The General Secretary of the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC), Rev. Dr Fidon Mwombeki, has entreated African nations to re-embrace and pursue the principles of Pan-Africanism and create hope for the teeming youth of the continent.
He said that Africa is a largely youthful continent but the young people continue to embark on death-defying journeys across the oceans to Europe and other parts of the world in the vain search of greener pastures because they have no hope and faith in their continent anymore.
Rev. Dr Mwombeki made the remarks when he paid a courtesy call on the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana, in Ho last Friday as part of his five-day duty tour the country.
The visit by Rev. Dr Mwombeki was part of preparations by the Kenya-based AACC to host the All Africa Youth Congress in Ghana, at Gomoa Fetteh in September this year.
The congress thematic areas include Youth and African Patriotism, Justice and Security, Active Citizenship and African Dignity.
Rev. Dr Mwombeki pointed out that if political authorities in Africa responded positively to the hopes and aspirations of the youth, they would stay at home and pursue their livelihoods happily, rather than wandering off into foreign lands where there was no guarantee of prosperity for them.
The General Secretary of AACC said that the departure from the principles of Dr Kwame Nkrumah and the other founding fathers of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) had given way to massive corruption in Africa where politicians did not have the wellbeing of the youth at heart anymore.
“And so the youth in Africa do not know what to do than to migrate,” he added.
Rev. Dr Mwombeki said that it was time the youth in Africa were supported to inspire each other and raised high the image of the continent to greater heights rather than looking for hope somewhere else.
“Europe is not their home, so let us help them to recapture the African spirit and build their future in Africa,” he insisted.
Rev. Dr Mwombeki said that it was high time to inculcate a new African personality in the youth to cherish themselves as indigenes of the continent and discard the notion of seeing themselves as Anglophone and Francophone Africans.
On his part, Rev. Dr Agidi assured Rev. Dr Mwombeki of the EPCG’s support for the forthcoming ecumenical event.
He said that the EPCG would continue to commit great zeal and resources towards the areas of health, education and other facets of human development as it had done over the past 173 years and would also carry on creating hope for all mankind.
FROM ALBERTO MARIO NORETTI, HO
