Embrace leaders’ wisdom to safeguard national values, youth told

ARUSHA: MINISTER for Information, Culture, Arts and Sports, Professor Palamagamba Kabudi has urged young people across the country to develop the habit of listening to speeches by national leaders and reading their biographies, so they can take the lead in safeguarding the nation and its founding principles.

Speaking in Arusha during the launch of a biography written by Ambassador Daniel Ole Njoolay, Prof Kabudi said the book, rich with truthful, compelling accounts of the ambassador’s personal life and years in public service, offers valuable lessons for the younger generation.

He recalled a 1965 speech delivered by the late Father of the Nation, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, in which he urged youth to defend the nation at all costs by embracing ethics and upholding national values.

Prof Kabudi said that if today’s youth listened to such speeches and read the biographies of past leaders, some of the challenges witnessed in recent times would have been avoided.

Beyond Nyerere’s guidance, he said Amb Njoolay’s book also stresses the importance of hard work, avoiding selective attitudes toward jobs, persistence, integrity, honesty, rejecting greed, and protecting the principles established by Tanzania’s founding leaders.

Prof Kabudi said that Nyerere’s speeches carry powerful predictions and warnings for young people and should be revisited frequently to help them become better custodians of the nation.

Expressing regret that Mwalimu Nyerere never wrote his own biography, he said such a book would have been invaluable given the major national challenges the founding president navigated, many of which he fully understood.

He urged current national leaders to adopt a culture of documenting their personal and leadership experiences, as Amb Njoolay has done.

He said the newly launched biography truthfully captures Njoolay’s life, from school days to his professional journey and retirement.

Prof Kabudi also praised the cultural traditions of the Maasai community, particularly their age-set system, which he said holds deep significance.

He suggested that the time has come for these traditions to gain international recognition, including through UNESCO.

He said that Maasai customs should be preserved and celebrated through ceremonies that reinforce them as part of Tanzania’s national and global cultural heritage.

The minister added that Tanzania is unique for embodying both eastern and western Bantu languages and traditions, communities that, despite their differences, live and cooperate without discrimination based on race or ethnicity.

ALSO READ: Why Tanzanian youths must safeguard national values

He said such unity must be protected at all costs. Commenting on Njoolay’s book, Prof Kabudi said it stands out for its joy, hope, humility and honesty, qualities he said are lacking in many other works and should be emulated.

He noted that he is an avid reader of biographies of leaders from within and outside Tanzania, describing himself as “addicted” to such literature.

He said reading biographies broadens understanding of global affairs and encouraged others to cultivate the same habit.

Prof Kabudi said that for both present and future generations, Amb Njoolay has left an important leadership legacy by openly sharing the truth about his experiences during challenging periods in his life and career.

On his part, Amb Njoolay said it took him three years to complete the book, a decision inspired by encouragement from friends.

He described the difficulties he faced in accessing education at a time when schooling was not valued in the Maasai community, noting that goats had to be sold to cover his fees.

The Managing Director of Mkuki Publishers, Mr Mkuki Bgoya, said young people aspiring to leadership positions or already entrusted with such roles should read the book and learn from it.