Crafting Genuine Youths for a Transformed Africa: An Action Above Mediocrity

By Robert Tapiso Matongela

With the current astronomical surge in corruption sweeping the globe, single-party dominance has become a curse to human development.

Single-party dominance is preferred in most post-war colonial countries in Africa. But no human being is perfect, and if political parties are run by fallible people, then ruling parties should be girded by strong and vigilant surveillance networks. As the inheritors of the future, the youth must nurture democratic principles which curb greed and self-enrichment. Corruption and single-party hegemony are bed fellows—and it's time to change the bed.

Directed at the youth, leaders, and the poor and rich alike, in this book the author confronts:

•    Constitutions set ablaze by ruling parties
•    Dictators groomed by voters
•    Frequent elections marred by intimidation tactics
•    Millions in poverty, despite seas of plenty
•    How the common people's voices are silenced
•    How so few benefit from systems of greed

And in his clear and striking voice, the author asserts some vital truths about the youth and their untapped power in tackling these issues.

•    The youth install or uninstall parties according to the content of their character
•    The youth are pivotal to change and transformation
•    The youth become watchdogs of the political process
•    The youth will stand for any party that delivers
•    Elections should be a means to an end
•    Every party is destined to serve

This book cherishes Desiderius Erasmus's famous words: "In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king."
A work of substance and crucial exploration, this book is a must for anyone who has looked into the eyes of the young, and seen the power of the future.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Robert Tapiso Matongela
• Release date: Jan 11, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224672721

Book preview

Youths_-_Cover.jpg

Copyright © 2024 Robert Tapiso Matongela

First edition 2024

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without permission from the copyright holder.

The Author has made every effort to trace and acknowledge sources/resources/individuals. In the event that any images/information have been incorrectly attributed or credited, the Author will be pleased to rectify these omissions at the earliest opportunity.

Published by Robert Tapiso Matongela using Reach Publishers’ services,

P O Box 1384, Wandsbeck, South Africa, 3631

Edited by Editor for Reach Publishers

Cover designed by Reach Publishers

Website: www.reachpublishers.org

E-mail: [e-mail]

Text Description automatically generated

Robert Tapiso Matongela

[e-mail]

Dedication

When I started writing this book, I had no idea to whom it should be dedicated, but then all of a sudden, I realised that it should be dedicated to:

▶ The homeless kids who spend most of their time scavenging for food at dumpsites and in dustbins, with nowhere to make their beds, and who do not see the need for another tomorrow.

▶ To all the people who sit and sleep along the roads, in tunnels and abandoned homes and dwellings, and are forced to beg just so they can eat.

▶ To youth who belong to political parties that may come to power and who might have been politically brainwashed, or hoodwinked and are bent on their own parties as the best-tested ones to lead their country even in times of visible incapacitation and political bankruptcy.

▶ To the millions of people in both Third World and First World countries, particularly youth who think that their voices in the socio-political organisational frameworks and schemes are not worth it because of their age and low social standing.

▶ To statesmen, colleagues and peers who regard the youth as blind followers and mere receptacles of outdated modes of handling national issues.

▶ To aspiring leaders who regard national advancement as a shared game that is played by all including the youth who form the biggest portion of the population of any country and are unquestioningly perceived as the custodians of civilisation and development.

Acknowledgements

No book of this magnitude could be made possible without information gathering, motivation and accorded time to put it in black and white. As this publication is not time-bound, I feel indebted to the following individuals, dead or alive:

▶ To my wife who jeered at me when I used to sit at the table writing because she needed some time with me but finally expressed words of motivation and encouragement for me to carry on.

▶ To my school-going children who wanted me to review their homework or play games on the computer and wondered what on Earth I was doing because I used to be unavailable at times.

▶ To my fellow councillors who shared information with me in boardrooms and who because, of their affiliation to the ruling party, thought that all national resources belonged to their party but still admired my social media posts.

▶ To close friends who missed my company while I was writing this book because more closed-door hours than the opposite were experienced but who encouraged me to continue with the good work that was in line with the survival of the land and beyond.

Abstract

In some quarters, the youth of Africa are regarded and classified as political prostitutes and chronic opportunists. This is surprising because statistics show that this continent has some of the most learned youth in the world. For this reason, they should not be labelled as cheap illusions but rather triumphs who rise above the challenges. It is an accepted idea that the youth are the transmitting belt of culture and, at the same time, pillars of hope for future generations. One could say that the functionalities of the youth are directly proportional to the type of life any country could experience at any stage of a given epoch. Youth are therefore advised to be avid readers in order to acquire the divergent knowledge of the prevailing socio-political frameworks.

Inasmuch as youth are pivotal to the promotion of a conducive socio-political climate, they are also consequential refiners of cultures and traditions, pacifiers of peace and stability, and custodians of the essential norms and values of civilised societies. All these postulates can only happen if youth fearlessly wield and brandish a collaborative sword of global initiative.

This book is aimed at the young people of Africa and the world beyond. It is hoped that they will take cognizance of the fact that it is through having divergent views on the political, educational, social and economic fronts that a truly transformed world order abounding in peace and happiness can be realised. Above all, the notions that youth are mere followers or receptacles of outdated principles and sentiments in order to meet the global evaluation index, is a narrow-minded perception. This book places the youth as co-players and co-owners of the contemporary era and beyond.

Enjoy your ride as you unpack the realities and worthiness of crafting and shaping genuine youth who can steer true and natural democracies on our continent and throughout the world, where rivulets of chaos and injustice flow beyond imaginable mythical foundations.

1

Africa During Colonial Times

I have always wondered what Africa was like before Caucasians made their way to the continent. I think life went on as usual but this should have been presumably a form of simple life, only intended to differentiate the human race from a pack of primates. I think it was funny though! Many people had nothing on their bodies except for a piece of animal skin to hide their private parts. These God-created homo sapiens roamed the dales and thickets of the African landscape. I don’t think anyone complained about this, and, on a positive note, no one was arrested for rape because the people of those days had a very strict discipline that conformed to the norms and values of such prehistoric societies. The land was still pure and immaculate as the prevalence of pandemics like we witness today was completely unheard of. Even though people were half-naked, they exhibited no outrageous sexual drives. That was a nice world to live in. In my childhood days, many of my friends and I wore nothing on our bodies. Girls and boys had to hide their private parts by using pieces of cloth that were picked out for them by their parents. Back then, modern clothes were hard to come by and only a few could afford to buy their kids skirts or shorts. Sometimes the small cloth would get lost, and then one had to go to his or her mother naked to explain what had happened. Mothers used to get furious and would struggle to get another one. Although it appears humorous now, that was life and we enjoyed every moment of those dark days. If this was the type of life that had existed until the dawn of the sixties, I wonder how life was in the 17th and 18th centuries. It may appear as if I am against my race but in essence, the lifestyle could have been worse than the conditions I endured back then. The bottom line is that as youth with no clothes on, we still had a deep respect for our parents and the elderly. This respect is the crux and cornerstone of human survival and civilisation.

Literature has it that Africa is the cradle of civilisation and the birthplace of humankind. Africa is the second largest continent in the world, but at the same time it is the poorest. This is shocking because one cannot really understand how this can be possible. This Dark Continent harbours many of the world’s much-needed resources, some of which remain untapped even today. For the most part, every country on the African continent is blessed with an abundance of natural resources in some form or the other. Ranging from fauna to flora and indeed encapsulating the vast aquatic and terrestrial mineral reserves, Africa could be classified as a rich man’s paradise. Even though civilisation started in Africa, the books in the University of Timbuktu were just wasted and the practicality thereof continues to haunt the common man. The knowledge that was gained from such an institution of high repute never benefited the rest of Africa. The pyramids of Egypt, although built on strict foundations of mathematics, were only for the benefit of the Pharaohs and had no continental impact on the inhabitants of Africa. The smelting business in Great Zimbabwe’s Mwene Motapa was not heavily capital-based, if it can be labelled that way, and was only meant to benefit locals and not the rest of Africa. Because everything under Heaven has its time, it could be presumed that this era was a mark of humble beginnings towards the ladder of scientific discovery and reawakening. But if this was the apex and the zenith of local scientific research, it would then stand to reason that our forebearers had a colossal marathon ahead of them. If, therefore, the innate scientific developments were not halted by the Caucasian Balkanisation of Africa, then we could be proud of our continent and could continue to call it the real cradle of civilisation and hope, and the erstwhile birthplace of mankind. As Africa is the centre stage of civilisation, it can be said that this continent is also supposed to be the seat of peace and tranquillity. Instead, much to the disappointment of even a layman, this vast landmass has moved from being Godly to being ungodly. The problem lies with thinking that the youth who are supposed to be the custodians of culture and social change might have completely succumbed to Caucasian cultures and discarded their own into the dustbins of history. Let nobody ever tell us that we did not have midwives, doctors, smelters, astronomers and agriculturalists because evidence shows that these people were there. If not, we would not exist. Despite that, adopted the culture of the White man and in doing so, we failed to craft and model ours carefully so that it could be sustained for eternity. In this regard, the youth of various African countries are still failing the test of time of being qualified conveyor belts of traditions and cultures.

Africans suffered immensely during the pre-colonial periods and even today, they are still facing enormous odds in the land of their ancestry. Everything around them was and is still being used to undermine the development of the continent at the expense of the coloniser. Development in all sectors was not there and the survival of the common man was a matter of coincidence by the grace of God because many Africans were illiterate. This element allowed for the creation of a portal of entry for colonisers to subjugate the indigenous, resulting in them becoming cheap labourers. Frankly speaking, on one hand, the African people lacked scientific knowledge to improve their own potential in order to sustain their changing livelihoods. On the other hand, they were in dire need of material, economic, social and intellectual support. They wanted to be smart but were unable to convert natural resources into tangible and viable economic instruments that could satiate the daily cravings of the people. They also wanted to shift from sledge-dominated societies to technologies of acceptable standards. I have said earlier that Africa is a continent of plenty, but during those dark days, such resources were left untouched for protracted periods of time. The driving force that contributed to a reduced inclination to use these natural resources did not lie in the nature of how much people liked or disliked them but depended on the level of technological and social development. Yes, there were many African men and women who could have changed the economic face of this continent, but without the right level of education, everything fell into tatters. These folks, who had roamed the dales and meadows of their environments, decided not to change – until the arrival of outsiders. Through daily pains and hurdles, these people strove through challenging times and circumstances to contribute to the creation of cultures of that time. Among these pools of Africans, even though they seemed to be outright illiterate, were the traditional healers, midwives, agriculturalists, miners, builders and smelters to mention but a few. At that time, African economies were guided by common sense rather than by globally-standardised enforced principles. Today, if you talk about traditional healers, people will regard you as an out-of-fashion barbarian or even a Satanist. Even though we have many literate individuals these days, it is disheartening to see so many being consumers of other people’s crafted cultures and abandoning our own African cultures, instead of bringing them to acceptable global standards. We have failed to promote the cultures that were handed down to us from generation to generation, probably because see our cultures as being inferior to those of Whites. Be that as it may, our expository drives have failed us markedly and as a result, we can still be classified as intellectually inefficient. At all times, the youth should explore their own cultures and never discard them. They should ensure that they protect their cultures fervently so that outsiders cannot change them. But alas! Our weak self-images and self-concepts made us easy prey for colonisers. This, to me, is a very sad moment because it usurps our reason to exist rather than being the sources of happiness and triumph. The reader should not misinterpret that my love for my people has waned and waxed as – I adore my race because they can be creators of perpetual cultures.

The Caucasians on the other side of the globe moved from menial lifestyles to more advanced levels in order to ensure their survival. During that period, a lot of discoveries had already been made by using techniques handed down to them by their forefathers. Modifications were carried out to an extent that resources were over-utilised and countries ended up on the verge of economic collapse. Attention was then directed to the Third World for resources to resuscitate their ailing industries and guilds. European countries also faced population explosions. This prompted the idea of exploration for new lands because land was becoming a scarce commodity in Europe. They needed space to expand their imperial command posts and tentacles of authority to the outside world, referring to it as the New World. Above all, colonisers needed the African sunshine to activate and consecrate their intercellular connective tissues. They wanted to come back to the land of their origin but in a different form. They were on a mission to displace those who had been there tending and looking after it for centuries, seeing themselves as physiologically, mentally, culturally and spiritually superior to the African people. This belief is devoid of any truth because, as we know, man was created equal and not as a follower by the same Creator. If this is the case, why did the people of Africa lag behind their advancing counterparts in Europe? I do not think that Africans lacked the zeal to do exactly what their White fellows were able to do. It should rather be said that if someone is poor or did not go to school, the rich and educated may label them as old-fashioned or even barbaric. This shallow mentality has come to roost in our daily lives. It is not news to many people because even a cynic with a lot of treasures in monetary value can be labelled as clever and efficient while someone who is good-looking but has no money and riches may be labelled as stupid and good for nothing. This is exactly what happened at the dawn of colonisation because Africans had their own way of living and had not been exposed to formal education. They were destitute in those days. Because they wore no clothing on their bodies, these people were regarded as stupid and pagans. This was the start of colonisation and only the tip of the iceberg. Colonialisation started as a comprehensive, direct and dramatically orchestrated mechanism that belittled Africans in all domains. Many of the poor folks of those days became mentally, physically, physiologically, psychologically, socially, economically and intellectually traumatised, and were regarded as sub-species. This terrible stigma was the onset of the subjection of one man by another started to take root. The youth of those days conceded defeat because, first of all, they were brainwashed into cowering before a superior White. Their inferiority complex was compounded by their ignorance of their own environment, illiteracy and poverty. Arguably, Africans regarded the White man as a symbol of hope and life because of their comparatively advanced style of living, crafted over a long period of time and which many of us have acquired as our own.

The process of colonisation has been a long and bitter one. Some African countries have been under the sphere of Europe for more than half a millennium. The scramble for Africa was unilaterally carried out, and international boundaries were made created at random without consulting the poor chiefs of that time. As such, tribes and vast kingdoms were split by those artificial lines that were designed to create regions administered by representatives of the colonising countries. While I don’t agree with creating such boundaries, what I fail to understand is why, if lions are able to mark the territories under their dominion, how can a cognitively advanced species called man not be able to do the same? The idea of boundaries is an essential component of peace and tranquillity in countries as they can control unwarranted and illegal movements. The culture of boundaries is acquired, too. But what were our own people doing before the arrival of the Whites if this is the case? Did they not want peace through the creation of these peace-activating mechanisms? No wonder, there are stories of uprisings and plundering within some segments of African communities because they lacked this crucial social measure! The youth and elders of those days were not vocal enough to come up with such ideas. People moved unrestrained from place to place, guided by the ethos of survival of the fittest. Within our African communities, there were numerous wars and skirmishes as well as other social confrontations. If the youth around the African spectrum were united before the arrival of colonists, this very unity would have been seen as threatening. In essence, colonists claimed their newly-found lands with ease because they met disjointed resistance.

To be able to rule their subjects well, colonists were very able and tactful decision makers. They devised a plan to divide people according to their languages that they spoke or the tribes to which they belonged. In the process of the divide-and-rule system, colonised people started to hurt each other because as they competed for recognition and preferential treatment. Some tribes became more recognised, making the prevailing sour relationships between them and other tribes even worse. This was the birth of the divide and rule principle. Monitors of the African political landscape might well comment that the same principle which ravaged African communities for so long is, to our dismay, still practised in many independent African states. Today, many of our partisan governments are tribally orientated without even realising that this is the case. This type of social organisation has obviously been copied from colonists. The youth have again summarily become failures in crafting a culture which is different from that of oppressors. Liberators have become impassionate oppressors. This negative trend has resulted in governments not being able to make effective political change. Chiefs, if some of the readers might have forgotten or have never been told, were on some occasions elected as ministers in previously oppressive regimes. As was done in those days, the same chiefs have resumed their titles as political spokesmen or spokeswomen of governing authorities in Africa, and wherever else the drive for dictatorship seems to be rooted. This adversely affects their positions as custodians of tribal organisations. Their affinity for remote-controlled toys and gadgets influences them to suppress contextual freedoms within a given country. The continual division of people during colonial periods ensured that there was no resistance to the method of rule. This, however, can be perilous if it is put to work in post-colonial administrations. In those days, it ensured that mouths were zipped, but it cannot be the guarantor in today’s political arrangement where fundamental freedoms are supposed to be stringently observed.

Colonisers also used education to prolong their rule. Colonised people were given an inferior education that only allowed them to get menial jobs and continue to serve their colonisers. This type of education made them perpetual servants of the colonists socially and economically. It worked for the colonialists because they knew that hungry people can be cheated by hand-outs to silence their anger. The unemployment rate was alarming in those days to the extent that defenceless individuals would rather concede to harsh treatment in order to live a better life than die. If this type of socio-economic control mechanism is still practised in some countries, what will become of their citizens fifty years from now? In Namibia, for example, well-do-individuals send their kids to study