One of the most popular calls by youth in SA, especially those who are politically inclined, is for young people to swell the ranks of political office.
This is driven by the desperate and untenable position most young people find themselves in, particularly given the high rate of unemployment, leading to the shallow belief that only “young leaders” can resolve the problem.
But very seldom do you hear the proponents of this call laying out in detail what kind of young leaders must rise to the higher echelons of political office.
It is little wonder then that this advocacy has produced a number of so-called young leaders whose only claim to positions is hurling insults and shouting “fearless” and “revolutionary” slogans on whatever platform they can exploit.
More often than not, this cohort of young leaders barely has substantive and qualitative contributions to add in taking the country forward and resolving its challenges.
It is an era in which the louder you shout or the more crass your language on social media, the more popular you become and garner support of unsuspecting and desperate youth who feel hard done by the old guard in office.
EFF MP Naledi Chirwa and her generation of Fees Must Fall movement leaders are a case in point.
Chirwa this week caused a stir on the reckless and non-constructive platform known as Twitter — or shall I say “Black Twitter”, as it is branded.
She has been the focus of discussion for referring to Ppresident Cyril Ramaphosa as a “weak little boy” and emphasising “mfana ke mfana” (“a boy is a boy”).
It is an era in which the louder you shout or the more crass your language, the more popular you become.
Many appear surprised by this gross conduct that added no value to discussions of the problems facing the country.
But who is Chirwa and how did she rise to the national arena of SA’s mainstream politics? She is a self-proclaimed feminist and activist for gender equality and free higher education, in the main.
Does anyone remember any qualitative contribution in terms of suggestions and solutions she is associated with in her advocacy work?
I doubt that, because what is priority to Chirwa and her ilk is populist opportunism and rude behaviour mistaken for “radical and revolutionary” by them and those who hype them up.
Her so-called defence of minister Lindiwe Sisulu, who has dominated political discourse for rubbishing the country’s constitution and black judges, is a case in point. She is not doing the feminist movement any favours by defending a woman who should in fact be held accountable for her actions.
This is not activism, folks, but believe you me, Chirwa’s political star is about to shine brighter than ever before because of her imagined “revolutionary” act against the powerful old guard.
Stuff of the land of fairy tales, I tell you.
But Chirwa is not the only one.
Take ANC MP and former FMF activist Nompendulo Mkhatshwa, for instance.
Very few can put up a believable argument for her leadership qualities that earned her the ticket to parliament, but I know what did: her popularity during the FMF era. Mkhatshwa rose to fame for her perfect wearing of the ANC-branded doek, and shouts of “bua (speak) leadership” drummed her up all the way to parliament.
As was the case with Chirwa, no qualitative assessment was done on exactly what she stood for or whether she was the right person to advocate on behalf of her youth constituency.
Since Mkhatshwa arrived in parliament, does anyone know what “struggle” she represents with the same vigour with which she appeared in the front lines of FMF protests, raising the “black power” fist without saying anything of substance?
The jury is out on that one.
Vuyani Pambo, EFF MP and national spokesperson, is also among those who rose through the FMF ranks to the big leagues.
With a guaranteed monthly pay cheque and an apparent ever-growing political ambition, many do not know whether he is coming or going as an activist.
The list goes on and on and the pattern is the same – shout the loudest and profile yourself into the big league under the guise of advancing youth struggles and get in there and enjoy the cheese with the old guard.
Who can forget the leader of the famous and crass “naked protest”, former Wits student representative council member Sarah Mokwebo? Where is she now? She is a board member at the ANC OR Tambo Political School and at some point emerged at the office of minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni.
The list goes on and on, and the pattern is the same — shout the loudest and profile yourself into the big leagues under the guise of advancing youth struggles and enjoy the cheese with the old guard.
Now back to Chirwa, ignoring the not-so-important age gap between her and Ramaphosa: what point exactly was she driving home in that barrage of angry and directionless tweets against the president and supposedly in support of Sisulu? None.
What qualitative and solution-driven contribution did she bring to back up Sisulu’s clearly self-serving offensive against black judges and the country’s constitution? Zilch.
What are we even debating? As they would say in modern-day slang among the youth, “let me tool” for I may be the next victim of “revolutionary” degeneration from Chirwa and company of “youth leaders”.
The youth are not entitled to leadership positions just because there are plenty of issues affecting that constituency in our land. A new brand of young leaders with substance and solutions needs to emerge, and fast.
Chirwa belongs to the political dustbin of self-styled socialists who thrive on opportunistic populism disguised as “radical and revolutionary”.
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