Peep Sierra Leone

I feel highly obliged as a prospective youth to respond to this above piece as produced in your October 14th Vol. 736 edition of the Peep News Magazine.

I said prospective youth because the article I am responding to has actually opined that people of my age be expunged from the age bracket of what can be referred to as youth in the proposed National Youth Commission Bill.

I actually view this piece as timely and relevant especially coming from an elderly states man like our former Mayor. I think it is more than timely to give our necessary inputs, other than wait for the Bill to be enacted with all the suspecting inherent lapses.

The piece as was produced has some elements of affirmation though some of the points stated especially about youths perspective in Sierra Leone I consider somehow erroneous.

I want to capture a preamble statement in the piece "… it would appear that from the exuberant lust for empowerment at all cost ---, our youths have become deaf to all form of reasoning." This statement consider very unfortunate from an elderly statesman. This statement can best be described as re-echoing of the inter-generational conflict/rift between our present elders and the older youths (above 30) who have been socially and economically deprived over the years but they still consider themselves as active youths whose empowerment should be a priority as time and age is fastly closing in on them. I totally disagree that these youths are in an exuberant lust for empowerment beyond reasoning. I believe the Sierra Leonean youths are far behind empowerment and as promised by His Excellency Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma during his campaigns, youths empowerment must be a priority to this government.

The youths want to live productive lives, the youths want to be employed, empowered, provided for, they want to get married and start making their own families.

They are tired of receiving handouts for political patronages; they want to determine a clear-cut formula for their survival and that of future generations. I believe the youths who have pioneered the campaign for youth's empowerment should be given kudos and not discouraged or ridiculed by those who should have provided a solid foundation for their survival.

I am also saddened by the expression in the article "… this cash strapped government is benefit of massive financial injections or other ideas to support their development or employment programmes…".  Reading this piece one would be obliged to conclude that Winstanley R. Bankole Johnson is now the mouthpiece of the APC Government or wants assume to that position by making a policy statement on what government has or does to have for a crucial development programme like the youths empowerment.

Referring to our present youth leaders as "… purported youth leaders" s also unfortunate. For God's sake does our former mayor think that Sierra Leone youths have or should have no direction or leadership.  I will be tempted to ask what criteria would he consider acceptable for the leadership of youths in Sierra Leone.  Please the youths might require an honest explanation or raison d'etre for such allusion. The youths population of Sierra Leone might also be curious to know the relationship between the biblical allusion that was translated to the Krio proverb in the piece which read in English (an okra plant will never be taller than its former because he can always bend it for harvest).  Does that imply that the Sierra Leonean elders will never allow youths to build their capacities for he fear that the youths can become taller than their masters?

On the other hand I want to share the view expressed in the piece that youths seem to be paying for greater attention or emphasis to key words in the draft bill directly relating to the membership of the Board and their powers to manage and control their own affairs through the commission than to the proposed welfare development of youths countrywide.

I think this is misplacement on the part of the youth advocators. These youth advocators should actually be seen as working for a formula to address all issues of youths discrimination, marginalization and unequal access to opportunities at all levels of development.

They should advocate for the mainstreaming of youths in all section where youths participation is lacking.  The youths advocators should not be seen as people who are only advocating to be recognized and catapulted to those positions enshrined in the National Youth Policy. I would rather encourage his Excellency the President to consider a more neutral but active youth who is locally based for and who has a constituency or following for the much coveted youth commissioner. These lead advocates can however feature as members of the board based on their record in youth development so far. I also want to agree with the writer on the area of failure in the bill to clearly differentiate between the educated and employable youths and uneducated and unemployable cadre.  Here I think a radical step should be taken by the law makers to incorporate the students wing i.e. Students Union Governments and even the Executive of the National Union of Sierra Leone Students (NUSS). This group I consider the most enlightened and viable youths within a nation.

It is unfortunate that youths issues are discussed in Sierra Leone without much recognition or reference to students, 80% of whom are youth who are 100% literate. Any sustainable youth development agenda should not be confirmed without the input of the students group.

I however disagree that the uneducated youths are unemployable.  I think we should devise a means to make them employable at all cost if we want to enjoy peace and sanity in our communities.

My main content in this piece is the recommendation of the writer that the age bracket in the bill 15 - 25 be reduced to 15 - 24 years. I want to ask if the writer is au fait of the premise on which the idea of the National Youth Policy was germinated. I believe though I am not quite aware whether Sierra Leone is signatory to, but I can affirm Sierra Leone is acceding to the provisions of the African Youth Charter, which was adopted by the seventh ordinary session of the Assembly of Heads of States in Banjul the Gambia on the 2nd July 2006. This charter is guided by the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights (1996), the African Charter on Human and People's Rights (1986), bearing in mind the Convention of Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979); Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights relating to the Rights of Women in Africa 2003 Convention on the Rights of the Child (1980), the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child 1999, the United Nations World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and beyond and the ten priority arrears identified for youth… adopted at 2005 United Nations General Assembly.  This charter after having considered all outlined above resolved to define youth as "… Every person between the ages of 15-35 years.  "I believe the youths of Sierra Leone after several consultations have affirmed to the above definition of youth in Sierra Leone.

I little wonder whether it is out of genuine patriotism or concern for youths in Sierra Leone that the writer suggested a decrease in the age bracket or rather as somebody opined is a fear of the aspirations and potentials of the older youths who might do things unimaginable to attract public attention and approval the moment they are empowered.

I want to summarise by appealing to all stakeholders in Mama Salone to consider the plight of youths and do something proactive to transform the status-quo of our present youth population which comprise 34% of our population according to the 2004 population census.