Why the System Is Broken and What We Need to Do

A few weeks ago, I found myself in a conversation with a group of young people fresh out of high school. They were frustrated. Not just the typical “I’m tired of school” kind of frustration, but something deeper. They felt betrayed. After years of grinding through exams, they were stepping out into a world that seemed to have no place for them. No jobs, no clear direction, no sense of purpose.

One of them said something that hit me hard: “It’s not our fault the system is broken. Why should we have to fix it?”

That question stayed with me. The system is indeed broken. It doesn’t prepare us for the real world, doesn’t give us the tools to thrive, and, more often than not, leaves us feeling disillusioned. But here’s the thing: waiting for someone else to fix it is like standing in the rain and blaming the clouds for getting wet. It won’t change a thing. At some point, we have to stop pointing fingers and start taking action.

The Truth About Why the System Is Broken

Let’s get something straight: the system wasn’t built for you or me. It was designed a long time ago, for a very different time. Back then, education was about creating workers for factories, clerks for offices, and followers for leaders. The world needed people who could follow instructions, not challenge them. And for a while, that worked.

But the world doesn’t look like that anymore. Jobs aren’t as predictable, industries are being disrupted by technology, and success now depends on creativity, adaptability, and innovation. The old system hasn’t kept up. It’s like trying to run today’s apps on a phone from 20 years ago it just doesn’t work.

But here’s the catch: even though the system is outdated, we keep running it because it’s familiar. It’s easier to blame it for our problems than to figure out what we can do differently. And that’s where we get stuck in a cycle of frustration, waiting for someone else to fix things.

What Blame Doesn’t Solve

Blame feels good at the moment. It lets you vent your anger, release your frustration, and put the responsibility on someone else. But it doesn’t solve the problem. If anything, it keeps us trapped.

Think about it. Every time we blame the government, the education system, or even history, we’re giving away our power. We’re saying, “I can’t do anything until they fix this.” And while we wait, the world keeps moving. Opportunities pass us by, and we fall further behind.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t hold systems accountable. Corruption, poor governance, and bad policies need to be challenged. But we can’t stop there. Blame without action is just noise. If we want things to change, we have to ask ourselves a tough question: What can I do, right now, with what I have, to make things better?

From Blame to Action

Here’s the truth: you don’t need to fix the whole system to start making a difference. Change begins with small, practical steps. It begins with you.

Start With What You Can Control: You can’t rewrite the education system overnight, but you can take control of your own learning. The internet is a goldmine of free resources—courses, tutorials, and communities that can teach you everything from coding to design to financial literacy. Use it.
Build Instead of Waiting: If the jobs you were trained for don’t exist, create your own. Start small. Maybe it’s a side hustle, a community project, or a digital business. Every entrepreneur I know started with what they had an idea and the willingness to try.
Collaborate and Share: Stop seeing other people as competition. Work together. Share resources, skills, and knowledge. Some of the biggest breakthroughs happen when people pool their strengths.

When I look at young Africans today, I don’t see victims of a broken system. I see problem-solvers, innovators, and leaders. I see people who are tired of waiting for the world to notice them and are ready to carve their own paths. That’s the real story of Africa not the brokenness of the system, but the resilience and brilliance of its people.

So, the next time you catch yourself blaming the system, pause. Take a breath. Ask yourself, “What can I do about this?” Because here’s the truth: the system might be broken, but you don’t have to be. And when enough of us decide to act instead of waiting, we’ll build something far better than what we inherited.

The future is in our hands. Let’s stop blaming the rain and start building shelters. Together, we can make a difference one step, one idea, and one action at a time