My last column

The future of Africa lies in it's youth. Festo Lang/Kenya 

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The Pilgrim, June 21, 2024*

Across Africa, young people are rising to challenge political inertia in their respective countries. They’re demanding respect for the rule of law and tangible solutions to economic malaise.

It’s no different if you look at what’s happening in Senegal, where young people recently took to the streets to protest former President Macky Sall’s palpable ambivalence on a possible unconstitutional third term in office, or Kenya, where the youth have staged protests over a draconian tax bill.

I thought that what young people did in Kenya, with parallels to the events in Senegal, underscores a key point in digital politics: the revolution will be tweeted. The youth have a unique appreciation of the social and economic upheaval of this decade, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and they are quite adept at using social media like X and Facebook to achieve political ends.

But African youth aren't just engaging in digital politics. They’re also restless. Dejected over diminishing fortunes in their countries, young people are also leaving the continent in droves on the pretext of pursuing academic ambitions. There is an unbelievable hemorrhaging of talent, whose negative impact will be felt in decades to come because it’s the most ambitious and gifted who are arguably at the forefront of the exodus.

Nearby in Malawi, the tragic death (in a plane crash) of the country’s vice president, Dr. Saulos Klaus Chilima, tugged at the heartstrings of the entire continent. Back at home, it’s said that many mourned for Chilima because he was particularly loved by the country’s youth, who clearly earmarked him as a future president of the country.

In Zambia itself, young people played a key role in electing the current administration and they continue to drive the conversation around development and governance.

But you might ask, why am I recounting these developments? I’m recounting them to stress the context within which this column began about three years ago in 2021. As a young Zambian who had just arrived in the United States, I had the benefit of insight and hindsight and I wanted to be part of the conversation in politics, not only in Zambia, but around the world.

The column captured the spirit of energetic youth trying to make sense of a perturbed existence in politics, culture and society. I set out to discharge this duty as faithfully as I could. Naturally, if I did it to the best of my ability, it’s not for me to judge or decide, but for you, the reader.

I've been inspired by many influences in my journalistic career, which began at the University of Zambia (UNZA), where I pursued my bachelor's degree in media studies. However, I may have had a head start because I started interacting with a veteran journalist, Terence Musuku, who mentored me long before I went to school.

Musuku, who had worked for both the Times of Zambia and the Zambia Daily Mail in his heyday prepared me for what I should have expected if I went into journalism. I also learnt how to write, by osmosis, from him. Indeed, it allowed me to make a mark when I joined UNZA’s campus newspaper, the Lusaka Star, which I would lead as managing editor and which led me to the Times of Zambia and eventually the Zambia Daily Mail.

I’ve had the privilege of being supported by gracious and indefatigable editors like Emelda Mwitwa, Jack Zimba, Kelvin Kachingwe and Chapadongo Lungu. As I nursed my ambition to write for the country’s leading newspaper, these people made my dream come true and I’m very grateful for their support.

My coming to the United States for graduate school, however, has eventually dictated that I cannot continue writing this column weekly. Following completion of my master’s program, I’m in a PhD program which will require my total devotion to coursework and research for the next three years or so.

During my master’s program in Illinois, I often wondered what impact my column was having back home because I felt so estranged and isolated. My professor, a Zambian, remarked that I was previously a big fish in a small pond. This was an amusing joke, and we laughed a lot about it because I felt like a has-been, just months after I was very active in Zambian media. Those of you who read my work may remember that I used to work as a staff writer for the Zambia Daily Mail before leaving for the United States.

Indeed, everything that goes up must come down. I’ve always found it an honor to be part of this great newspaper but it’s time for me to say my goodbyes. It’s my dream to do a similar column in future. But until then, I’ve to focus on a key phase of my life now.

Remember, the youth are the future, and governments around the world, especially in Zambia and Africa, need to start paying attention to their voices and contributions.

*This column was published weekly in Zambia's leading newspaper, the Zambia Daily Mail (Nov. 2021 - June 2024)