Lovely world of Gen Y, Gen Z East Africans

In the past year, I have had many conversations with young East Africans to try and get a sense of their view of what was essential and what they thought of the world. Thus, I was talking to some youngsters who recently travelled to a faraway land. I asked them to name one thing that was most different in the place than home.

I expected they would say the trains run on time; there are no potholes; the streets are lit; the buildings are grander than most in Nairobi, Kampala, Kigali or Dar es Salaam; and most cars are bought new. They listed none of them.

Their two leading choices told a lot about how Africa’ s Generation Y and Generation Z think differently from their elders. Most of them first said that the “tap water is drinkable” straight out. For them, burdened by dodgy bottled mineral water and the hassle of having to boil and filter water from the taps, it was liberating to have to drink water from a tap without the fear that you would end up in the emergency ward.

The second one was street and general signage. The signs were so diligently and elaborately done they could navigate their way around straight off the aeroplane. Perhaps because they grew up in a time when there were many skyscrapers in their cities, never saw the rotary dial telephone, knew only mobile phones and one of the things they got on the first day at their private school was a password for the Wi-Fi, the big shiny things don’ t mesmerise them.

Basic things

These are not the kids who post photographs on their Instagram with a famous building in the background. It would be, as the Ugandans say, “malo” (too rural).

The things for them are safe tap water and clever signage—basic things that are not in the manifestos or ruling and opposition parties.

Two months ago, I bought coffee for another group who volunteers with an environmental association led by a friend. These are tree huggers—the kind who take a day off to collect the plastics that have been discarded at Ngong Hills or Mt Longonot and ask for recyclable straws in upmarket cafes.

Our conversation went pretty much as I had expected—until there was a curved ball. I asked who their environmental conservation hero was and underscored that nobody should mention Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai (may her soul rest in peace). Prof Maathai is an easy get-out-of-jail card for environmentalists; name her as your hero and no more questions will be asked of you.

I also added that it needed to be someone who was alive, and they could pick from any part of the world. Given their age, I expected they would mention Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg. But as we went around the table, I realised she wasn’t going to make the cut and started feeling very ignorant.

Classic environmentalist

The winner, by far, was 61-year-old former US President Barack Obama. His Netflix documentary “Our Great National Parks” was much loved. Purists wouldn’t consider Obama a classic environmentalist, but what do they know?

I was intrigued and asked why none of them mentioned Thunberg. They said she was too strident, "too angry".

As I interrogated them further, I learnt that they don't read or listen to stories on the environment in the media for the same reason. Much reporting and writing on the environment are probably wasted on young Africans because most of it tries to scare people into action.

They liked Obama because he was calm and "not too forward". They mentioned other fellows on Instagram and TikTok who tell environmental stories in a fun way. What a revelation!

I also recently had a parley with an older Gen Y group. They are worldly and have had early successful careers. I raised questions about the world. This was really fascinating. I asked what they heard as the world's primary focus and interest in Africa today and suggested that it was (still) poverty.

Poverty is so yesterday

They corrected me quickly. Poverty, they said, is so yesterday. It is what they heard from their teachers in secondary school and inspirational speakers in high school. The world today, or at least the one they live in, doesn't really care much about poverty. Maybe technology; what with the hoopla about artificial intelligence, one of them said.

The rest disagreed. Technology, the general line went, was the tale of five to 10 years ago in Africa. They said the story they most hear about Africa is about culture and art.

When they travel or meet with young Europeans, Americans and Asians who come to Africa, most are not looking for a hungry African child with a runny nose to save. They are mostly into African music, which they believe is taking over the world, film, fashion and new young writers and illustrators—a humbling lesson in how much out of touch I was.

Mr Onyango-Obbo is a journalist, writer and curator of the "Wall of Great Africans". @cobbo3