Former President Daniel Moi questions Obama's youth mentorship programme

US President Barack Obama (PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES)

NAIROBI, KENYA: Former President Daniel Moi has questioned US President Barack Obama's Young African Leaders Initiative.

Moi on Tuesday said he has taken a lot of interest on the mentorship programme initiated by Obama as there were many questions on its real intention.

The former President questioned the selection criteria of the youth, its inclusiveness and what exactly was being taught to the trainees.

He said Kenyans should be explained to clearly on how the beneficiaries are chosen, the curriculum of the training and how the beneficiaries intend to ascend to leadership position.

"I have read the story with a lot of interest however some questions need to be answered. Who are these young leaders? Who selected them and what is the subject area taught?" said Moi.

The former president was reacting to a story ran yesterday where President Obama met 500 African youths who have been training in the US under Young African leadership initiative, among the youths were 47 Kenyans.

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While saying that the initiative raised more questions than answers, Moi said Kenya is a democratic country where leaders are elected through popular vote and questioned how the young leaders were expected to ascend to power.

"Kenyans elect their leaders through popular vote, how are the youth in the training programme expected to ascend to power?" questioned Moi.

He said Kenyans must be wary of some initiatives that are packaged in a manner that seem harmless yet the intention may not be what people think.

"The 47 youth from Kenya, how were they selected, by who and when?" said Moi.

According to the organisers of the programme, the mentorship initiative aims to change the thinking of young people across Africa.

The Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders where 47 Kenyans are taking part was on Tuesday renamed the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders.

The announcement was made by the United States President Barack Obama as he addressed the 500 youth who have been training in the US under the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI).

"This program reflects some of the values Mandela held and with blessing from his family we decided to rename the fellowship," he explained.

Obama also announced that four regional leadership centers would be set up in Africa with one of them in Kenya and the rest in Ghana, South Africa and Senegal.

He pointed out that the centers would focus on engaging young leaders from a wide range of organisations and backgrounds.

"The centers will provide quality leadership training, support entrepreneurship and enhance professional networking," he said.

The center in Kenya will offer a robust training curriculum with direction from a partnership that will bring together Deloitte's global management and strategy skills, the established curriculum and capacity of Kenyatta University, the public administration training of the Kenya School of Government and Africa Nazarene University's youth engagement and outreach.

Obama said there was a need to establish the fellowship which was launched in 2010 to tap into the mind of the young people in Africa.