Prof. Patrick Lumumba Otieno has urged sitting African leaders to devise mechanisms of addressing challenges affecting the youth.
Speaking on the sidelines of a national symposium in Munyonyo, Uganda, Lumumba, who is known for not mincing words, said failure to improve the livelihoods of young people would spell doom for African leaders.
Lumumba observed that traditional political dispensations have proved infective in regards to solving the youth’s problems, leading to urban uprisings.
“Political parties by nature within themselves tend to be conservative. But remember that Africa is the youngest continent; we have very many young people who are impatient,” said Lumumba.
“And because they are angry and impatient, some of the youth try to cross to Europe and we see so many of them die in the Mediterranean Sea. Those who remain are agitated and their agitation is informed by the hope that when there is change in the political dispensation; then their desires will come about.”
In the same regard, Lumumba said much as youth-led activism is good; it needs to be properly focused to prevent respective countries from sliding into anarchy.
“There are those in Libya who thought that when Muammar Qaddafi moved, Libya would change for the better. Now they are nostalgic. So I think that the problem is a little bit deeper and I would like to say that the youth’s anger is good. But it must be canalized so that there is a positive force for change. Whether that is achieved through the political party’s system or through other systems, that is a debate that must be left to each country,” he stated on Thursday.
His comments came on the back drop of two insurrections that have toppled the presidents of Algeria and Sudan in a space of two weeks.
The youth participation in the Arab Spring was pivotal for their success.
The pro-democracy uprisings enveloped several largely Muslim countries, leading to ousting of leaders in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Algeria and Zimbabwe among others.
Earlier, Lumumba cautioned citizens on the dangers of commercialized politics, saying they risked turning parliament into a ‘den of thieves’.