Donald Ambe is a political activist who hails from Buea in Cameroon. He is a pan-African at heart whose life’s mission is the betterment of the lives of Africans across the world. He also mentors several young political aspirants within the student milieu.Donald’s drive for activism began during his time as a young student when he discovered his fascination with leadership and student governance. Our conversation centered on African political dynamics and how to sanitize the inefficiency of political leadership in Africa. Donald elaborates on what he calls “the reduction of the African story”, which fuels great misrepresentation of the achievement and identity of the continent.Donald sees the political mandate of the African leader through a timeline spectrum; the leaders of the struggle for independence focused on liberation, but today’s leaders must be concerned about economic prosperity.Donald discusses his affiliation with the Julius Malema-led Economic Freedom Fighters. He highlights the need for the EFF’s unique approach of a blend between radicalism and civility as an important tool for keeping African leaders on their toes and consistently accountable to the people.Donald agrees with the importance of a homogenized African currency, however, he has concerns about the relationships with colonial masters and the need for African states such as the francophone countries to disentangle themselves from colonial influence and to chart a path towards holistic liberation. Donald believes that the increased competition between global superpowers presents Africa with a unique opportunity to develop and to grow stronger through strategic positioning and negotiations.The conversation draws to a close as we engage Donald’s work with training young African leaders. He identifies apathy as the first hurdle young people need to cross to contribute effectively to the development of the continent. He believes the involvement of the youth as the active and energetic workforce of the continent through constant messaging is the key to Africa taking its place as a behemoth within the global political and economic space.We end on Donald’s optimistic view of the future of Africa. He believes that with consistent and intentional efforts, Africa would be able to realize its full potential. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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