Saba Saba Day, Kiswahili and Tanzania’s national pride

As human beings ‘the feel-good factor’ plays a significant role in our lives. Issues of patriotism, and all the importance attached to it, the feel-good factor matters. ‘I am a Tanzanian...Tanzania is my nation, and I am so proud of my country’... These expressions are just a few of how Tanzania comes out in our expressions. In essence, it is a sense of national belonging and identity.

Over the years, one of the events that have helped to present our identity and national belonging is Saba Saba Day (7th July). This day has helped us to build our love for our dear motherland.

Saba Saba Day is one of the most iconic days in Dar es Salaam, and now the United Nations has made it global for Kiswahili development, and we should be proud of it.

It all started on July 7, 1954, when Tanganyika National Union (TANU) was born. TANU changed to Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), the Revolutionary Party) and led the independence struggle until we gained independence (Tanganyika).

After Tanzania was born, Kiswahili became the national language.

About 46 years ago, Saba Saba celebrations began. Previously, it was celebrated as the Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair (Maonyesho ya Saba Saba) and Tanzanians from all walks of life troop to Saba Saba grounds for trade and fun. International traders from diverse nations have also been attending the event.

This day presents our “Tanzanianness”, and it’s a day of national pride. So, as a nation, we can see where we come from and celebrate where we are.

In Tanzania, Kiswahili has played a crucial role as a unifier. It has gone beyond our borders by spreading to many parts of the world.

The wisdom by the Father of Nation, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, to promote Kiswahili language has paid off big time. Now, at a global level, Saba Saba Day will be a World Kiswahili Language Day.

According to the United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) East Africa @UnescoEast “Kiswahili is the first African Language to be internationally recognized by Unesco and has over 200 million speakers worldwide.” As a nation, it is a great thing and we must take pride in it. Kiswahili tells about our culture, our resilience, and our language, which is now going global.

According to Ambassador Getrude Mongella, “Kiswahili is an African language, and giving it an official day in the world, draws the world’s attention to us Africans.” President Samia Suluhu Hassan said, World Kiswahili Language Day was a “platform to uplift the status of East Africa and Tanzania in general, where Kiswahili language is highly spoken.” Today, so much is happening in the Kiswahili world.

Uganda is on the road, making the teaching of Kiswahili compulsory in primary and secondary levels of education. About 20,000 teachers are needed to implement the new Kiswahili teaching directive by the Uganda cabinet.

On World Kiswahili Language Day (July 7), Tanzania inked a deal for Tanzanians to teach Kiswahili in South Africa. The MoU was to be signed by the education minister for Tanzania, Prof Adolf Mkenda, and that of South Africa, Angelina Motshekga.

In America alone, it is estimated that over 100 universities teach Kiswahili courses. To my ardent readers, please forgive me for writing again on issues related to Kiswahili. I have done so because Kiswahili is now the business language of Africa.

For this reason, Tanzania must do more to take advantage of the Kiswahili language, which once upon a time, we owned, but now it has gone global. As a nation, we urgently need to prepare Kiswahili teachers for the world market.

Kiswahili teachers need to be more competent in other global languages, like English, French, and Chinese as they can become Kiswahili teachers of choice across the globe.