The Melting Pot: Trends About Youth Leadership and Political Participation in Africa

Abstract

This paper is an effort to highlight trends in Africa that are focusing on including youth in leadership and political participation. It banks on the premise that Africa has had its share of good leaders. In fact, leaders in the corporate and non-governmental sectors in Africa have been recognized across the region for exemplary performance and sound governance. Some numerous women and men continue to exercise outstanding leadership in various fields from board chairpersons to community-mobilizers, these Kenyans show and cherish shared values, a common vision, and principles for their country. The departure manifests when it comes to elected leaders and by extension some appointed and nominated leaders. This has further been displayed in the level at which the young leaders are engaged in influencing decisions in their countries. Over the decades Africa has maintained a leadership system that continues to strangle the very energy, initiative, and creativity among young people in the public sector. Accordingly, many young people have been locked on the grounds of their insufficient political networks, inexperience despite their massive skills and acquired knowledge. Regrettably, looking youthful has further been confused with being youth by age especially in the public sector with those between 35 and 45 years old still being considered youth. Whereas at the regional level young people have been offered platforms to influence certain policies and directions such as Agenda 2063 and Sustainable Development Goals including some countries having made some notable feat in youth inclusion, much is yet to be done in securing meaningful engagements in political, social, cultural and economic spheres of life. The paper discusses the good, the bad and sometimes ugly trends about youth inclusion in leadership and their political participation. This is discussed in the context of young women political participation, youth affirmative action normative frameworks and constitutional provisions protecting youth participation in Africa, youth representation in public offices and clarion calls from the youth regionally. The paper then proposes key recommendations by youth, governments and other stakeholders on critical actions that must be taken while appreciating the existence of other recommendations made by other contributors. The author argues that no level of youth development or engagement is effective without African commitment to investing in its youth and that generating disaggregated data necessary to inform decisions moving forward. It concludes that the eventual change expected in Africa by harnessing the potential of youth is, without doubt, the spark needed to brighten the prospects of Africa towards achieving her vision Agenda 2063 and the global Sustainable Development Goals. Keywords: Youth, Gender, Women, Empowerment, Sustainable Development Goals, Africa, UN Women, Policy. DOI: 10.7176/JCSD/57-04 Publication date: March 31 st 2020