Young people in Africa face every new year with little to no hope of a better future. Failure is not inevitable; the youth need to build their power and actively reduce the power of the out-of-touch mainstream politicians and legacy media. They need to realise the worsening social, political and economic outcomes that threaten their futures in the continent are human constructions that can be changed.

All struggles against oppression in the contemporary Africa must begin by redefining the source of the current problem. Facts do not lie, what had previously been considered a legacy of colonial rule, external socioeconomic and political issues and not a creation of postcolonial black African governments must be viewed as such with the abundance of evidence from years of postcolonial rule.

We believe the current problem begins with the opportunistic retention of oppressive colonial governance institutions by the former liberation movements (aka freedom fighters). These institutions play a big role in concentrating power on former liberation movements and marginalising the youth and vulnerable population groups in society.

The chronic problem of poor quality of youth participation in the social, political and economic matters of their communities can be tracked back to the stranglehold of former liberation movements. Instead of creating opportunities for genuine input from their youth movements, they have tended to promote seniority over merit, force the youth to adapt and fit into the postdated movement agenda – blame the West, and demanding accountability from black leaders is frowned upon.

Human suffering in Africa today cannot be clandestinely viewed as the legacy of colonialism and transatlantic slavery; indeed most of it stems from internal policies that concentrate power on the few and protect the interest of the few, remove restraints on expanding their reach to valuable resources while blocking access to the same for the many.

A change in approach is needed to empower the youth. We need to awaken the youth of the dangers of taking the path of least resistance in politics. When proximity to power becomes your only dream, your vulnerability to abuse by those in power increases.

Moral clarity is important; the youth must understand that when it is about your rights, power, and control, take neither funding nor advice from the abusive elite and their allies, build alliances of resistance with all youth from diverse communities exposed to injustices of laws created by the elite.

Next generation politicians must understand that selective outrage is propaganda that serves the interest of the rich. Where the colonial system openly barred or restricted certain population groups from political participation, postcolonial politics under the leadership of black stewards has become expensive so the rich elite can use their financial power to infiltrate and control the agenda of most youth organisations.

Reverence of money over policy in politics is the biggest tool with which the huge financial reserves of the rich can purchase poor youth compliance and obedience.

Obnoxious as it is, some youth fall for the old trick despite the obvious pitfalls of such culture. He who pays the piper calls the tune. No surprise then that many youth organisations are led by 60-year-olds, and their agenda reflects that of the youth of 40 years ago.

We call for today’s African youth to be so loud that no amount of money can buy their silence or obedience in the fight against an oligarchic society.

The African youth must gear himself/ herself for the acquisition of knowledge and meaning in the political architecture of his country and taking appropriate action to make politics deliver for everyone. Make legacy media irrelevant in the young people’s spaces by using easily accessible online channels to reach out to the youth.

It is essential that we understand that accumulation of power in the few is a policy; concentration of wealth in the few is a policy; oppression of women is a policy; marginalisation of minorities is a policy. Policy is a human creation; it can be changed.

Real change will only take place when youth orchestrate change that transforms the power landscape. Young people must move from thinking that all the power is with the politicians and allies, to realising that they can create power. The youth must organise, build alliances, reject racial and tribal divisions that, for long, have formed a protective wall of security for the rich.

Change of the political landscape will start from changing our global perspective and not being subsidiaries of the rich and mainstream politics. The youth must accept that their agenda runs counter to the interests of the rich elite and mainstream politics and that forming alliances with these groups is capitulation in other ways. With that in mind, they must reject funding from rich lobby groups; they need to build organisations independent of liberation movements and mainstream politics to maintain control of their agenda.