Africa is in the middle of an
amazing demographic shift. Our continent is the only one where the size of the
younger generation is rising
significantly.
Our population is already 16 years younger than in China, and this is only the beginning. Within less than
three generations, four out
of ten of the world's youth will live on
our continent.
But we will only fully reap these
benefits if we listen to young people, engage with them and provide the
education, skills and support they need to prosper. Despite progress, we
continue to fail to rise to this challenge. Young people, all too often, find
their interests overlooked and their voices ignored.
There can be no clearer symbol of
this disconnect than the age of those who continue to set the direction of our
countries and their citizens. For while the median age of Africa's population
is now 20
and falling, the average age of our continent's leaders is around 60.
I am not arguing, of course, that
teenagers should be put in charge of countries. Experience counts in government
even more than in business. But Africa must ask itself why our continent
appears so frightened of giving the younger generation a chance.
Ethiopian President Girma Wolde-Giorgis is aged 88. |
Cameroon's President Paul Biya is 80. |
Namibia President Hifikepunye Pohamba is 78. |
Abdelaziz Bouteflika, 76, President of Algeria. |
Michael Sata, President of Zambia, aged 76. |
Alpha Condé, President of Guinea, aged 75. |
Manuel Pinto da Costa, President of São Tomé and PrÃncipe, aged 76. |
After all, David Cameron and Tony
Blair both became UK Prime Ministers for the first time when they were 43.
Barack Obama first became President of the United States at the age of 47. Even
more importantly, he will step down, because of the constitution, eight years
after he entered the White House.
In contrast, Africa has just
witnessed an 89-year
old sworn in as President of Zimbabwe, a post he first gained 25
years ago. And this was after he had already led his country as Prime Minister
for nearly a decade.
The truth is that it is not so
much the age that our leaders first come to power which is the problem but
their reluctance to relinquish it. Where necessary, constitutional terms are
altered to allow them to continue long after they were supposed to step down.
The result is that political
power lies in the hands of aging leaders who have little knowledge or interest
in the ambitions and concerns of younger generations -- and sadly even less
interest in passing on the reins of leadership.
It is why, when we set up the Ibrahim Prize for
Achievement in African Leadership in 2007, we made it a condition
that only those democratically elected leaders who hand over power voluntarily
at the end of their constitutional term would be eligible.
Even in countries where leaders
do not confuse their own interests with those of their country, our young
people can find themselves locked out of decision-making and debate. They
react, not surprisingly, by turning their backs on the political process.
Electoral turnout is falling among the young and political apathy is on the
rise.
The danger is that, denied the
chance of peaceful change, despair and anger is fostered. We must at least
enable our young people to play a more active part in the decision-making
process. If we do not, we will see even more leaders overthrown.
The risk of creating a
marginalized youth only seems to increase when you look at the job market. Our
young people are better educated but enjoy
less employment opportunities than their parents. We can't just rely
on their numbers to drive Africa's continued economic progress.
We need renewed efforts to
provide them with the skills they need to fill the jobs of the future. We
urgently need to foster national debates involving businesses, education
specialists and young people themselves to build the skilled workforce Africa
requires to compete globally.
It's time Africa started
listening to our young people, instead of always telling them what to do. It is
their potential, after all, which will decide our continent's future. Let's not
waste it.
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