Power To Lead
Youth have been observed
worldwide to be reliable and effective agents of change and people who can lead
the way with an added advantage of versatility, dynamism, mobility, openness
and adaptability. Most young people are impatient to express themselves, engage
and organize in the social affairs of their communities and nations.
Young people are the principal
actors in our nation and continent’s social and political creativity. Under the
onslaught of the numerous challenges- unemployment, conflict, HIV/AIDS,
collapse of educational systems, political repression, it is young people that
are fashioning new ways to overcome them. Most of these emergent social
networks and organizations are in some cases poorly understood by young people themselves
and others.
Youth Leadership is a process of
helping and guiding young people to achieve their vision. It is a lifelong
journey open to opportunities to learn and treat the challenges as an opening
for learning. A leader is the person who works with the other members in a
group to do things right.
As John Maxwell rightly puts it
“leaders who navigate do even more than control the direction in which they and their people travel. They see the whole trip in their minds before they leave the dock. They have a vision of their destination; they understand what it takes to get there. They believe in their team to be successful and they recognize the obstacles long before they appear on the horizon”
Young people are emerging as
leaders in youthful cultural fields such as literature, art, music as well as
in politics. However, there are challenges. There are policies on youth, but
the policy deficiencies in youth development and the gap between the situation
and the realization of the potential of youth in the achievement of these
objectives needs more concerted efforts.
On the other hand, the young
people leading us do not really know themselves, nor the issues, or understand
their behaviours or their personalities and they do not respect themselves as
people with competences and limitation. To be a youth leader in the 21st
century, you need to make a journey of discovery because you need to know
yourself first before you lead others.
In a reply to a fifteen year old girls’
question on “How can I prepare myself for
a fulfilling life?” Virginia Satir, one of the most influential modern
psychologists and a founder of family therapy said in “I AM ME!”
“….I know there are aspects about myself that puzzle me, and others that I do not know. But as long as I am friendly and loving to myself, I can courageously and hopefully look for the solutions to the puzzles. …. I can see hear, feel, say and do. I have the tools to survive, to be close to others, to be productive, and to make sense and order out of the world of people and things outside of me…”
Young people can be productive
and their participation rights must be taken seriously, so that they can
adequately represent the voices of their communities and ensure they are heard
and taken into account. Institutions and organizations such as the National
Youth Council, the National Youth Service Scheme, Student Union bodies, and youth
organizations that represent and deal with the needs of the young, need to have
their capacities enhanced and strengthen.
Young leaders are refusing to
accept the circumstances they find themselves, and they with their groups learn
team building skills, redeem their self-esteem, and in their own little way add
their own quota to making fundamental change.
The ratification of the African
Youth Charter by the National Assembly in The Gambia is a giant step in the right direction
in creating further entry points for youth participation in national
development. Article 26 which is on Youth Responsibilities mandates the youth
to become the custodians of their own development, and that’s what young people
are doing because young people are not merely “future potential”.
As Galileo stated
“you cannot
teach anyone anything- you can only help her to discover it for herself”
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