National Youth Council: The Kenyan Youths Revolution Blueprint

It was not a time for a chaotic, retrogressive and bloody revolution. Murderous revolutions as witnessed in Egypt, Libya and Syria. But rather Kenya was ready for a structured revolution. A total paradigm shift into a sophisticated model of youth’s inclusivity in government. A change inspired and generated from the soul of the Kenyan youths. Nor was it a time to plant the trees of freedom and democracy with our blood. For we were not fighting for freedom like the mau mau youths or for democracy like the youths of the 80’s. Freedom we had, democracy we had, it’s just that our slippery values had refused to grasp them and in our indifference refused to own them. 

What a shame, how empty was our generation at the time, how devoid of any unity of purpose, so deathly blind to the signs of the times. We were always so ready to listen to crisis reciters. Those so ready to use their platforms to contort the most potent of vitriol on existing societal failures. Doomsayers preaching to the converted and rephrasing old problems into infinitum. Yet will not move an inch to propagate change. They would be the last to agree with a clarion call they did not sound themselves, fan the embers of an original movement, leave alone be seen on the streets championing for a new way of doing things. The rest of our generation frozen in a messianic like wait, waiting for a big bang fix, for a utopian wave on the populace that would magically bring about change. Far be it they be, they be the game changers themselves.   

As our generation groped in darkness in noon day for lack of a vision, our so called leaders desperate to be seen to be doing something, dilly dallied in empty pursuits. Swept by the band wagon effect, they would find themselves rallying behind political joy rides. Riding on short sighted causes inspired by drunken ambitions to self preservation, shamelessly at the expense of developmental agendas. We had entrusted our future to past heroes long turned into traitors. An ideologically emaciated brood of vipers who spent too long staring into the abyss of tyranny, that in time the abyss stared back into their souls. Leaders whose focus had long shifted from the interest of the masses to the interest of their individual careers and families. How craftily they had swayed us from the task of building institutions to worshiping their personalities, from discussing ideas and solutions to perpetual discussions on their entitlements as leaders. So fast to talk down at youths for their lack of initiative, but too slow to notice or lift up a nondescript player with a noble initiative.    

The mau mau youth wanted self governance, the 80’s youth wanted multi-party democracy, and the youths of 2014 wanted economic prosperity and social equity. Ideals that could only be achieved through a participatory approach to developmental processes and inclusive structures of governance. These are the ideals that made up the bronze snake that we all had to look at if we were to quell the restless agitation, the unrest brewing among the masses. The mau mau youth had to travel from village to village to rally the masses to the new dawn of a revolution, and today we govern ourselves. The 80’s youth had to use seditious written materials and secret meetings to bring about change, and today we have more political parties than we need. The 2014 youth had a mouth, ears, eyes, a virtual community and a ready spring board to a revolution at their hands. At the touch of a button, hell or heaven could come down on their behest. 

For a long time the youths of 2014 had been weakened by lack of ideological training and political identity. In whose absence, tribalism, institutional corruption and political mediocrity had served to stifle any meaningful progress. The political elite already in the limelight banked on the indifference of the youths to preserve their status quo. Swindling the masses with political innuendoes full of theatrics but empty of substance. These clowns dressed as politicians and reformers spewed such epithets to sicken even the most politically passive among us. These war mongers and tribal demi-gods preyed on our political attention with their sights trained on draining our national resources. 

So it came as a surprise, sure enough, none had foreseen such a revolutionary road map that side stepped the bloody mess of many a revolution. That was so swift because it was not tied to reconstruction and reconciliation frameworks that characterizes chaotic revolutions. The Kenyan youth’s revolution rested on the inverted role of a deadly virus. Just like a virus multiplies within the body of its host till the whole body is consumed and overwhelmed, so was the swift takeover of the National Youth Council (NYC). The National Youth Council attached itself to the structures and functions of the government, private sector and civil society in such a way that the desires and aspirations of the Kenyan youths and women were realized fully. The national youth council was not a panacea, but it was the platform, the recruiting ground for new political movements, socio-economic polices and governance structures that liberated and catapulted the youths into the limelight, into the front row seat in defining their destiny. 

The National Youth Council started with a blog post which went viral. A few inspired youths held a series of meetings where the national youth charter was drawn, a selfless administrative structure was floated and a formation course mapped. The idea was to have a central body to holistically cater for the interests of youths. Though independent to the influence of traditional centers of power, it would be legitimized enough to the point of having controlling influence on the functions of government, policy formulation and implementation of issues central to the interests of youths. The National Youth Council would be meritocratic institution ran on by youths who’ve had outstanding contribution to society, demonstrated servitude leadership and success in their own field. It was to be funded by the exchequer, private sector and civil society. It would derive its mandate directly from the Kenyan people, the Kenyan youths. 

On the political and governance front the NYC was to vet and approve all youth based government appointments. So no longer could a 50 year old be appointed to take up a slot reserved for youths. The NYC think tank contribution to government policy and legislative formulations were to be adopted with no qualms. A shadow structure mirroring the structure of government (for example shadow cabinet secretaries) to offer fresh, new age ideas and solutions, offer counter voices or support official government stands for the interests of youths. Political candidates vying on a youth platform would explain their agenda and plans to the youth council and get a certificate of competence from the council. All political ventures including referendums would need tangible proof of beneficial value to the youths, meet the progressive agendas of the youths beyond mere political rhetoric and time wasting political circus. All in the understanding that it is the youths who will inherit the best or the worst of today’s political and governance choices. 

On the economic empowerment front the government was to channel the 30% of all government tenders reserved for youths through the youth council to be disseminated evenly to youths around the country. This was to ensure equity in the distribution of these tenders as opposed to when no one knew which youths got these tenders and their demographic concentration. The council would by innovative means improve access of capital by youths from not only special government funds like Uwezo fund but also from mainstream financial institutions. The council would go a step further to ensure that these funds and capital reach community youth groups under the youth council. A widespread structured mentorship program ran by the youth council would link and pair youth entrepreneurs with the private sector, and youth dominated jua kali sector with mainstream industrial and manufacturing sector. Kenyan youths would benefit from the youth council ran incubation centers for small and medium sized enterprises and for the first time recognize micro enterprises as well. The youth council would sponsor free social leadership training and offer a pool of resources for university scholarships targeting youths from poor backgrounds. 

It’s obvious that such a grand scheme as is the National Youth Council would remain a concept on paper, a fairy tale on disillusioned minds of our youths, an object of ridicule for our fattened elite and a taboo topic for our insecure leaders. But do not belittle yourselves fellow Kenyans, this dream can be realized, the youths of this country can hold their destiny in their own hands. In this age of multiple social media platforms, of unprecedented and penetrating mediums of mass communication, of an enlightened and passionate generation, anything is possible, change is inevitable. Dear Kenyans, of what use is your ten thousands or hundreds of thousands of followers on social media if you can’t influence them towards a common goal, for common good. 

How hard can it be to use social media to bring together groupings of youths from the neighborhood level, to ward level, to constituency level, to county and national level? How hard can it be to bring them to the streets if need be, or at the very least, from the comfort of their homes, using the phones on their hands, involve them in taking part in targeted campaigns to pressure the powers that be in one way or another. The idea of a National Youth Council as exposed in this article would need mass exposure among the youths to set the foundation for its formation, its potential would need to be sold to the youths to be accepted. A successive clamor for its formation would need the youths to own the idea, the coordination of its structure would need to be carried out on a massive scale, the youths council would need muscle. Kenyans, it’s also for such noble causes as this that social media exist and not only for spreading your selfies. The national Youth Council blood runs in the networking potential provided by social media. Its backbone the social activists lying dormant in each one of us. Stand up and let’s do this!