According to many international organisations, Africa is in a parlous state, with the Geneva Academy reporting that Africa has the second-highest number of intra-state conflicts in the world (35) after the 45 in the Middle East.
In stark contrast to this, the African Youth Survey, published by the Ichikowitz Family Foundation (IFF), found a mood of optimism among the continent’s youth. The survey operated in 10 countries and focused on the 18-24 years age group.
Chairman of the IFF, Ivor Ichikowitz, explained why he was, despite all the negative aspects, very positive about Africa’s future. He, told defenceWeb: “There is a whole generation of people that have never experienced Colonialism or Apartheid and do not believe that their African-ness is a handicap like the colonial system tried to convince us it was.
“We’re coming out of a period of revolutionary mindset and going into a period of global engagement, where the polarization of the world will either happen or not happen because of the role that Africa will play.”
On defence challenges faced by Africa, he said: “The security of this continent has got a lot more to do with social issues, political issues, the debate about what African style of democracy looks like, about other security impacts on people’s lives that cause the necessity to have a strong defence infrastructure.
“This is a continent that has massive security threats that are much greater than Islamic fundamentalism, the insurgencies, the criminal-backed rebel groups. Climate security: seventy-five percent of people that we talked to in Africa have been directly impacted by climate as a reality in their lives,” he said, explaining how the survey revealed what real security issues Africans are facing. There is also a big impact from terrorism – a very high number of Africans have been approached by terror organisations, as indicated by the survey.
The survey found a more optimistic view among young Africans, despite concerns about corruption, deaths from infectious disease and armed conflicts.
International influence on Africa was important, with China and the US being seen as important, but Chinese influence appears to be most influential. Russia is not viewed negatively, although its involvement in conflicts is not seen as positive.
Most want to see Africa play a larger role on the world stage, and while most support democracy, many are drawn to more authoritarian government as long as it can deliver. Interestingly, most do not give freedom as their most cherished democratic value, but equality.
While most feel they don’t live better than in 2020, four-fifths still believe they have very good prospects, 70 percent plan to start a business, while half plan to try to move overseas.
Their biggest concern, according to the survey, is corruption, while safety and security are a close second. Many worry about the environment, but most are very interested in mobile phone and internet connectivity, while trust in mainstream media is relatively high.
Interestingly, most young Africans place improved education fourth in their list of priorities, whereas education has been the biggest factor in the upliftment of Europeans, Americans and Asians. The World Bank says education is “one of the strongest instruments for reducing poverty”.
This lack of basic education is a leading factor causing poverty according to the Brookings Institution and added to local discontent with government policies in Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado province, for example, which led to an insurgency fuelled by Islamist ideology.
