By Baba Lawan
October 2025
This week, the streets of Madagascar have turned into classrooms of truth. The lesson? When a government forgets its people, the people will remind it—loudly, painfully, and persistently.
Across Antananarivo, young Malagasy citizens are rising against what they call the “darkness of corruption”—a fitting metaphor in a nation where electricity fails daily, taps run dry, and hope itself flickers like a candle in the wind. The protests have now become the most powerful challenge to President Andry Rajoelina’s rule in years, forcing him to dissolve his government in a desperate attempt to calm the storm.
But make no mistake—this is no ordinary protest. It is a generational verdict.
When the lights go out, the truth comes on
Madagascar’s youth are not rioting over politics. They are revolting over survival. Imagine living in a country blessed with sunlight, rivers, and rich resources—yet spending your nights in darkness and thirst. Imagine working hard, paying taxes, and still watching corrupt officials drive luxury cars while public hospitals have no power supply.
This isn’t rebellion; it’s justice delayed and denied.
For years, the Malagasy government poured billions into “prestige projects”—stadiums, cable cars, and showpiece developments that glitter for tourists while citizens queue for water. It is the oldest trick in African politics: invest in the visible, neglect the essential. But the new generation is too informed, too connected, and too impatient for that game.
The youth are not the problem—they are the prophecy
Across Africa, the story repeats itself: young people demanding what their leaders promised—jobs, light, and fairness. From Nigeria’s #EndSARS to Kenya’s tax protests, and now Madagascar’s “water and power” movement, the message is clear: the patience of Africa’s youth has expired.
In every protest, the chant is the same—enough of corruption, enough of excuses. The Malagasy youth are not asking for luxury; they are asking for dignity. That’s the real revolution.
Governments that ignore these voices do so at their own peril. In an age of smartphones and solidarity, the spark of protest in one city can light up an entire continent.
The African warning bell
The events in Madagascar are not isolated—they are a mirror. Every African leader who rides on propaganda while ignoring power outages, water shortages, and joblessness should watch this moment closely.
When leaders fail to deliver, their people eventually deliver judgment.
Madagascar’s protests prove that legitimacy is not earned by elections alone—it must be renewed daily by service. No amount of police, curfews, or reshuffled cabinets can silence a population living in darkness.
If a government cannot light its cities, it cannot enlighten its people
A call for leadership, not survival politics
Africa does not need more slogans, summits, or speeches about “youth empowerment.” It needs electricity that works, schools that teach, water that flows, and leaders who listen.
Madagascar has shown that when leaders play politics with basic services, they gamble with stability.
President Rajoelina’s crisis is not unique—it’s prophetic. Unless African leaders treat corruption and mismanagement as enemies, they too will face their own night of reckoning.
Madagascar’s streets have spoken, and the message echoes far beyond its borders: neglect your youth, and they will remind you who truly holds power.
From Antananarivo to Abuja, from Nairobi to Niamey, every African leader should be on notice—when the lights go out, so does the people’s trust.
Tags
Opinion