Supersizing Africa Youth Population,A Blessing Or Curse?

Feature Article
Supersizing Africa Youth Population,A Blessing Or Curse?
By ANANPANSAH,ABRAHAM (AB)

Let's arise youth of Africa! The time to spark the 21st-century revolutionary change is now!
Africa is that beautiful youngest continent replete with abundance of enviable natural resources.
As faith will have it,it is the only continent with a significantly growing youth population.Available data holds true that in less than three generations,41% of the world's youth will be African.By 2035, Africa's labour force will be larger than China, and will account for 1/4 of the world's labour force.

Even though,the question of 'Youth' can sometimes take controversial definitional dimensions,the African Youth Charter adopted at the seventh ordinary session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of African Union in Banjul, Gambia, in July 2006, defines the youth as," a person between the age of 15 and 34 years".There are some who will simply say it is a period of transition between childhood and adulthood.

Now,situating the argument in the context of Africa,data from the United Nations Population Division show that in 2010, young people aged (15 - 24 years) accounted for 20.2%(209 million) of the total population.
Other accessible data points to the fact that over 60% of Africa's population are under 20 years of age, and majority of these are females.In 2050, youth will constitute:
18.6% of the population in central Africa;18.5% in Eastern Africa;18.8% in Western Africa;15.6% in Southern Africa;13.9% in North Africa.Infact,about 36.8% of Africa's workforce are youth.

At a quick glance of the figures, a critically curious mind will quickly ask some acutely critical questions:
Are these figures a sign of a demographic divident (a blessing/asset) or a disgusting curse(liability)?Have government's (both past and present) created and shaped the environment enough through policy intervention to contain the urgent needs of these teaming masses of youth?
As a youth,are we developing or being given the chance to develop our capacities and potentials as imperatives of democratisation and the vision of a preferred future for Africa?

Conversely,the enthusiasm, edge, vim, verve and dynamism of African youth should have been an asset of blessing in advance but it is fast been reduced to a liability of a curse in disguise.

The youth in unspoken words,hold and are the future and hope of Africa.But what are we trying to do to this bright promising future?
Even though, in 2009, three years after its launch, the African Youth Charter (AYC) urge member states to endorse and adopt the charter, and develop and implement national policy for the youth - in Ghana for instance, it was unclear whether the country had a national youth policy in place.
Ghana officially launched its national youth policy on August 12,2010, as part of International Day Celebration endorsed by UN general assembly.But since then, no significant change has been seen or felt. Infact, government programmes to promote youth employment and empowerment in Africa are essentially dysfunctional and propaganda tools in the 21st century.

Indeed,according to staticstics from the 2012 Mo Ibrahim forum,youth unemployment increases with educational level in Africa.Literacy rate is growing,but Africa still lags behind the rest of the world.Young Africans are more literate than their parents, but more unemployed.
In 2009,the youth unemployment rate was at 11.9% in Sub-Sahara Africa and 23.7% in North Africa. It has been estimated that out of about 250,000 young people entering the labour market annually, only 2%(50,000) get employed in the formal sector....

Agriculture which happen to be the backbone of the continent has been poorly developed and reduced to a poor and dirty man's job;making it highly unattractive to the youth. In rural areas, for instance, 53% of occupied rural youth are not into agriculture, but engaged in other activities. Less than 2% of African youth are studying agric.In Ghana,agriculture is not more studied as a substantive subject at the basic level.

Sadly enough,the youth are still largely being rendered nolle presequi in pursuing the dreams and visions of a better future for Africans by the older folks.We are constantly being employed by unscrupulous politicians and reduced as tools and stooges and subjected to selfish political tricks, emasculations, manipulations -and used as means to an end defined by the whims of selfishly corrupt leaders; instead of being seen as necessary partners in development.

But compatriots,there is hope...And that hope is change!Change they say is the only fact of life."Time and tide waits for no man--or person" -Shakespeare.Along with change comes fear, threats and insecurity as well as challenges and opportunities.
In the dynamics of globalisation and change, what distinguish successful countries from less success ones is the existence of leaders with the capabilities of anticipating change and responding effectively in that light.

Unassailably true, the current generation of African leaders are failing to respond to the challenges of change and globalisation and to create an environment for the evolution of succeeding younger generations of leaders...It is also worthy of note that although today, we have a crop of potential young leaders,the socio-political and economic environment is impeding us from striving and standing for Africa.
The younger generation of Africans are highly educated with all the understanding of the trends in modern development but overwhelmed by the legacy of the past and present older folks, as well as the system, the glorification of mediocrity continues unabated!

Increasingly true,we cannot also run away from the fact that,our problems as Africans and a youth for that matter in responding to change are deeply rooted in history.Indeed, the persistent negative images painted about Africa as a violent prone continent unable to solve its own problems are particularly unhealthy and damaging.This makes the youth cast doubts on our unlimited capabilities and confidence and immersing us in a complete psychological whirlpool of trauma.We are fast losing our cultural identity as a continent. Joseph K - zerbo once said, "It is not possible to cash a cheque drawn on someone's else's cultural bank account".
As a result of this lost cultural identity,we live in a continent that is fast exposed to the promiscuous dangers of westernisation and fast losing confidence in its own potentials.In 2007 for instance,an estimated 3.2 million young people were living with HIV in Sub-Saharan African alone, and 50% of all doctors trained in Ghana since 1980s are practicing in OECD...a host of other graduates prefer driving taxi cabs and doing other menial jobs in US and UK than staying home to develop Africa.

At a time when developed and developing countries are racing for the limited space in the 21st century, there is no room for idiosyncrasies or sentiments.We cannot whinger nor linger and continue to depend on tricky foreign aids and grants.
In the midst of the challenging lacunas and the seemingly negative unfavourable legacy,I am overly convinced as an advocate for the youth that the time is just right and the time is now to spark a revolutionary change.I feel a positive vibration of change across Africa through the youth.
Our numbers must not scare us.It should rather hint us that the dependency ratio on the continent will soon reduce with increasing labour force.

Indeed,youth is the spirit of adventure and awakening.It is the time of physical emerging.Let's begin changing our mindset in order to defeat mental slavery and pave the way forward for the continent to flourish.(Cogito ergo sum-I think therefore I am).
As Samuel Ullman rightly put it,"youth is not a time of life;it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, quality of imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep spring of life".

Yes, the youth are the hope and future of Africa but let's remember that, "A man who dread trials and difficulties cannot become a revolutionary.If he is to become a revolutionary with an indomitable fighting spirit, he must be tempered in the arduous struggle from his youth.As the saying goes, early training means more than late earnings"-Kim Jong II.

The vision of African renaissance should not be equated to manners that must fall from above.It simply has to take a critical crop of aggressive young leaders with the right competence,conscientization,entrepreneurial skills,integrity to drive the home grown revolutionary change.History must and i repeat for emphasis must not be repeated!
Let's be inspired by the apparent success of the Soviet Union and Communist China in rebuilding their societies and feeding their peoples.
Interesting enough,we will have no excuse letting African down.

Probably, the first generation of African leaders had their success and failure.Four decades of independence down the lane; we have learned and experienced.We have the past and present to guide and guard us.
We need to create and sustain the synergetic impulses of past and present generation of leaders.Whiles making justifiable pride in striving to annex the immutable component of dogma or fixed traditions by which we learn what to believe,thus, stucking us in prejudice and limitations and never free to change and grow by thinking critically...

As we progress along the journey lets be guided by the following words:
"...It is right and proper that we should know about our past.For just as the future moves from the present so the present has emerged from the past.Nor need we be ashamed of our past. There was much in it of glory.What our ancestor achieved in the Context of their contemporary society gives us confidence that we can create,out of that past, a glorious future, not in terms of war or military pomps,but in terms of social progress and or peace... Our battles shall be against the old ideas that keep man trammelled in their own greed;against the crass stupidities that breed hatred, fear and inhumanity.The heroes of our future will be those who can lead our people out of the stifling fog of disintegration through serfdom, into the valley of light where purpose,endeavour and determination will create that brotherhood which Christ proclaimed two thousand years ago, and about which so much is said, but little done".(Kwame Nkrumah, The Autobiography of Kwabena Nkrumah, 1957).

Yes, African youth arise! Your continent is calling you to be the game changers challenging the nay sayers whiles paving the way forward.
May God bless the continent Africa and deliver our leaders from the spirit of corruption and sheer greed...
Dedicated to all African youth in the youth struggle.Youth Advocacy is the source of inspiration behind this write up.

The writer is a teacher by profession,a freelance journalist,blogger,youth advocate and a student at the University Of Ghana Business School(UGBS) pursuing Bsc Public Administration.He represents a voice to the marginalised.Read more of his works on;(ananpansah-ab.blogspot.com).
May God bless us all.

BY:ANANPANSAH,B ABRAHAM-AB (The Village Writer)
(Teacher/Writer-blogger/Journalist/Youth Advocate/Student)
0241129910 / 0200704844
Email (s):aananapansah@yahoo.com/aananapansah@gmail.com

Friends Of Atubiga For President 2020 WhatsApp Group Pops Up

Friends of Atubiga for president 2020 WhatsApp group pops up

A WhatsApp group known and called "Friends OF Atubiga 2020" pops up...The group according to grapevine information sourced is to galvanize into action to support Stephen Atubiga to lead the NDC come 2020.

It can be confirmed that Stephen himself shared the link to the group to over 60 WhatsApp groups.

When asked about the objective of the platform,Stephen Atubiga stated that the good people of home base set up the platform for his course.And hence were in a position to say more about it.
He reiterated the fact that he was also just a member of the platform like any other member that joined through the link.

The administrator of the platform in a quick response clarified," Please,I am the convenor of this platform. We at the grassroot think it is high time we support people who suffered for the course of our party. Hon Atubiga will drop only if JDM will come back, if not then we shall go to the polls."

The Dp of the group clearly reads,"Stephen Atubiga for president 2020".
  
It can be recalled that few months ago a poster bearing a similar title,"Stephen Atubiga for president" was reported on major news portals and widely shared on WhatsApp to have pop up in communities.
The man at the scene of controversy denied knowledge of the poster at the time...But was quick to add that he was being pressured by some party faithfuls to lead the party come 2020.

The NDC recently lost the 2016 general elections to the NPP and has since been grappling with how to bounce back in 2020 with many calling on ex president Mahama to launch a comeback.

The lines are still blurred but will become clear as the days pass by.

By ANANPANSAH, B ABRAHAM
BLOGGER/JOURNALIST/PARTY FOOTSOLDIER
0241129910/0200704844

Kalypotic Malt 'n' Milk Independence Day-Crucifying The Sin Not The Sinner

Kalypotic Malt 'n' Milk Independence Day-Crucifying The Sin Not The Sinner

Prior to the 2016 general elections,Ghanaians were made to believe our economy was very sick and that life was terribly unbearable for the ordinary man.Infact,it is and was the case, and I can confirm that as well.Things were really difficult and the economy was on a reverse jear.And the NPP was right on spot there!

Indeed,it became a major campaign message for the then opposition New Patriotic Party;now the party in government.
The leader of the party now the president of the Republic at the time led the campaign called,"Kalypo Economy."(My own creation of the drama).

The leader craftily drunk Kalypo and this trickled down to the rank and file of the NPP.All members of the party were encouraged to drink as many Kalypo as they can...And they were just drinking.(You just need to remember the Nana Kalypo and Mahama Paper hit song by Shatta Wale).
The moderately priced juicy drink run short on the Ghanaian market at the time.And traders in the business really made a boom!

The message that accompanied the immoderate drinking of Kalypo was simple-thus,Ghana is hard and well meaning Ghanaians can no longer afford the usual star,malt,guinnes,coke,sprite,golder,stone,shandy.... (Where is ADONCO?..."boys abr3").

Perhaps it was a genuine concern and we Ghanaians understood and stood with the NPP.Their message therefrom resonated and sold very much.
They promised to reverse the situation when voted into power so we can go for our usual taste.(Me I go at worse,Shandi level).

The social contract was brokered.And His excellency Nana Addo was massively voted for.(Was it 53.8%? My comrades in NDC can help with this one).

Fast-farward in 2017, the NPP is holding onto the annals of power and controlling the public purse.To add sugar to meat,we have been handed a winsome heavens gate budget days ago.

The wonder however is not how Ghana is going to work again(or that Ghana is going to enjoy fee free education;a policy I don't believe in) but that School children after matching in the heavy and scorching sun are still being given same Kalypo baptised with the colonial Malt 'n' Milk Biscuit...It is or should be said that school children across the country celebrated kalypo malt "n " milk Diamond Jubilee-60 years of kalypo malt "n" milk economy.
The same calypo that committed no sin but we crucified it years ago to mean recently...huh!

Can that possibly be a confirmation of the "still hard Ghana even under the almighty NPP?"Jumping Judast!
Throw a ball to the wall and it surprise any doubting Thomas by bouncing back.

Criticising the sin, not the sinner.Still the village writter.(I will be back to complete the rest of the plot).
Ayekoo Ghana!Happy Diamond Jubilee so jubilate! 

By ANANPANSAH,B ABRAHAM(AB- VILLAGE WRITER)
0241129910/0200704844

Ayekoo Ghana!60 Years On;Time We Review The Colonial Legacy Of Parading Students

Ayekoo Ghana!60 Years On;Time We Review The Colonial Legacy Of Parading Students
It was on the 6th of March.The task was daunting and might.But a man with much daring spirit descended words like thundercloud from Mars..."At long last, the battle has ended!And thus,Ghana your beloved country is free forever!"
Yeah yeah!My first president in that voice was as eloquent as he was enthusiastic.Nay,it was a red letter day, and Ghanaians had every reason to be over the moon.And so the chorus was heard from the crowd, hurray!
It was a clean break,and good riddance,I guess!And Ghana was given the long rope to think free, build bridges again and rip the gains.The way was christened,"forward."
Yes,they(I) mobilized,came,saw and conquered (veni vidi vici).They were at the beck and call of mother Ghana.They laid their lives.They paid their dues and delivered a solid foundation for mother Ghana visible in the massive industrialization,not to talk of infrastructure...
Infact,the country was young, but their vision was long.A vision far beyond political freedom.A vision of hope and transformation.A vision that dared the ordinary Ghanaian to ask for more in life.And the message therein was clearly carried by Dr.Kwame Nkrumah, "Countrymen,the task ahead is great indeed,and heavy is the responsibility;and yet it is a noble and glorious challenge-a challenge which calls for the courage to dream, the courage to believe,the courage to dare,the courage to do,the courage to envision,the courage to fight,the courage to work,the courage to achieve the highest excellence and the fullest greatness of man.Dare we ask for more in life?"It is thus simple, dare we ask for more in life!
Suffice it to say,they prepared the way.But as birds of passage at nature's say are now eternally away!
60 years on,and reality has dawn on us to tell and sell the story of Ghana.The story of  successive crop of leaders or misleaders who have either continued or discontinued the vision of our forbearers.(May the soul of my late mentor,the great professor Mills rest in perfect peace)....
60 years on,thus, several decades after independence,and as the age-long tradition goes,there will be an Independence Ceremonial Parade Nationwide followed by the lightening of the Anniversary torch, we are being told.And this will happen on the 6th of March.
School children,voluntary organisations,security agencies,dressmakers,hairdressers will be paraded as usual for the match pass as part of mobilising for Ghana's future.
As a matter of fact,I still stand by my guns with regards this tradition of parading school children under the scorching sun just for the heck of it.In all conscience,I see this as an annual review of national punishment of such children to atone for mediocrity or ordinariness.Yes, we are punishing the children,and planting history wrongly in their minds.You know what?I was also punished before.Infact, it's a himalayan blunder in the face of history to say the least...
I can tell you, these children mostly don't even know why they are matching.I recently interacted with my students during our match practice on the above subject matter,and the responses I got falls nothing short of a disaster.I realised we are just wasting scarce resources and time on the parades and losing a whole lot of contact hours rehearsing for such so-called parades....
For heaven sake,we want these children to learn something about our history.We want them to know Ghana had some patriotic sons and daughters who were always at the beck and call of the land.We want them to inculcate such courageous spirit of patriotism.We want them to be bold in defending the course of freedom and justice as our forbearers did.We want them to be dedicated and truthful to mother Ghana.
And there can be better ways to do just that.The Ghc10,000.00 as approved for each of the MMDAs provides enough avenue for better options such as drama,poetry recitation,quizzes,documentaries on our colonial struggle,panel discussion on local radio stations,symposiums,What do you know? Educational tours to colonial sites,career guidance and talent discovery(I tell you,most of these children don't really know their worth,interest area and potentials),debates on independence and a host of them....
I think that is the way to go,and stakeholders need to take a serious look at that aspect.Let's save the little resources,time and contact hours we have by getting our priorities right!
May God bless.
The writer is a teacher by profession,a blogger,a freelance journalist, a student of Bsc Public Administration at the University Of Ghana Business School and a voice of hope for the marginalised and young generation.Read more of his works on(ananpansah-ab.blogspot.com).

By ANANPANSAH,B ABRAHAM (AB)
(The village writer)
0241129910/0200704844

Ayekoo Ghana!60 Years On;Is It Not Time We Rise And Build The Nation Young?

Ayekoo Ghana!60 Years On;Is It Not Time We Rise And Build The Nation Young?
It was on the 6th of March.The task was daunting and might.But a man with much daring spirit descended words like thundercloud from Mars..."At long last, the battle has ended!And thus,Ghana your beloved country is free forever!"
Yeah yeah!My gallant first president in that voice was as eloquent as he was enthusiastic.Nay,it was a red letter day, and Ghanaians had every reason to be over the moon.And so the chorus was heard from the crowd, hurray!
It was a clean break,and good riddance,I guess!And Ghana was given the long rope to think free, build bridges again and rip the gains.The way was christened,"forward."
Yes,they(I) mobilized,came,saw and conquered (veni vidi vici).They were at the beck and call of mother Ghana.They laid their lives.They paid their dues and delivered a solid foundation for mother Ghana visible in the massive industrialization,not to talk of infrastructure...
Infact,the country was young, but their vision was long.A vision far beyond political freedom.A vision of hope and transformation.A vision that dared the ordinary Ghanaian to ask for more in life.And the message therein was clearly carried by Dr.Kwame Nkrumah, "Countrymen,the task ahead is great indeed,and heavy is the responsibility;and yet it is a noble and glorious challenge-a challenge which calls for the courage to dream, the courage to believe,the courage to dare,the courage to do,the courage to envision,the courage to fight,the courage to work,the courage to achieve the highest excellence and the fullest greatness of man.Dare we ask for more in life?"It is thus simple, dare we ask for more in life!
Suffice it to say,they prepared the way.But as birds of passage at nature's say are now eternally away!
60 years on,and reality has dawn on us to tell and sell the story of Ghana.The story of  successive crop of leaders or misleaders who have either continued or discontinued the vision of our forbearers.(May the soul of my late mentor,the great professor Mills rest in perfect peace)....
Before we continue,a story was recently told of Adjoa,a 79 year old woman who had reached her mandatory retirement age of 60 years.She was being encouraged by Atia to start mobilising for her future after 60 years of active work life.Interesting enough,Adjoa's grandparents had already mobilised enough for her future.She had the past to guide her and the future to shapen her way.But she was still mobilising after 60 years.Reason being that she had just survived a crucial contest.
Upon listening to her story,I told my self:I wish I'm given the opportunity to advice this woman.I would have told her in the face:Ignorance they say is a bliss!My dear Adjoa,start acting and making a justified pride in striving to build something to safe your disabled future.For well done is always better than well said.(This is the story of Ghana personified).
60 years on,amidst a seemingly winsome budget(Infact,one of the best budgets of Ghana I've ever read) presented to us,we are told we have to start mobilising individually and collectively for the future.Jumping Judast!Are we not betting on the wrong horse?
Last year by this time,we were investing in the youth for Ghana's transformation.Today, the youth are still highly unemployed.
Lest I forget,it appears somewhere last year,Tanzanian president,Dr.John Magafuli(a.k.a the bulldozer)scrapped the annually held Independence Day  Celebration held on December 9, in that country and saved a whopping 4 million Tanzanian shilling budgeted for the occasion.The money usually spent on the colorful event was spent in expanding the road between Mwenga and Morocco.The president then led the country in sweeping the streets on the said day.
He was quoted as saying,"It's shameful we are spending money to celebrate independence when our people are dying of Cholera."Wow!
How many Ghanaians have so far been attacked and mercilessly brutalised in the wake of the recently sparked xenophobic attack in South Africa?How many Ghanaians are dying of Cholera,CSM, annual flooding,malnutrition, extreme hunger...?But the money splashing celebration goes on.
That was just by the way.(Just something to ponder on).Back to the main issue...Infact,I love it very much when His Excellency Nana Addo Danquah Akuffo-Addo says he is committed to leading Ghana into breaking the shackles of the Guggisberg colonial economy and a mindset of dependency,bailouts and extraction.Worthy of note also is the fact that he says he intends to focus on trade, not aid, a hand-up, not a hand-out.(Refer to the 2017 SONA).
But I get a bit worried if after 60 years of mobilising what our forbearers have mobilized already,we are still taking about mobilising.I think we are just trying to catch a shadow and lose the substance.(Same meat, different gravy).Malaysia and south Korea have innovated and industrialised, even though we started the journey with them.But we are still mobilising and being our great talkers and little doers.
Listen to me now,our forbearers have mobilised,we have mobilised, now is the time we rise and build the nation...Now is the time we fight the war on ignorance and the mind . It's said in Latin that Cogito ergo Sum-I think therefore I am.
Our human resource is mobilised already.Time we build and enhance its capacity.Our democracy is mobilised already(we are the beacon of democracy in Africa).Time we root out corruption and selfish misleaders(the apology of leaders).Our educational system is mobilised already.Time we decolonise the system and restructure the curriculum.Our natural resources are mobilised already.Time we wisely exploit same and create national prosperity.For national prosperity my export administration has taught me can only be created and not inherited.So the plenty talk about our abundant natural resources will only make us more poorer if we are not able to combine them efficiently and effectively with the other factors and innovate in the right direction.If it was about resources,Japan which has always declared that it's an island with no natural resources wouldn't have been among the most industrialised nations in the world.
Countrymen,now is the time to build a strong and prosperous nation.We have been through the challenges,we have learned and are experienced.We have the past to guide us and the present to shapen the way.
Let's together as a country put our best foot forward and scrap the transformation agenda.Let's whistle in the night with eyes widely open,and refuse to settle for anything less.
This is the time for the young blood to stay awake,and spark a common sense revolution and national reconstruction.
Ghana is capable of managing its own affairs and so shall it be....
May God bless us all...And do have a happy Diamond Jubilee Celebration.
The writer is a teacher by profession,a certified freelance journalist,a blogger and a student of Bsc Public Administration at the University Of Ghana Business School.Read more of his works on (ananpansah-ab.blogspot.com).

By ANANPANSAH,B ABRAHAM-AB (THE VILLAGE WRITER)
TEACHER/JOURNALIST/STUDENT-UNIVERSITY OF GHANA BUSINESS SCHOOLS
0241129910/0200704844