DEMOCRACY WILL BE UNDERMINED WITHOUT YOUTH...Argues Prof Sawyerr (PAGE 13, JUNE 25, 2010)

A FORMER interim President of Liberia, Professor Amos C. Sawyer, has said the foundations of participatory democracy would be compromised if the voices of the youth, who institute the largest group of citizens of every African country are not taken into account in the councils of governance.
“We cannot pretend to be planning for the future if the interest, concerns and challenges of the youth are not central to the planning process. Moreover, if the youth are to be governors of the future, they must help shape that future,” he said.
Prof. Sawyer pointed out that the burden rested on the shoulders of both current leaders of Africa, as well as the youth leaders of Africa to develop the vision and the programme to claim the 21st century as the African Century.
The former President made the statement when he delivered the keynote address at the Strategic Future Leaders Conference 2010, organised by the Foundation for Future Leaders International (FFLI) in Sunyani, the capital of the Brong Ahafo Region, last Saturday.
About 2,000 members of the foundation, mainly from secondary and tertiary educational institutions, and non-members, from all over the country, attended the three-day conference which was on the theme: “The African Youth as Architects and Builders of the New Africa.”
Prof. Sawyer said he was happy at the fact that the youth in Africa were now gaining a place of prominence in the African governance and development agenda.
He recalled that in July 2006, the heads of states and government of the African Union endorsed the African Youth Charter with provisions meant to protect and promote four categories of rights of the African youth and spell out the duties African Youth had in Africa.
Among those rights, Prof. Sawyer said, were the right to participate in the institutions of governance in Africa, the right to education and skill development, sustainable livelihood and good and well-being, adding that, the participation of the youth in the institutions of political, social and economic governance was very important in every conceivable measure.
Thus he declared: “We have an obligation to fashion our parliaments, province and town councils, our executives and judicial institutions in ways that allow for the participation of the youth. We are here to fashion our policies such that the interest and challenges that confront the youth are placed at the centre stage.”
The Former Interim President of Liberia further said the youth should also be prepared to participate in the process of political, social and economic governance at local, regional, national and international levels in 21st century Africa.
Such preparation, Prof. Sawyer explained, ought to take into account the range of challenges that confronted Africa, saying: “We live in Africa which is connected to the global; we live in Africa in which many areas are emerging from conflict and yet others are still mired in conflict.”
Prof. Sawyer further advised: “You, the leaders of the 21st century Africa, must cultivate democratic values of tolerance and respect for others and must appreciate diversity. You must have personal values of honesty. You must develop skills for consensus building and skills for peace making and peace building, especially in conflict and post-conflict areas. You must be trans-national in outlook and transformational in vision.”
He said the youth were the true architects in the development of the country and without them, Ghana and Africa could not develop meaningfully, adding that the fundamental problem in Africa was leadership, hence the need to invest in the youth to take the leadership position.
The General Manager in charge of Newspapers at the Graphic Communications Group Limited, Mr Yaw Ayeboafo, who represented the Managing Director of the company, Mr Ibrahim Awal, as the Chairman for the occasion, advised the youth to prepare themselves sufficiently to take up leadership positions in the country.
He urged the participants to make good use of the opportunities that were available to them and take the right step at the right time, saying that: “You are the people we are going to depend on in future. Let us make Africa the shinning star of the world.”
Other speakers at the function were Mrs Victoria Opoku, a Director of Ghana Education Service in charge of Senior High Schools; Mr L. B Antwi, the Dean of the Faculty of Forest Resources Technology at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology-Sunyani Campus and Mr Samuel Gyimah, Deputy Director of the Brong Ahafo Regional Co-ordinating Council, who represented the Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo.