Are Youths The Leaders Of Tomorrow Or Today? — AVA

Ago Vanessa Addo is a multi-sectoral Youth Activist with the interest of standing for the development of the Youth and their involvement in decision making precess. Her idea of coming up as the Founder for AVA Motivate which set as a platform to encourage and motivate the youths to gather momentum to participate in national development.

She has come out with a touching message to youth worldwide by digesting what the Youths can do to help and also clearing of some specific perceptions.

A youth is a young person who has not yet reached adulthood and refers to the time period before you become an adult. We are frequently bombarded, from all angles of society, with the general truth that the youths of today are leaders of tomorrow.

The use of the word “tomorrow “in any context, has a way of inducing complacency and promoting the fading of the importance of actions and decisions, made today, in shaping tomorrow. According to well known activists, Malcom X “the future belongs to those who prepare for it today”. Why must the youth wait until tomorrow to lead? What about today? When does tomorrow begin?.

Let there be no misunderstanding, as often the youths are reminded that they are the leaders of tomorrow, they must also be reminded of the fact: today is the tomorrow they were waiting for yesterday. Calling the youth leaders of tomorrow has brought about the mindset that, they are incapable of making a change today, because it is not their time. It has also caused them to sit back and criticize the government, whom they see as the leaders of today and who should be held responsible for all the present societal malfunctions. It has made them look at the problem that we face in the community with the belief that someone else, not them, will fix it.

Being a leader, tomorrow, requires a vision today, and this vision, today must be put to work for full actualization. The question still remains-if youth have not prepared themselves, sufficiently today, how can anyone say the future will be bright?

Oftentimes when the discourse on leadership is introduced, it is easily defined using political optics. Many of our politicians have also adopted the phrase, although it is somewhat more mentally-fulfilling if said the other way around, the youths are the leaders of today. The irony lies in the fact that the young people are overlooked in the formation, implementation, and the monitoring of exactly those key decisions that will, ultimately affect them because they are seen as the leaders of “tomorrow” not today. However, leadership is not always political and not essentially position based, it is simply about influence and productivity. It is an attitude of accountability and responsibility.

John Quincy Adams, the 6th President of United States, once said, “if your actions inspire others to dream more and become more, you are a leader “. Every day brings opportunities for effective leadership and, as a consequence, the youth should prepare themselves, at all times, to fill this gap, in every sphere of life.

The call is now, I strongly believe. Let’s get real youths, do not wait for tomorrow so that you can start leading and solving problems, then. As a young individual, whatever capacity you find yourself in today, begin seeking solutions to the challenges that you and other youths face. You have power in you to bring about that change. It is verbally easy to say,”youth are the leaders of tomorrow must start today. For as the saying goes: The clock is running, make the most of today.Time waits for no man. Then again yesterday is history; tomorrow is a mystery; today is a gift.