...Warns Africa youth bulge could become a nightmare if

Governor of Enugu State, Dr Peter Mbah, has charged Africa’s leaders at all levels on the revival of the ideals of broadmindedness, inclusivity, pan-Africanism, and selflessness espoused by the foremost nationalist and former President of Nigeria, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, to move the continent forward.

This was even as he warned that Africa’s youth bulge, which is projected to reach 830 to 850 million by 2050, could either be a blessing or a nightmare, depending on how the continent’s leaders at every level are able to invest in youth development and job creation.

Mbah stated these at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, during the 13th Annual Zik Lecture Series themed “Zik’s Legacies and the Rising Social Movements in Africa: Rethinking Regional Integration in Africa,” delivered by the African Union High Representative and former President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambers.

The governor recalled that Azikiwe’s broadminded nature saw him champion the emergence of non-Easterners as elected leaders in the defunct region and Pan-Africanism, which deservedly earned him the moniker, ‘Zik of Africa’.

“But Zik’s appeal was not just in regard to the fact that he was broad-minded. He was a beacon of selflessness, and understood quite clearly that public office essentially meant service to the people.

“There was never any hint of hubris in his life. He devoted his life to building an inclusive society. And he didn’t just pay lip service to that ideal; he demonstrated that commitment through his actions.

“It was under Zik’s watch, as leader of the NCNC, that Mallam Umaru Altine, a Fulani, emerged as the first mayor of Enugu. It is instructive that he gave his support to a ‘settler’ from Sokoto than to a fellow easterner.

“Zik was also convinced that a united and integrated Africa will foster economic cooperation and development. Such ideas reflected in his writings in the Accra-based African Morning Post and in his books such as ‘Renascent Africa’, ‘The Future of Pan-Africanism’, and ‘The Realities of African Unity’,” he said.

The governor, however, regretted the erosion of such values and the consequent slow pace of integration, including infrastructural integration among the peoples of the continent decades after.

“Sixty years after that decade of optimism, can we say we are witnessing the strengthening or unraveling of continent-wide and regional integration?

“Even the most optimistic in this hall will shudder in contemplating the prospects of ECOWAS after the withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger from the regional economic bloc,” he emphasised.

Mbah called for robust human capital development and job creation, failing which Africa’s and Nigeria’s bulging youth populations could become a nightmare.

“The continent’s youth population is also projected to reach 830 – 850 million in that same period. This could be an asset; but it can also be a nightmare. It would be an asset if there is sustained investment in growing Africa’s human capital. Of course, a nightmare scenario beckons if the burgeoning youth population sees no job prospects that are commensurate to the rich resources across the continent.

“Again, today, with Nigeria’s over 200 million population and an incredibly enormous youth bulge, a new kind of social movement has emerged, aided by the tools of the social media. They are young, tech-savvy, and flaunt a leadership that is largely amorphous.

“The angst of these movements may not be fuelled by the kind of idealism that birthed the independence movements of the 1940s and 1950s, but their motivation may yet be deemed quasi-idealistic – as evident in the EndSars protests of 2020. But, by and large, the roots of their angst are economic – as the recent protests in Kenya and Nigeria clearly showed.

“Indeed, across Africa, the angst of the youth is increasingly being felt. This speaks to the expediency of creating vibrant and inclusive economies that would banish the sense of alienation amongst the youth which, to a large extent, feeds the desperation behind the perilous journeys to Europe via the Mediterranean,” he concluded.

The Guest Lecturer, Ibn Chambers; Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State, represented by the Deputy Governor, Dr. Onyekachukwu Ibezim; wife of the late nationalist, Prof. Uche Azikiwe; Chairman of the Anambra State Traditional Rulers Council and Obi of Onithsa, Igwe Alfred Achebe; Benefactor of the University, Senator Ben Obi; and the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Bernard Odoh, among others, extolled the virtues and legacies of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, stressing the need for economic cooperation and regional integration.