“Youths of today”, it is often said are “leaders of tomorrow”. This is often said to denote or point out the role young people are called to play in their various communities ‘tomorrow’. But, when is tomorrow actually? One may be tempted to ask. This question is very legitimate, given the frustrations and disappointments so many generations have experienced trying to know when their tomorrow will(if it will even ever) actually come.
“Tomorrow” as defined by the Oxford Advanced Learners dictionary is ‘the day after today.’ It clear from the above definition and it’s an open secret that, the day after today, no doubt is tomorrow. Tomorrow is more generally used to talk about the future. Given that the future is a time yet to come; it is evident that the next minute or even second could be the tomorrow of the youths of our time. Ignorance of this fact and the misconception about the future being especially in terms of weeks, months, and generally years has caused untold sufferings and frustrations to most of our parents who have been waiting for their tomorrow for decades now.
Photo credit: http://sayingimages.com/tomorrow-is-todays-dream/
It is common knowledge that, an intelligent and wise individual will seek not only to learn from the mistakes he/she makes, but most importantly from that made by others, since the probability that an individual make all mistakes in his lifetime is very small. Given that the past inspires the present and the future, it is important that youths who aspire to lead in their communities do not stand and start gazing the sky; sleeping all they can, spending all they can, contemplating the beauty and enjoying the taste of alcoholic drinks in an abnormal proportion, and carrying out a host of immoral and unpatriotic activities while waiting for their tomorrow to come – in such a way, their tomorrow just like that of many in the past generations of youths might not meet them; not even in their graves.
The “tomorrow” of every youth of this generation, is in fact, today and not tomorrow. For, we are in a generation where, only seeking to know what your country has done for you without seeking to do something for your country first is stupid. Therefore, youths who aspire to lead, must start by making a difference today; wherever they find themselves, whatever they are doing, and however they are doing it.
There is no doubt about the fact that, there are injustices in the African societies (just like in that of all societies of our world). But the question is, should we just sit, watch things go wrong, and complain? No. The world has never changed on its own, neither has it ever been changed by a complacent people. “It takes revolutions to get solutions”, once said Reggae’s legend, Robert Nesta Marley. The most important revolution is that which consists of changing not things, but that which consists of reforming and transforming man’s mentality .The greatest change we should seek in our society should therefore begin from within every individual. For, as U.S president, Barack Obama puts it, “it is individual destinies that make collective destinies”.
Former South African Head of State and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Nelson Mandela at the OAU( Organization for Africa’s Unity) summit in 1994, made the following reflex ion on the way forward for Africa and Africans which I consider also to be the way forward for the African youth of our time;
we surely must face the matter squarely that where there is something wrong in the manner in which we govern ourselves, it must be said that the fault is not in our starts, but in ourselves(…) We know it is a matter of fact that we have it in ourselves as Africans[youths] to change all this. We must, in action, assert our will to do so. We must, in action, say that there is no obstacle big enough to stop us from bringing about a new African renaissance.
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