Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za
3-minute read
28 May 2025 | 11:45 CAT

Africa at a Crossroads: From Rising Youth Unemployment to Continental Unity – Can AfCFTA and Pan-African Voices Reshape the Future?

As Africa enters 2025, it faces a complex confluence of crises — political instability, socio-economic fragility, and rising youth unemployment — all unfolding against the backdrop of a global shift in power dynamics.

Speaking on Media Lens, African affairs analyst and Researcher Ibrahim Deen provided a sobering yet hopeful overview of the continent’s current trajectory. He highlighted that Africa is grappling with broad structural challenges, from fragile governance systems and deep economic dependency to persistent conflict hotspots like Sudan and South Sudan, where violence continues to displace and endanger civilians.

“Africa hasn’t been at peace,” said Deen, noting the worsening humanitarian conditions and increasing number of internally displaced persons. At the core of the crisis is youth unemployment, a challenge intensified by economic stagnation and limited industrial growth. “The socio-economic instability is feeding conflict, and conflict is worsening economic prospects,” he explained.

Despite the grim outlook, Deen pointed to the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) as a beacon of potential. The agreement, aimed at unifying Africa’s market and boosting intra-continental trade, could serve as a vehicle for transformation — if implemented with intent and supported by strong regional cooperation.

By 2030, Africa is projected to house 42% of the world’s youth population, a demographic advantage in a world where aging populations are the norm. Deen emphasised the importance of turning this potential into actionable policy, warning that failing to do so would only exacerbate existing inequalities.

On the issue of media narratives, Deen criticised both global and African media for their failure to adequately cover the continent’s stories. “There is a genocide in Sudan that barely registers globally,” he stated. The underrepresentation of African conflicts, he argued, contributes to international apathy and local disempowerment. Even within Africa, the tendency to focus on global crises at the expense of regional issues undermines solidarity and interconnectedness among African states.

“We’re doing ourselves a disservice,” Deen lamented, “because when African issues are treated as isolated country problems, it becomes harder to form the coalitions necessary to challenge global hierarchies and resist neo-colonial tendencies.”

Looking ahead, he proposed a multi-pronged strategy to strengthen Africa’s position, from fostering continental unity and pushing for technology transfers to amplifying African voices in global platforms.

Quoting a resonant line, Deen concluded: “Africa is not a problem to be solved, but a voice to be heard, and a continent to be empowered.” For him, the task is urgent but clear: Africans must be the architects of their own narratives and futures.

Listen to the Media Lens on Sabahul Muslim with Muallimah Shakirah Hunter and Ibrahim Deen.