Catholic leader: Religious sects, terrorist groups are “two wolves “preying on African youths

Nelson Moda, the head of the Community of Sant’Egidio in Mozambique and a lecturer at the Catholic University of Mozambique, has described religious sects and terrorist groups as “the two wolves” that prey on the vulnerability of African youths.

Moda was part of an October 28 panel discussion on Africa: A Rising Continent, organized by the Community of Sant’Egidio in Rome that also featured the Archbishop of Kinshasa, Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, and Antoine Cardinal Kambanda of Rwanda’s Catholic Archdiocese of Kigali, among others.

A youthful population

Africa’s defining demographic characteristic is its exceptionally young population. With an average age of just 19 years, the continent stands in stark contrast to other regions: Latin America (31), Asia (32), Oceania (33), North America (38), and Europe (42.5).

Six in ten Africans are under 25, and over a third are between 15 and 25 years old. The scale of this youth bulge is immense; in 2020, Africans under 35 totaled one billion people—540 million children and pre-teens, and 454 million adolescents and young adults. This accounted for 22% of the global youth population.

Projections indicate this trend will only accelerate. By 2100, Africa’s youth population is expected to be double that of Europe and represent half of the world’s young people. Furthermore, the continent’s working-age population (15-64 years) is projected to nearly double over the next 25 years, signaling a profound demographic shift with significant global implications.

Moda regretted that the failure of governance in Africa has exposed these young people to “two very visceral phenomena: religious sects, which preach prosperity on the one hand, and terrorist groups, which are growing on the other. These phenomena are like two wolves taking advantage of the misery of young people to reach their goals through promises, which lead to personal tragedies for entire families, regions, and nations.”

“Religious sects and terrorism both demand a certain type of faith,” he noted. “They both invoke a deity of sorts, and they target young people in an Africa in transition, where many young people feel pushed to participate without having a strong home foundation. “

The appeal of strong leaders

Besides taking refuge in sects and terrorism, the absence of a democratic culture that offers young people a space for self-expression has also had the effect of pushing African youths to begin admiring strong leaders “capable of imposing rules and maintaining social order. “

Moda cites the example of Ibrahim Traore in Burkina Faso, who has become that kind of leader, loved by the youths “not for having created democracy or for having developed his country, but because to young people, he is the one who expresses their views…they feel represented by him.”

Moda recalled the struggles of African nations to extricate themselves from colonialism, and some countries “went through civil conflicts,” and then made major steps towards the building of democratic states and the rule of law. Yet, these advances seem to have left the continent’s youth on the fringes.

“The old generation, the ones who freed their homelands from colonialism in Mozambique and elsewhere, often looks to young people with suspicion, denying a key role for them in the development of the continent,” he said.

“For many African leaders, speaking of young people is almost a threat to their power when, in fact, they should be recognized as being a fundamental resource for progress. That’s why many young Africans look to their governments and to their states as being far and distant from their hopes,” Moda said.

This neglect of the continent’s young people has translated into a lack of jobs. Youth unemployment on the continent has been on a steady rise since 2012. In Southern Africa, it was 21.38% in 2012, and shot to 28.64% in 2024. It was 12.92% in northern Africa in 2012. In 2024, it dropped slightly to 11.15%. It was 3.93% in western Africa in 2012, but climbed to 4.53% in 2024. It was 5.61% in Central Africa in 2012, but jumped to 6.3% in 2024, and from 3.7% in eastern Africa in 2012. It has since risen to 4.74% in 2024.

Moda puts the rising unemployment situation down to “a lack of development policies focused on industrialization and the processing of the abundant natural resources” on the continent.

He said the lack of jobs and the resultant hopelessness mean that young people are now “trapped by extremist groups who recruit them to fight against their own countries.”

Fighting terrorism will therefore require job creation, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reporting that by 2030, half of all new entrants into the global labor force will come from sub-Saharan Africa, requiring the creation of up to 15 million new jobs annually.

A failure to do this will lead to “vulnerability, violent conflict and even war,” according to Moda.

A continent of hope

“Africa is a continent of peace and hope,” said Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, the Bishop of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, who also spoke during the October 28 panel discussion. With 60% of its population under the age of 25, Ambongo notes the data is not just “a demographic indicator because it reveals a profound transformation in African societies.”

“This youth that represent a majority but are at the same time marginalized, embody the vitality, creativity, and resilience of the continent,” he said.

He argued that the youth bulge could be a huge asset for a continent that continues to reel from poverty and an excruciating debt burden.

“Everything will depend on how Africa and the Congo, more specifically, listen to, educate, and support its youth, so that it can become the beating heart of its rebuilding and rebirth,”Ambongo said.

A youth in search of dignity and meaning

Ambongo noted that despite the vitality of Africa’s youth, the majority of them live in extreme precarious conditions, often deprived of access to jobs, education, and healthcare. He said these realities are made worse by the struggle of young people to access technical or vocational training. Much of the training young people receive has nothing to do with job creation, making certificates awarded by universities to be defined as “diplomas for unemployment,” in the words of the Kinshasa Cardinal.

Cardinal Ambongo said, however, that there is hope on the horizon because “a new generation is emerging.”

It is Generation ‘Z’ or the Zoomers- the first generation to grow up with the internet and smartphones as a given, not a novelty. Ambongo said this new generation is already toppling incompetent regimes, such as in Madagascar, and it is a generation that is “connected, inventive, and daring.”

“These young people, very active on social media, are demanding justice, dignity, and participation in the management of public affairs,” said Ambongo, who is also president of the Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar.

He stated that when such dreams are stifled, many young people begin risking their lives in search of greener pastures. “They cross the Sahara or the Mediterranean under tragic conditions. This desert and the sea have become graveyards for these young African people.”

He said such a flight in search of a better life is not just a result of economic hardship: it is reflective of “a deep moral and political crisis.”

“Among the causes of these mass migrations are also wars and armed conflicts, which in Africa are the flip side of poor governance or lack of political will,” Ambongo said.

A plundered continent

But there is also the plunder of Africa’s soil, minerals, and subsoil resources.

“Those who unjustly exploit these resources either support corrupt leaders or fuel tensions,” Cardinal Ambongo said.

It’s a point reinforced by Antoine Cardinal Kambanda of Rwanda’s Catholic Archdiocese of Kigali who spoke about the contradictions between Africa’s rich mineral and human resources and the excruciating poverty under which people live.

“The exploitation of Africa’s resources by foreign interests, taking advantage of weak governance and unfair contracts, leads to debt, loss of control over national resources, and limited benefits for local populations,” said the Rwandan Cardinal.

Ambongo added that such exploitation significantly makes the environment less accommodating to locals.

“The extraction and transport of these minerals dispossess and displace families from their lands. There is often violent demolition of homes, water contamination, air pollution with heavy metals, and the release of cyanide into nature, with serious damage to agricultural, livestock, or fishing yields,” he said.

Recalling Pope Francis’ rallying cry for Western companies and Western countries to “take your hands off Africa,” Ambongo said the Western exploitation of African resources requires a moral reset, where Africa’s resources should begin to benefit the continent.

The need for youths to have a mission

“Young people in Africa are not just waiting for jobs,” Cardinal Ambongo said. “They are calling for meaning, recognition, and a mission- a mission to fulfill.”

He said it is incumbent on the church, civil society, and public institutions to work together to offer Africa’s young people the conditions for a dignified and fruitful future.

Ultimately, the future of Africa depends on the capacity of African youths to dream, according to Ambongo. He urged African youths to “shape their dreams and acquire the real skills to achieve them.”

“In this way, young Africans today can become dreamers of peace, bearers of projects of justice and development.”

He warned society against viewing young people with suspicion, explaining that their dreams “are the creative thoughts of the future.”

It’s an idea already put forward by Pope Francis during World Youth Day 2023, when he urged young people to “replace fears with dreams.”

“Do not be administrators of fears but entrepreneurs of dreams,” the Supreme Pontiff said.

It’s a call particularly relevant to Africa. Ambongo said the church must become the place where dreams become possible.

“It must support a true entrepreneurship of dreams. Dreams train young people in responsibility, protect them from illusions and prepare them to serve the common good,” Ambongo said.

For African youths to live up to their dreams, Ambongo prescribes significant human and spiritual investment in education, training and vocational guidance.

“Africa through its youth is at a historic turning point,” the cleric said.

“It can become a workshop of peace, innovation, and faith if it seals a new educational and spiritual pact,” he said.

Inspired by Pope Francis, the Global Compact on Education places the human person at the center of all education and promotes “a continental alliance to form responsible, spiritually rooted, and socially committed citizens.”

A young Saint to look up to

Africa’s youths have the Blessed Floribert Bwana Chui to look up to for inspiration.

The 26-year-old Congolese customs officer and member of the Sant’Egidio Community was martyred in 2007 for refusing to allow the entry of spoiled food, choosing integrity over corruption. The Church found him worthy to be beatified. Ambongo believes his example should serve as a moral compass for Africa’s young people.

“A martyr for justice and fidelity to the gospel, Floribert bears witness to the fact that holiness is possible today in the heart of Africa,” the Cardinal said.

“He reminds us that the true strength of young people is a spiritual strength deeply rooted in their faith in Christ. It springs from fidelity, service, and moral courage. “

He said such moral courage will be critical to building “a free Africa.”

“Africa is a young continent,”Ambongo said. “When these young people walk in the light of Christ, they become prophets of a reconciled and fraternal Africa capable of offering the world a living witness of peace, justice, and holiness.”