Former president Olusegun Obasanjo has warned of a looming crisis on the African continent, likening rising youth unemployment and anger to a ‘keg of gunpowder’ capable of igniting severe instability if unaddressed. 

In an interview with Kenyan broadcaster Citizen TV on Wednesday, Mr Obasanjo cautioned that the situation could deteriorate significantly, transforming a manageable crisis into an outright catastrophe. 

“All of Africa, we are all sitting on the keg of gunpowder because of the youth, and there is virtually no excuse in Africa why the youth are not angry,” Mr Obasanjo said. “If no adequate attention is paid to the needs of the youth in Africa, the autumn will turn to winter and it will be very ugly for all of us.”

“They are unemployed, underpowered and see nothing other than hopelessness. In a situation like that, what you have from frustrated youths is anger and they have no hope. If you want to kill any human being, take hope and cut away his life, that is what is happening.”

The ex-president’s comments trailed recent violent protests in Kenya, where thousands of young people took to the streets over the past three weeks in opposition to a controversial tax hike. 

For three weeks, youths in large numbers hit the streets of Kenya in protests, defying brutal police clampdown and disrupting commercial activities. 

On June 25, the protests peaked as demonstrators stormed the Kenyan Parliament. The Kenyan National Commission on Human Rights reported that 39 persons were killed during the protests, attributing the fatalities to police’s excess use of force. 

After the commission’s findings, further casualties were reported, with graphic footage of police deploying tear gas and live ammunition against protesters circulating widely and drawing international condemnation.

Amid the protests, President William Ruto, who initially dismissed the protests as “treasonous,” withdrew the controversial Finance bill imposing tax on commodities and announced concessions aimed at quelling the unrest. 

Last Friday, Mr Ruto abolished the budgets for the offices of the First and Second Ladies, reduced the number of his advisors by 50 per cent, and dissolved 47 state agencies, as part of a broader effort to appease the protesters who accused his government of corruption and mismanagement.