Let's redeem the lost generation

A month ago I wrote: I am not young, neither am I too old. And that often, I receive comments from readers across the world on my Monday column. Some are encouraging, while some outrightly disagree with my views.

A lot of my readers are the youth. I admire their forthrightness, their "direct style".

All around the world, it has frequently fallen on the youth to stir up things; to topple regimes and liberate societies. Since the youth have been at the vanguard of change, it is easy to assume that a new dawn is beckoning where the force of youth-driven agitation is grinding against the forces of the status quo largely represented by corrupt politicians supported by a cabal of greying, inflexible bureaucrats and unruly mob of supporters with little or no education.

But alas, I was wrong. The 21 century Kenyan youth is faced with monumental crises. The Kenya Youth Survey Report launched by the Aga Khan University last week paints a grim picture of a generation lost in a futile rush to gain status recognition by hook or by crook.

Generally the youth suffer from a crisis of identity, of integrity, of political participation, of values and of aspirations.

It has been 52 years since Independence. Kenya has made strides in many fields. It has fallen behind as well on many things. I tell you what, the youth exemplifies the hope and peril facing any society.

No doubt, Kenya boasts one of the best educated youth segments in the region. But from the findings of the study, the country faces a perilous future.

Walk into any coffee shop in any town, or any other popular venues, you will meet with youth talking politics for hours on end. Even religious teachings these days are laced with the role of the youth in national politics.

Lectures in colleges, I am told, wander off into talk about the not-so-good state of things and the need for change. A change many of them feel has been promised forever. Yet that change apparently, is not what you and I have imagined. It would seem that the youth's main grudge is that they would rather be the ones at the trough than anybody else.

A sampling of 1,854 respondents ages 18-35 from across the country, including both urban and rural areas offers reasons " for optimism, deep concern and the need for urgent action".

To begin, eight out of 10 people in Kenya is a youth. This means more than 30 million Kenyans. Of this, 60 per cent are jobless. The survey shows some disturbing aspects of the youth in the country.

While most Kenyans are worried about corruption and rise in other vices, most of the youth interviewed from across the country are not disturbed by corruption. In fact, half are not concerned with making money through illegitimate means.

So despite more than 70 per cent of them attaining secondary or post-secondary education, it is a pity that the country is lagging behind.

Nevertheless, I made a few, general deductions from the findings. Education, role models and opportunity are the main causes of the sense of hopelessness we see among the youth.

We are in agreement that the Kenyan education system is not geared toward nurturing talent. In fact, unless lucky, it stifles talent and creativity. That is why all those who clear colleges keeping knocking on the doors of employers armed with that ubiquitous khaki envelope containing a brushed up CV and nothing else. Hardly do they show up with an idea to knock the socks off a potential employer.

The current education system encourages a straight-jacket path to career and success. Nothing else hence the absence of what one would call a well-rounded individual.

On role models, as deduced from the report, the young ones have limited contact with those we could say are the best examples in society. The media is awash not with people worth emulating, but with a deplorable lot of laggards and vain politicians clothed as the best cream in the society; full of style, but lacking substance.

The last which is connected to the other two is lack of opportunity. A youth with a First Class degree and without a job and who sees politicians and Government bureaucrats living large, cannot be persuaded to accept that he can take his turn at the high table anytime soon. In fact, to them, the rungs have been removed from the ladder of opportunity.

And they will do anything (including causing injury or death) to get to the top of the ladder.

This provides the ingredients for the simmering cauldron of desperation seen in the report findings.

What's more, with the number of graduates set to rise: the number of graduate-level jobs still below the level it had reached in early years after Independence; and with most of the graduands earning a pittance from employment, we should brace for tough times ahead.