Giving Youths Wheelbarrows is Teaching Them to Survive Rather Than Live, Raila Says

ODM leader, Raila Odinga has slammed Deputy President William Ruto for dishing out wheelbarrows to unemployed youth.

Speaking on Tuesday, Odinga said giving young people trolleys and bodabodas is akin to telling them to survive and not live.

"Asking the youth to forget about work and instead push wheelbarrows or ride bodabodas for the rest of their lives is asking them to survive not to live," Odinga stated. 

He added: "This is the conversation they want us not to have but one that we must have. I have spoken to Kenyans of all ages and social status. The majority of them don’t really fear for themselves but for their children. Parents fear the possibility of their children inheriting the difficulties they have gone through over the years or even worse.”

Odinga spoke during a meeting with ODM MCAs, where he urged them to rally behind the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI).

He further warned of the escalating violence and tension in the country ahead of the 2022 general elections.

"Already drums of war are being sounded and it is easy to tell how it will end. We have to decide whether we want violence after every election cycle," Odinga remarked.

Odinga spoke days after President Kenyatta stated that youth need jobs to achieve financial independence and not wheelbarrows and handouts.

“Then you say we know the problem of Kenyan youth, that you want to help them by giving them wheelbarrows, who told you that the youth need wheelbarrows? What they need are jobs; they want to be independent,” said Uhuru.