EDITORIAL: The youth’s unpreparedness to lead
There have been loud calls for old and ageing leaders to step aside.
Often, these demands aim to attain age equity, as younger generations clamour for a spot at the leadership table and the perks that sit atop it. It’s not a battle of ideas.
In Namibia, however, many young people continue to demonstrate that they are not ready to take on the mantle of leadership. Exhibit A: Ondangwa this past weekend.
Without a single agenda item being considered, N$900 000 in national resources intended to help the National Youth Council (NYC) address issues facing young people, was flushed down the drain.
Leadership isn't about age. Nonetheless, given that the older generation has, for far too long, built a wall around all-important leadership positions, calls for some form of age equity are not wholly unjust.
The problem is the division among young people. And the reason for this is that rather than viewing leadership as a chance to positively impact society, many see it as a quick fix that will propel them to riches, power and influence.
At Ondangwa, threats of violence took centre stage – detracting from what should have been a passionate search for solutions to the many problems facing the nation's youth.
It was a weekend of egos and muscles. On this evidence, could today’s youth have won the liberation struggle – and would they even have wanted to fight it?
Often, these demands aim to attain age equity, as younger generations clamour for a spot at the leadership table and the perks that sit atop it. It’s not a battle of ideas.
In Namibia, however, many young people continue to demonstrate that they are not ready to take on the mantle of leadership. Exhibit A: Ondangwa this past weekend.
Without a single agenda item being considered, N$900 000 in national resources intended to help the National Youth Council (NYC) address issues facing young people, was flushed down the drain.
Leadership isn't about age. Nonetheless, given that the older generation has, for far too long, built a wall around all-important leadership positions, calls for some form of age equity are not wholly unjust.
The problem is the division among young people. And the reason for this is that rather than viewing leadership as a chance to positively impact society, many see it as a quick fix that will propel them to riches, power and influence.
At Ondangwa, threats of violence took centre stage – detracting from what should have been a passionate search for solutions to the many problems facing the nation's youth.
It was a weekend of egos and muscles. On this evidence, could today’s youth have won the liberation struggle – and would they even have wanted to fight it?
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