Young People in Africa Simply Don't Have the Luxury of Being Average!

Several months ago I was addressing a large group of final year students at the University of Sierra Leone (FBC) at a career event. I was listening to the speaker before me encourage the young people present about the importance of taking responsibility for reaching their goals and driving their careers. I started off my pitch by reminding them that, the state of our country and so many other countries in our continent, means that they cannot be happy with simply being average. 

They were soon going to graduate from university and it's easy for them to feel entitled to a high paying job but I reminded them that they actually need to go beyond just getting a job and staying at one. They need to see themselves as a beacon of hope and transformation in their communities and places of work. It is not enough for them to just do the minimum at their jobs, they must go beyond the normal call of duty. If you are a young person in our part of the world, you do not just do your job, you do the best job you can do.

I was in a conversation a few days later with my colleagues and I was hearing the horror stories of young people drowning in the Mediterranean sea for hopes of getting a better life in Europe. Any where you turn, there's a problem that needs fixing! Take the state of our healthcare systems, take poverty, take our legal systems, take the state of technology, infrastructure etc. Each of these and countless others need a young person who will say "I pick this problem! It's mine to tackle!". I will spend my time learning everything I need to learn and engaging with the individuals, groups and institutions that can help tackle this problem at scale. 

If you're a teacher, don't just be an ordinary teacher; be the best your village, community or country has ever got! Don't just graduate from the College of Medicine and become an ordinary doctor, be the best doctor we have ever seen. Don't just be an engineer, be the best there could be. Don't just be a tailor, build a team of tailors making the best designs in the country! You do this because if don't then who will?

Everyone has a unique advantage, if you nurture that advantage and tap into it to the fullest, you and everyone around you will benefit from it. If no one is doing something about this problem you roll your sleeves and do something about it!

There's too much at stake, you should not be happy with being average. Be the best at whatever you do. You will be proud of your success but we will all be happy that you made the sacrifices to tackle the challenges around you.