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Who are the youth, you may ask. According to Wikipedia, the youth are/is the period between childhood and adulthood, described as the period of physical and psychological development from the onset of puberty to maturity and early adulthood. Definitions of the specific age range that constitutes youth vary. An individual's actual maturity may not correspond to their chronological age, as immature individuals exist at all ages.

The present world youth are faced with many challenges. We as the youth sometimes don’t give ourselves the opportunities to deliver whenever we have the chances to claim our rightful place in the society. The society in the present world consists more youths than ever before. We constitute the largest population size in any country in the world, yet we are the abandoned lot. We are the “unheeded lot”. We don’t seem to be in the minds, plans or development strategies of our leaders most of whom are the old fogeys who can’t seem to think more than what they have experienced.

A Kenyan perspective will automatically give you a clear picture of what am talking about. Look at our leaders most of whom are past their fruitful years. Starting from the president down to the ministers and all the way to parastatal chiefs.  We don’t have a say in the day to day running of the country yet we are the majority. I don’t know whom to blame, the youths or the leaders or the society. The society we live in is formed such that the youths have no say whatsoever in what the elders say or do. Since childhood we have been taught not to question our elders. Am not saying this is a bad habit neither am I saying it’s a good one either!

The youths, what do I say about them? They are the most effective population yet they are no where to be seen in the national scale. Our attitudes, our perceptions differ and trust me they differ big time. Psychologically we are dwarfed by the society we live in. we just don’t seem to care where or how we live. We just live, as if we are in the jungle farm “survival for the fittest.” Some say the government does not give the youths the opportunities to do something in the country but I beg to differ big time.
We constitute the largest percentage population wise yet we can’t do something about that!?? I say we don’t want to do anything about it. Because I can’t understand why of all the masses we have we can’t change anything yet we hold our futures in our own hands. We simply don’t want to follow the opportunities. We must acknowledge the fact that in this world its survival for the fittest. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. We can change, we have to change, and there is no question about that! I say we just don’t give ourselves the chances to claim our rightful glory in the national development.
Look at us; we are used by our politicians, day in day out. A good example that we will forever be remembered for is the “post Election Violence” of the disputed 2007 general Election. Leaders incited us to violence yet they were nowhere near the violence. Youths running around terrorizing others for nothing. Vandalizing shops and looting here and there. Rampage everywhere, killings everywhere. And in the end what did we get?! NOTHING!! Bitter sweet nothing! What about our leaders’ children? They were comfortably schooled in other countries. Basking in the glory of others’ efforts.

Grim pictures depicted by the media of the youths dint serve us right neither did it help us in claiming what is rightfully ours. Now look, we are the abandoned forces, used to do the dirty works of others. Rather than being recruited to jobs and employment opportunities we are rather recruited to mobs and gangs. Why waste our energies on issues that won’t bring any good to us!?! I say we are our own destroyers of our futures. The future for us youths look bleak if the happenings of the country is anything to go by. Old “jungus” hold lofty positions in the government and civil service, yet the productive lot lingers around doing nothing of particular good.

Let me not bore you with lots of stories that most of you know about. Tomorrow is another day. If God wishes, al be back to write something else. For now may God Bless you all. Thank you for your time and for reading my post.
By:
Fuad Yusuf Mohamed.
Mombasa.