AS Tanzanians on Friday celebrated the country’s 61st independence anniversary by holding dialogues across the nation, a call has been made on the necessity of imparting to the younger generation the history and significance of independence.
Since an estimated 82 per cent of Tanzanians were born after the country’s independence, it has been observed that it is necessary for the young generation to be taught about Tanzania’s history and where it stands today in various fields.
A number of academicians made the call during the 61 years of independence dialogue at the University of Dodoma (UDOM) which examined where the nation came from, where it is now where it is headed for.
UDOM Vice-Chancellor, Professor Lughano Kusiluka said Tanzanians must realise that the great wealth they have is independence because it has given way for socio-economic and and political development to occur.
“It is necessary to bring awareness to the new generation about the significance of the country’s independence, not to forget history, and to remember our leaders who fought for our independence, including the support we gave to other nations to gain independence,” said Prof Kusiluka.
He added, “It is critical for the current generation to understand that our freedom is extremely valuable and should not be compared with anything,”
Prof Kusiluka went on to say that while globalisation has brought different perspectives on what people should know, it is critical to instill things that matter to the current generation for a better Tanzania.
The academician stated that currently there is much admiration for other countries’ cultures while overlooking Tanzania’s strengths. However, he said even in this day and age, when information spreads quickly, it is critical that youth learn to spread positive things about their countries.
This year’s Independence Day celebrations were cancelled and the funds allocated for the event were instead used to construct dormitories for children with special needs. Regions and Districts were also directed to hold anniversary dialogues to mark the day.
Prof Kusiluka stated that Tanzania has made great strides in the last 61 years, insisting that it is critical to protect the independence, and other things will follow.
According to Hamad Rashid, National Chairman of the Alliance for Democratic Change (ADC), after independence, there was a slogan ‘Uhuru na Umoja’ where the country’s leadership threw weight behind uniting people around one thought because they understood that industries or the economy could not be built without unity.
“On the industries ‘Uhuru na Kazi’ slogan also helped us to expand the production sectors because it became necessary to work after independence so that the country could move forward, it is a philosophy that helped us,” he said.
Mr Rashid went on to say that at the time of independence, there were two work systems- agriculture and government, saying the government later decided to start projects to enable people to get jobs, beginning with small industries before moving on to textile factories.
“Unfortunately, we were unable to develop these industries and it is important for young people to learn about the sustainability of the things that we create.” We must now invest in human capital to ensure that our people can sustain our projects without relying on outside assistance,” he said.
Prof Wineaster Anderson, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of UDOM (Planning, Finance, and Administration), stated that because more than 82 per cent of Tanzanians were born after independence, it is critical that they receive good and informative education to understand where the nation came from and where it is today.
She said Tanzania has various sectors that it takes seriously in its contribution to the economy, including agriculture, tourism, mining and construction. “We recognise them as sectors that have been developed in the past 61 years.”
“Tanzanians are at a developmental stage, and the majority of young people may not understand where we came from,” Prof Anderson said. “It is important to explain to them in each sector from before, during, and after independence.”
Institute of Rural Development Planning (IRDP) Rector, Prof Hozen Mayaya said great achievements have been recorded in 61 years by looking at the three enemies which are ignorance, disease and poverty.
“When these problems were identified by Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, even the number of Tanzanians was small.For example, when we got independence, there were about 10 million Tanzanians, but now we have reach 61 million,” he said.
He added “In education, when we gained independence, there were 36 primary school teachers, but now there are more than 200,000. Electricity production was 17.5 megawatts but now 1,900 megawatts are produced.”
