A profound statement that I came across read: put a bad person in a good environment, and the chances of them becoming a better person are high. Put a good person in a bad environment, and the chances of them being influenced in a bad way are high.
This statement makes so much sense and can apply to so many contexts.
The youth in Kenya and in Africa in a special way come to my mind. I recently came across worrying statistics, for research conducted in 2019 that 53 per cent of African youth who are active in radical groups, said they joined the radicals while most were still between the ages of 17 and 26.
How do we lose our African youth and closer to home, Kenyan youth, to radicalisation and violent extremism? Could it be the environment is conducive to bad groups recruiting the youth? How do we then make sure that their feeling of instability in life is not easy bait for the lurking seemingly conducive environment for radicalisation?
Radicalisation and violent extremism remain a complex and diverse topic. Bad groups are simply what lay parents call bad company. Any recruiter to a radical group has the characteristics of bad company. Bad company is seldom in good environments, mostly bad environments.
Social practices such as drugs and alcohol also thrive in bad environments and should also be monitored closely by our Government, more so by the ministry responsible and its partners. Legal regulation takes places in good environments but bad or extreme regulation in bad environments promote abuse.
And how do we change the environment? Governments can create more formal platforms, such as youth advisory councils, to ensure young voices are included in discussions about their well-being. Councils can help ensure hot spots that are catalysts for extremism, drugs, and crime are eliminated or curbed. Governments can also provide funding, resources, and mentorship for youth-led rehabilitation and mentorship projects enabling young people to take active roles in their communities.
Governments and its partners can also consider establishing safe and inclusive spaces where young people from different backgrounds, including the marginalised, can come together. They can discuss issues, share experiences, and develop joint initiatives to push their agenda and concerns about the ideal environment they would like.
Intergenerational dialogue cannot be left behind. It is important for youth to accept advice from the older generation on to avoid vices such as radicalisation and drug abuse. They can advise on resisting and avoiding peer pressure by avoiding certain environments and people.
Civil society and intergovernmental organisations can also foster change and dialogue as well as mapping places that would lead the youth to radicalisation, violent extremism, drug and alcohol abuse.
As the government monitors and maps potentially bad environments, policies can be enacted on mechanisms for creating safe, extremist-free, crime-free and drug-free environments for citizens, especially the youth, who are the future of our country and continent. While they are at it, they should ensure policy-making processes are inclusive and participatory, with mechanisms for meaningful youth engagement in developing and implementing such policies.
Communications researcher and scholar, currently pursuing Peace and Development Work Studies in Sweden. [email protected]