[4] There is contention among critics and analysts over what this demographic dividend could mean for African nations; some believe that, with effective governance, the economy could significantly benefit and develop, whilst others have argued that a large, poorly-managed youth population may lead to greater instability and civil conflict.
[6] The youths of Africa experience the globalisation of culture in many different forms, such as through fashion and music, including American rap and hip-hop.
[7] There is a crisis due to lack of formal skilled employment opportunities across Africa, which is exacerbated by the addition of 10–12 million youths to the labour market each year.
This has caused higher demands for post-basic education as the bridge between the aspirations of young people and the promises of a better future through paid employment.
When disengaged from the educational system, young people become disconnected and isolated, they feel worthless and incapable of contributing in significant ways in the different domains of their lives such as the family, community or at the national level.
[6] However, lack of reliable data collection methods means that little is known about the true extent of youth involvement in violence in Africa.
[28] Cruise-O'Brien (1996) describes African youth as 'the lost generation,'[29] as he argues that the youth-to-adulthood transition has been blocked or stretched,[30] in a position of 'waithood' according to Honwana (2013).
[31] Cruise-O'Brien believes this is caused by the failure of states and traditional organisations, who have reneged on their promises to the youth population about the rewards of development.
Peters (2012) argues that engaging in violence is seen by many African youths as having more meritocratic opportunities than remaining in a patrimonial system that would exacerbate their marginal status,[32] an example is Cameroon, after the introduction of Structural Adjustment Programs in 1987.
In most African countries, it is best to avoid extremely congested urban areas near slums or poor infrastructure, where the gangs thrive to be able to make a quick getaway.
Martha Carey (2008)[37] describes how young people in Sierra Leone thwarted in their aspirations by age-based secret societies, corrupt politicians and political systems, and an economy in decline, carried out public amputations to send messages to those in power.
Some gangs in the Niger Delta in Nigeria are financed by politicians to act in their favour during election times, or by protecting their private property.
The United Nations Development Programme, in 2006, suggested that a better informed, holistic framework is urgently needed, investing in young people, their societies and their ability to participate in decision making.
[44] In the mid-1980s, clubs in Accra were playing American rappers such as LL Cool J, Heavy D, Public Enemy, and later in the 1990s, Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G.
Tanzanian youth and young adults incorporated various musical and textual (as well as visual) elements from local and foreign reggae and hip-hop when shaping their contemporary identities.
With names like Brooklyn Barber House and Boyz II Men, these workplaces are also nodes in an explosion of popular culture that appropriates images drawn from the global circulation of hip-hop music, fashion, and celebrity.
[48] Suriano (2007) highlights the fact that during the last CCM general electoral campaign in 2005, Jakaya Kikwete (Tanzanian President 2005–2015) was accompanied by young Hip-Hop and Bongo Flava artists in order to entertain, attract and deliver the new party slogan to the crowd more effectively.
[52] Yamanis et al. (2010) applied the therapeutic landscapes framework to examine how 'camps' influenced HIV risk behaviour among young men in Tanzanian urban areas.