Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T16:06:58.014Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Youth leadership for development: contradictions of Africa's growing leadership pipeline

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 July 2022

Krystal Strong  and
Christiana Kallon Kelly
Krystal Strong*
Affiliation:
Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania, 3700 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
Christiana Kallon Kelly*
Affiliation:
Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania, 3700 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
*
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Over the past decade, hundreds of youth leadership initiatives have been established globally with the mission of grooming a new generation of leaders. This paper examines this largely unstudied and rapidly expanding leadership pipeline based on an ongoing study, which has collected data on 277 programmes that: target African youth, offer educational training or professional development, and have goals of cultivating leaders who will contribute to African development; and interviewed and surveyed 240 youth participants. Our purpose is twofold: (1) we offer an overview of the organisational approaches of these initiatives, which reveal a global ecosystem within and beyond Africa that is investing billions of dollars into youth leadership. Then, using case studies of the African Leadership Academy and University, and the Young African Leadership Initiative, (2) we ask what their tendency toward elite-driven strategies, corporate leadership models, and foreign collaboration may indicate about their larger politics and likely impact.

Keywords

AfricayouthAfrican leadershipleadership developmenteducationdevelopment
Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Modern African Studies , Volume 60 , Issue 2 , June 2022 , pp. 217 - 238
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

We are grateful to Jennifer Moore for editorial support on earlier versions of this manuscript and Folakemi Alli-Balogun, Fortunate Ekwuruke, Aseal Saed, and Rehana Odendaal for research support. We are also thankful for the feedback of two anonymous reviewers who invited us to grapple with the political stakes of this emerging phenomenon more explicitly. Funding for this project was provided by the University of Pennsylvania University Research Foundation grant. All lapses are our own.

References

References

Abidogun, J. & Falola, T.. 2020. The Palgrave Handbook of African Education and Indigenous Knowledge. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Achebe, C. 1984. The Trouble with Nigeria. Oxford: African Books Collective.Google Scholar
Adi, H. 1993. ‘West African students in Britain, 1900–60: the politics of exile’, Immigrants & Minorities 12, 3: 107–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
African Union 2020. ‘AU Volunteer Youth Programme.’ <https://1millionby2021.au.int/au-youth-volunteer-programme>, accessed 3.23.2022.,+accessed+3.23.2022.>Google Scholar
Argenti, N. 2007. The Intestines of the State: youth, violence, and belated histories in the Cameroon grassfields. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ashford, E. 2021. ‘Great-power competition is a recipe for disaster.’ Foreign Policy. <https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/04/01/china-usa-great-power-competition-recipe-for-disaster>, accessed 8.7.21.,+accessed+8.7.21.>Google Scholar
Ayandele, E.A. 1974. The Educated Elite in the Nigerian Society. Ibadan: Ibadan University Press.Google Scholar
Ayittey, G. 2007. ‘Africa's cheetahs versus hippos.’ TED Conferences. <https://www.ted.com/talks/george_ayittey_africa_s_cheetahs_versus_hippos>, accessed 30.6.21., accessed 30.6.21.' href=https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Ayittey,+G.+2007.+‘Africa's+cheetahs+versus+hippos.’+TED+Conferences.+,+accessed+30.6.21.>Google Scholar
Bass, B.M. 1985. Leadership and Performance Beyond Expectations. Springfield, OH: Collier Macmillan.Google Scholar
Bassey, M.O. 2009. ‘Higher education and the rise of early political elites in Africa’, Review of Higher Education in Africa 1, 1: 30–8.Google Scholar
Bay, E.G. & Donham, D.L.. 2007. States of Violence: politics, youth, and memory in contemporary Africa. Richmond, VA: University of Virginia Press.Google Scholar
Bayart, J.F., Ellis, S. & Hibou, B.. 1999. The Criminalization of the State in Africa. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.Google Scholar
Branch, A. & Mampilly, Z.. 2015. Africa Uprising: popular protest and political change. New York, NY: Zed Books.Google Scholar
Brungardt, C. 1997. ‘The making of leaders: a review of the research in leadership development and education’, Journal of Leadership Studies 3, 3: 81–95.Google Scholar
Burns, J.M. 1978. Leadership. New York, NY: Harper & Row.Google Scholar
Burton, E. 2020. ‘Decolonization, the Cold War, and Africans’ routes to higher education overseas, 1957–65’, Journal of Global History 15, 1: 169–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caffentzis, G. 2000. ‘The world bank and education in Africa’, in Federici, S., Cafentzis, G. & Alidou, O., eds. A Thousand Flowers: social struggles against structural adjustment in African universities. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 3–18.Google Scholar
Carmody, P. 2011. The New Scramble for Africa. Malden, MA: Polity.Google Scholar
Carnoy, M. 1974. Education as Cultural Imperialism. New York, NY: Longman.Google Scholar
CCTV News. 2013. ‘South Africa African Leadership Academy.’ <https://youtu.be/L9dxLZBGH1c>, accessed 30.06.21.,+accessed+30.06.21.>Google Scholar
Chabal, P. & Daloz, J.P.. 2005. Africa Works: disorder as political instrument. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.Google Scholar
Cruse O'Brien, D. 1996. ‘A lost generation? Youth identity and state decay in West Africa’, in Werbner, R. & Ranger, T., eds. Postcolonial Identities in Africa. London: Zed Books, 55–74.Google Scholar
Doh, J.P. 2003. ‘Can leadership be taught? Perspectives from management educators’, Academy of Management Learning & Education 2, 1: 54–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Du Bois, W.E.B. 1903. The Talented Tenth. New York, NY: James Pott and Company.Google Scholar
Durham, D. 2004. ‘Disappearing youth: youth as a social shifter in Botswana’, American Ethnologist 31, 4: 589–605.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ekechi, F.K. 1972. Missionary Enterprise and Rivalry in Igboland, 1857–1914. London: Frank Cass and Company.Google Scholar
Federici, S., Caffentzis, G. & Alidou, O., eds. 2000. A Thousand Flowers: social struggles against structural adjustment in African universities. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press.Google Scholar
Honeyman, C.A. 2016. The Orderly Entrepreneur: youth, education, and governance in Rwanda. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Honwana, A. 2012. The Time of Youth: work, social change, and politics in Africa. Sterling, VA: Kumarian Press.Google Scholar
Honwana, A. & de Boeck, F.. 2005. Makers & Breakers: children and youth in postcolonial Africa. Oxford: James Currey.Google Scholar
Jackson, R.H. & Rosberg, C.G.. 1984. ‘Personal rule: theory and practice in Africa’, Comparative Politics 16, 4: 421–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jallow, B.G., ed. 2014. Leadership in Colonial Africa: disruption of traditional frameworks and patterns. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaplan, R.D. 1994. ‘The coming anarchy’, Atlantic Monthly 273, 2: 44–76.Google Scholar
Kishun, R. 2011. ‘Student mobility trends in Africa: a baseline analysis of selected African countries’, in Bhandari, R. & Blumenthal, P., eds. International Students and Global Mobility in Higher Education: national trends and new directions. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 143–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kiwuwa, D.E. 2015. ‘Africa is young. Why are its leaders so old?’ CNN. <http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/15/africa/africas-old-mens-club-op-ed-david-e-kiwuwa/index.html>, accessed 26.6.17.,+accessed+26.6.17.>Google Scholar
Kwon, S.A. 2013. Uncivil Youth: race, activism, and affirmative governmentality. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.Google Scholar
Lamble, L. 2012. ‘Desmond Tutu: Africa's hope lies in its youth'. The Guardian. <http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2012/nov/12/desmond-tutu-africa-hope-youth>, accessed 30.6.21., accessed 30.6.21.' href=https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Lamble,+L.+2012.+‘Desmond+Tutu:+Africa's+hope+lies+in+its+youth'.+The+Guardian.+,+accessed+30.6.21.>Google Scholar
Last, M. 2005. ‘Towards a Political History of Youth in Muslim Northern Nigeria, 1750-2000’, in Abbink, J., ed., Vanguard or Vandals: youth politics and conflict in Africa. Leiden: Brill, 37–54.Google Scholar
Lloyd, P.C. 1966. The new elites of tropical Africa. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Matasci, D., Jerónimo, M.B. & Dores, H.G.. 2020. Education and Development in Colonial and Postcolonial Africa: policies, paradigms, and entanglements, 1890s–1980s. Cham: Springer Nature.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matthews, M.S. 2004. ‘Leadership education for gifted and talented youth: a review of the literature’, Journal for the Education of the Gifted 28, 1: 77–113.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McLean, M.L., ed. 2020. West African Youth Challenges and Opportunities. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oakes, J. 1987. ‘Tracking in secondary schools: a contextual perspective’, Educational Psychologist 22, 2: 129–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ojo, O. 2019. ‘Africa and the burden of sit-tight leaders.’ Guardian Nigeria. <https://guardian.ng/features/africa-and-the-burden-of-sit-tight-leaders>, accessed 30.6.2021.,+accessed+30.6.2021.>Google Scholar
Olsen, G.R. 2017. ‘The ambiguity of US foreign policy towards Africa’, Third World Quarterly 38, 9: 2097–112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Omoju, O.E. & Abraham, T.W.. 2014. ‘Youth bulge and demographic dividend in Nigeria’, African Population Studies 27, 2: 352–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Prew, M. 2012. ‘People's education for people's power: the rise and fall of an idea in southern Africa’, in Griffiths, T.G. & Millei, Z., eds. Logics of Socialist Education: engaging with crisis, insecurity and uncertainty. New York, NY: Springer, 133–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pugach, S. 2019. ‘Eleven Nigerian students in Cold War East Germany: visions of science, modernity, and decolonization’, Journal of Contemporary History 54, 3: 551–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rice, L. 2013. ‘Between empire and nation: francophone West African students and decolonization.’ Atlantic Studies 10, 1: 131–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Richards, P. 1998. Fighting for the Rain Forest: war, youth and resources in Sierra Leone. London: James Currey.Google Scholar
Rost, J.C. & Barker, R.A.. 2000. ‘Leadership education in colleges: toward a 21st century paradigm’, Journal of Leadership Studies 7, 1: 3–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saltman, K. 2010. The Gift of Education: public education and venture philanthropy. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seelos, C. & Mair, J.. 2005. ‘Social entrepreneurship: creating new business models to serve the poor’, Business Horizons 48, 3: 241–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sommers, M. 2011. ‘Governance, security and culture: assessing Africa's youth bulge’, International Journal of Conflict and Violence 5, 2: 292–303.Google Scholar
Strong, K. 2015. Political Training Grounds: students and the future of post-military Nigeria. Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Berkeley.Google Scholar
Strong, K. 2017. ‘Do African lives matter to Black Lives Matter? On youth uprisings and the borders of solidarity’, Urban Education 53, 2: 265–85.Google Scholar
Sukarieh, M. & Tannock, S.. 2008. ‘In the best interests of youth or neoliberalism? The World Bank and the New Global Youth Empowerment Project’, Journal of Youth Studies 11, 3: 301–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tarradellas, A. 2020. ‘“A glorious future” for Africa: development, higher education and the making of African elites in the United States (1961–1971)’, Paedagogica Historica. <https://doi.org/10.1080/00309230.2020.1838576>..>Google Scholar
Teferra, D. & Knight, J., eds. 2008. Higher Education in Africa: the international dimension. Accra: Association of African Universities.Google Scholar
Turner, J. 1971. ‘Universal education and nation-building in Africa’, Journal of Black Studies 2, 1: 3–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Urdal, H. 2004. ‘The devil in the demographics: the effect of youth bulges on domestic armed conflict, 1950–2000’, Social Development Papers 14: 1–25.Google Scholar
Berghe, Van den, P.L. 1973. Power and Privilege at an African University. Piscataway, NJ: Transaction Publishers.Google Scholar
Yusuf, A.A. 1998. ‘The West African Students Union and its contribution to the anti-colonial struggle’, Africa Quarterly 38, 4: 101–24.Google Scholar
Zeilig, L. 2007. Revolt and Protest: student politics and activism in sub-Saharan Africa. London: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Young female leader from Mauritius, YALI participant, 20.3.2018.Google Scholar
Young female leader from Kenya, YALI participant, 20.3.2018.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Young female leader from South Africa, YALI participant, 13.12.2018.Google Scholar
Focus group with 3 young leaders (2 male, 1 female) from South Sudan and Kenya, 5.4.2019.Google Scholar
Young male leader from Kenya, YALI participant, 24.4.2019.Google Scholar
Young male leader from Nigeria, ALU student, 2.8.2019.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Young female leader from Ghana, ALU student, 15.10.2019.Google Scholar
Young female leader from Nigeria, YALI participant, 21.10.2019.Google Scholar
Young male leader from Uganda, YALI Participant, 23.10.2019.Google Scholar
Young female leader from Kenya, YALI participant, 10.3.2021Google Scholar
Young female leader from Uganda, YALI participant, 23.3.2021.Google Scholar
Young female leader from Uganda, YALI participant, 4.6.2021.Google Scholar
Young male leader from Nigeria, YALI participant, 17.6.2021.Google Scholar
Young female leader from Mauritius, YALI participant, 20.3.2018.Google Scholar
Young female leader from Kenya, YALI participant, 20.3.2018.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Young female leader from South Africa, YALI participant, 13.12.2018.Google Scholar
Focus group with 3 young leaders (2 male, 1 female) from South Sudan and Kenya, 5.4.2019.Google Scholar
Young male leader from Kenya, YALI participant, 24.4.2019.Google Scholar
Young male leader from Nigeria, ALU student, 2.8.2019.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Young female leader from Ghana, ALU student, 15.10.2019.Google Scholar
Young female leader from Nigeria, YALI participant, 21.10.2019.Google Scholar
Young male leader from Uganda, YALI Participant, 23.10.2019.Google Scholar
Young female leader from Kenya, YALI participant, 10.3.2021Google Scholar
Young female leader from Uganda, YALI participant, 23.3.2021.Google Scholar
Young female leader from Uganda, YALI participant, 4.6.2021.Google Scholar
Young male leader from Nigeria, YALI participant, 17.6.2021.Google Scholar