Africa-Press – Tanzania. AS Tanzania commemorates the 22nd anniversary of Mwalimu Julius Nyerere’s death, Pan-Africanists have emphasized the necessity of preserving the heritage of Africa’s founding fathers.
They made the remarks during a symposium honouring the nation’s founding father. The event took place in Chato District, Geita Region on Wednesday.
Advocate Sabelo Sibanda, a Southern African Pan-Africanist, advised Tanzanians to quit emulating other people’s cultures and instead, to maintain African dignity and pride.
“It is our responsibility as Africans to defend this revolution; those who gave their lives for us to be able to stand and say we are free did so because they had a vision for a brighter future for the continent,” he said.
Mr Sibanda went on to say that some of them died before even realising what they were fighting for, and that it is now up to Africans to determine whether to safeguard the revolution or allow it to be stolen.
“It is critical that we begin telling our African stories to protect our revolution. Tanzanians are among the continent’s most fortunate people. ‘We must protect our freedom while also being wary of neo-colonialism,” he said.
Renowned Kenyan pan-Africanist, Professor of Law and anti-corruption crusader, Professor Patrick Loch Otieno (PLO) Lumumba, said in order to understand democracy, it was necessary to learn more about African history.
Mwalimu Nyerere, he added, was one of the independence fighters, who guaranteed that Africans were liberated and their dignity was restored.
“In the Berlin Conference of 1884, the leaders of 14 European countries and the United States met to discuss control of Africa’s resources.
They sought to discuss the partitioning of Africa, establishing rules to amicably divide resources among the Western countries at the expense of the African people,” he said.
Prof Lumumba stated that Africa must unify against neo-colonialism, a new kind of colonialism perpetrated by the same western powers and disguised as economic aid to Africa.
Ms Sibongile Mlangeni, a multi-talented South African performing artist, producer, radio and television presenter, said Mwalimu Nyerere was a truly patriotic leader, similar to what the late John Magufuli did out of fear and for the African continent’s sake.
“There are no African duplications; there is nothing we can’t achieve for ourselves,” she said. “We must be proud of our dignity and humanity.”
The Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Policy, Parliament Affair’s, Coordination, Labour, Youth, Employment and Persons with Disability, Ms Jenista Mhagama, said the continent’s founding fathers sweltered and shed blood to bring peace, harmony and liberation to the continent.
“Tanzania played a key role in helping these movements and was a staunch opponent of colonial control in Africa. Mwalimu Nyerere, the architect of Tanzania’s independence and the country’s first President, was a crucial player in the fight against foreign dominance and popularised the concept of Pan-African unity,” she said.
As a better approach to remember Mwalimu Nyerere, Ms Mhagama emphasized the need of national unity and solidarity.
Tanzania, according to the minister, was deeply involved in a number of groups and organizations that assisted the freedom movement.
The Organization of African Unity was the most well-known of these (OAU). Nyerere was a staunch proponent of the development of such an organization, and Tanzania was a founding member when it was created in 1963.
