President Uhuru Kenyatta has been voted Africa’s President of the Year 2014/2015 for his outstanding leadership.
Uhuru was recognised for his ability to build consensus locally and abroad, and efforts to improve policies and supervise solutions to Kenya’s problems.
Thousands of members of the All-Africa Students Union picked him for the Africa Education and Leadership Award, which celebrates “outstanding leadership and educational excellence”.
The students from hundreds of higher learning institutions in Africa, who are part of AASU, also honoured him for initiating progressive economic programmes aimed at uplifting lives.
AASU student leaders drawn from 12 local universities presented the award at State House, Nairobi on Wednesday.
They were led by led by their East Africa representative, Felix Lone of Kenyatta University, and accompanied by Education CS Jacob Kaimenyi, PS Belio Kipsang and a team from the Kenya Private Sector Alliance.
Uhuru concurred with the students on the need for more engagement with the government, saying this would prevent them from resorting to violence to express their concerns.
“You should engage the (Education) ministry in a more constructive manner without going to the streets and throwing stones,” he told the student leaders.
Uhuru instructed Kaimenyi and the Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua to explore ways for the next AASU summit to be held in Nairobi later in the year; AASU is ased in Accra, Ghana.
The student leaders requested Uhuru for more funding from the Higher Education Loans Board.
He urged them to keep their ‘’dreams alive’’ noting that the country has many resources to channel towards prosperity.
He said there is need to establish more incubation centres for students to nurture their skills and develop their ideas.
Before presenting Uhuru with the award, Lone said the incubation centres will transform the students from ‘’job seekers to job creators’’.
Kenya Private Sector Alliance representative Vimal Shah said the it is working with the student organisation to change their mindsets so that they resolve issues amicably.
President Paul Kagame of Rwanda is a previous recipient of the award.
– the-star.co.ke
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