There is an unpleasant wave among a section of young Kenyans that politics does not bring food to the table.
Many casually state that “I hate politics” when goaded to take part in political discourses in the country.
To them, politics is like the Biblical plague that must be avoided at all costs.
However, history has shown that betting, endless parties, English football and social media ostentation which give prominence over pertinent national issues only take food from their tables.
We are having a generation that has lost sight of the fact that unemployment, sordid healthcare and an inappropriate education system can only be nipped in the bud by great policies, achievable through prudent political choices at the ballot.
For instance, if our problem is joblessness, electing a leader passionate about revamping the manufacturing sector, rather than the hand-outs dishing crop littering our landscape, would be a wise idea.
This leader can be a young man or woman who knows where the shoe pinches the most or of any age group with a proven track record of revitalizing our economy.
Sitting pretty at home, surfing the internet for memes, insulting people on social media and incessantly seeking financial assistance online won't end the misery associated with the larger section of our population.
But an election is not a one-day affair. It requires civic education, grass-roots mobilization, debates and campaigns, which young people have left to the old gourd, a generation that has proven countless times that what matters to them is not economic development but self-aggrandizement.
No one understands the needs and aspirations of the youth than young people themselves.
For that, the youth must take the ugly bull by its horns.
Sitting pretty at home, surfing the internet for memes, insulting people on social media and incessantly seeking financial assistance online won't end the misery associated with the larger section of our population.
Young people have no other option on the table other than to galvanize themselves around issues that will spur Kenya to greater technological, scientific and cultural heights.
They must initiate tangible political processes and eschew ethnic and sectarian politics that continue to hold this country back.
Politics brings food to the table, but only if young people stop waiting for the manna from heaven.
The thinking that discussing politics isn't cool must be replaced with the thinking that politics is the basis of every spectrum of our lives.
Freelance journalist and writer
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
