Youth Politician, John Kiarie
I ran into an article in the Sunday papers about the battle for leadership in one of the established political parties in the country. The argument being that the old guard had failed and it was time for the youth to take over the reins of leadership? Being that youth has become a hard term to define in the political environment I shall take to defining it as those below 40 years of age.
The question is if we as the youth are ready to take the mantle of leadership in our country and if we shall present any difference from the old guard. To be honest, I feel that we still have some distance to go. Why? I feel that we have yet to define our ideals, ideologies and vision that will set us apart from the old political class. We still have to some extent the same measure and way of thinking (not all I must add for there are an exceptional few) and before we decide that it is “our time to eat†we must re-educate ourselves as to the morals and values of leadership that we represent.
I believe that this re-education should begin at an early age and we shall only be the transitional gap for the leadership that will take our African society to greater heights. Having seen the politics that is played out in our universities, which to me are a training ground for future players in the national political arena, I feel that we are yet to reach the level of maturity that will set us apart from the old guard.
Leadership, in our African context, has to be redefined so as to allow us take over the reins with a new school of thought and this be taught to those still in schools so as to have future leaders that will represent those values. Otherwise, despite us making “noise†over our rights to take over we shall still be lost in the maze that has been our African politics for the last 50 years.