where the courage lies.
The African youth, indeed, is (and always has been) the voice and face of Africa. However, “post-colonial” Africa is not the Promised Land that many have struggled and died for. Mired in, amongst many other social ills, despotism, corruption, poverty, a capitalist system that works for a few and excludes the majority, , , the African youth finds itself struggling to flourish in environments that are not conducive for growth. According to a report released by Oxfam, the gap between the rich and the poor is higher in Africa than anywhere in the world, with the exception of Latin America. Furthermore, it has been shown that since 1990, the number of people living in poverty has increased by 50 million[1]. With 200 million of the continent’s population aged between 15 and 24, Africa has the youngest population in the world;[2] and with the rising levels of inequality on the continent, progress for many of Africa’s youth is being stunted.
The threats to development agitates the youth, and Africa’s youth has used everything at their disposal to fight for a new Africa. Key, in their arsenal of “weapons,” is social media through which they bring to the spotlight, issues that they struggle with, in their respective countries. When pro-government media houses are mandated to tell a sanitized version of what’s happening in their countries, the youth use social media to inspire change, and oppose, false media representations, as well as galvanize responses on the ground, across the continent and our global community. Youth make it harder for those responsible for injustice to hide. It is no wonder, then, that a lot of African States fear their youth, as well as their access to social media. It delegitimizes the “old” governments as the only arbiters of truth and “speakers” for the nation. In Sankara’s words, social media “gives youth a platform to collectively invent a new future for Africa”.
There is a rise in rebellion by youth on the continent. Protests in Tunisia, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Ghana, Cameroon, Angola, Nigeria, DRC, Zimbabwe, South Africa, amongst a growing number of countries, reflect the changes in the political landscape on the continent. From tackling compounding social issues such as gender inequality, dictatorships, military governments, as well as economies that favour the rich while heavily relying on the labour of the poor to sustain development. Student movements, in particular, have resisted disillusionment and have managed to disrupt “business as usual,” and set a new agenda for Africa.
At the heart of intersecting structures of inequality, are Africa’s young women who live precarious lives. Young women and girls are struggling to thrive in societies which perpetuate gender practices that favour the development of young men and boys over them. State practices and legislation that prohibit women from attaining full autonomy over their own bodies, including regressive laws in sexual and reproductive rights. According to Oxfam, “fewer women complete higher education, fewer women are represented in legislatures, and the pay gap between women and men is wider. The recent rapid rise in economic inequality in most countries is, therefore, a serious blow to efforts to achieve gender equality.” [3] Nevertheless, young women across Africa are actively pushing against the patriarchal grain.
As we celebrate Africa day, the youth remind us, they teach us, that we can dream differently, that we must revolt and can win against injustice, that a better tomorrow exists for all. It is through all these challenges that we face and youth’s continued resistance, resilience and example that we recognize that the future has already been imagined; and the brave have already been born.
[1] Oxfam (2016). The Time is Now: Building a Human Economy for Africa.
[2] Oxfam (2016). The Time is Now: Building a Human Economy for Africa. https://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/file_attachments/bp-time-is-now-human-economy-africa-100516-en.pdf
[3] Oxfam (2014). Even it Up: Time to End Extreme Inequality. Page 10. http://policypractice.
oxfam.org.uk/publications/even-it-up-time-to-end-extreme-inequality-333012
So what does a new future, in Africa, look like? If, in the words of Sankara, fundamental change can only be achieved through an employment of madness, where does the greatest resource of our courage lie? With a significant rise in youth protests across the continent, it appears that this is where the courage lies.
The African youth, indeed, is (and always has been) the voice and face of Africa. However, “post-colonial” Africa is not the Promised Land that many have struggled and died for. Mired in, amongst many other social ills, despotism, corruption, poverty, a capitalist system that works for a few and excludes the majority, , , the African youth finds itself struggling to flourish in environments that are not conducive for growth. According to a report released by Oxfam, the gap between the rich and the poor is higher in Africa than anywhere in the world, with the exception of Latin America. Furthermore, it has been shown that since 1990, the number of people living in poverty has increased by 50 million[1]. With 200 million of the continent’s population aged between 15 and 24, Africa has the youngest population in the world;[2] and with the rising levels of inequality on the continent, progress for many of Africa’s youth is being stunted.
The threats to development agitates the youth, and Africa’s youth has used everything at their disposal to fight for a new Africa. Key, in their arsenal of “weapons,” is social media through which they bring to the spotlight, issues that they struggle with, in their respective countries. When pro-government media houses are mandated to tell a sanitized version of what’s happening in their countries, the youth use social media to inspire change, and oppose, false media representations, as well as galvanize responses on the ground, across the continent and our global community. Youth make it harder for those responsible for injustice to hide. It is no wonder, then, that a lot of African States fear their youth, as well as their access to social media. It delegitimizes the “old” governments as the only arbiters of truth
[1] Oxfam (2016). The Time is Now: Building a Human Economy for Africa.
[2] Oxfam (2016). The Time is Now: Building a Human Economy for Africa. https://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/file_attachments/bp-time-is-now-human-economy-africa-100516-en.pdf
