Africa-Press – Angola. The Angolan government said that national independence is the country’s greatest achievement, but building a just society and a new humanity still poses challenges.
According to the Minister of State and Chief of Staff to the President of Angola, Adão de Almeida, the “timeless” phrase of the first president of Angola, Agostinho Neto – “the most important thing is to solve the people’s problems” – summarizes the “main cause of the struggle for independence, the Angolan people”.
“It was necessary to exist as an independent people so that it would be possible to dream of the well-being of Angolans. With this timeless phrase, [Agostinho] Neto presented the reason for the Angolan people’s struggle.
National independence is our greatest achievement, but it is not enough,” the governor stated at the central event of the celebrations for National Hero’s Day, a national holiday honoring the birthday of Angola’s first president, Agostinho Neto.
Adão de Almeida alluded to Agostinho Neto’s statements on the day of the proclamation of Angola’s independence (November 11, 1975): “Our struggle does not end here [with the achievement of independence].
The goal is the complete independence of our country and the construction of a just society and a new man”, to highlight that these still constitute the country’s current challenges.
“This is our challenge. Correctly interpreting the desires of the Angolan people, at each moment in our history, and creating the conditions for each person to realize their dream, is the best way to honor Agostinho Neto and all the heroes of all generations (…),” he said.
The governor, who presided over the central event for National Hero’s Day in the municipality of Caxicane, Icolo e Bengo province—Agostinho Neto’s birthplace—considered that he left the country not only with proclaimed independence, but also with an ideal of nation-building and a journey to be undertaken. “He left us a dream to be realized and a conviction that remains unshaken.
[Agostinho] Neto left us a hope that is renewed from generation to generation and that reminds us that the fight is not over yet, but that victory is certain,” he said.
According to Adão de Almeida, National Hero’s Day is celebrated in honor of Agostinho Neto (whose 103rd birthday is celebrated), but also [in honor] of all the heroes of the country, those who at each moment are capable of understanding its challenges.
The Minister of State also noted that Angola is celebrating 50 years of independence, “proclaimed before Africa and the world by President Agostinho Neto,” and therefore, he argued, “celebrating Agostinho Neto is an elementary act of historical justice.”
“It is an imperative need for the ongoing process of nation-building,” he noted, emphasizing that nation-building “requires honoring the past, as a sign of respect and gratitude to the memory of all those who gave everything they had, including their own lives, to get us to this point,” he emphasized.
The construction of the Angolan nation, Adão de Almeida continued, “requires the permanent reconstruction of the legacy of history, making it a continuous inspiration to face the challenges of our times and the challenges of our future.”
“Our history is rich in examples of bravery, courage, and determination that we must preserve, but it also contains mistakes we cannot repeat and lessons we must learn.
In each of these moments, the names of illustrious sons of Angola have emerged and continue to emerge, who, with their example of dedication to their country, have inspired and continue to inspire several generations to undertake the same struggle,” concluded the Angolan leader.
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