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Attitude change is what we need to move our nations forward. If after all the technological advancements such as Robotics and artificial intelligence, our attitude remains the same, then we are getting no where. These sentiments were expressed by panelists at one of the plenary sessions of the just ended 8th summit of Africa Students and Youth held in Rabat, Morocco from the 20th to 23rd December, 2019.
One of the panelists, Professor Etienne Ehile, Secretary General of Association of African Universities decried the lack of respect for time, which some conveniently refer to as African time.
He noted that technology is supposed to help us better our lives but we cannot make good use of these technologies if our attitudes remain the same.
Professor Etienne said that research is most essential and a lot of companies need research to improve on their work but a lot of them do not see the importance of research. He said that even those who know the importance of research leave the job to their counterparts in other jurisdictions to do the research and the findings are applied in Africa where the needs may be completely different. He said that we stuff our schools with students and expect them to give off their best when we do not provide the essentials that would equip them with the skills to give off their best.
Other panelists which included Merline Handfield-Ulysse, Founder and Managing Director of YELAH in the UK; Mr Rogers Abongo, Principal of the KCA University Western Campus and Secretary General of the Kenya Universities Deans of Students Association, noted that the work climate has changed and people are no longer insisting on people sitting in offices from 8.00am to 5.00pm. Rather, the emphasis is on achieving targets that have been set by the employer and the narrative is also gradually changing from job creation to job availability.
They lauded young people who were coming out with a lot of innovations and urged governments to help fund the education of students in the private universities as well. They urged the youth to be agenda-setters in their countries and not allow themselves to be used by politicians.
The panelists encouraged the youth to look within Africa for the realisation of their dreams and not to the outside world as all resources needed to make Africa a better place to live in existed in Africa and no where else. They looked forward to the day that Africans will support one another, attend their own African universities and their own hospitals, among others.
