Topic 1: Our Nation - Civics Notes Form 1

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Introduction To Civics

CIVICS Refers to the study of human rights and responsibilities of the citizens.

THE MAJOR CONCERNS IN STUDYING CIVICS

1. The environment in which we live. This includes lands (soil), Water bodies (Rivers, Sea and Lakes) Vegetation (Trees and Grass) Air and animals.

2. Governance and governments. For example; the democratic process, election, rules of law and leadership.

3. Human rights and the responsibilities of citizens.

4. The social, cultural and economic development of society. For example industrial and technological development, demographic changes etc.

INTRODUCTION TO CIVICS

IMPORTANCE OF STUDYING CIVICS

We study civics in order to:-

1. Understand human rights E.g. right to life, the freedom of association, freedom to worship etc.

2. Understand the duties and responsibilities of citizen such as work, protection of the environment, voting leaders, assisting people with disabilities etc.

3. Understand the environment in which we live.

4. Understand and uphold our culture. E.g. Values, norms, taboos and beliefs.

5. Understand and establish good relationships with other nations.

6. Understand the importance of love, unity and respect in society.

7. Understand population dynamics and its impacts on societies.

8. Understand road safety.

9. Understand the importance of economic integration in developing countries.

Our Nation – Civics Form One

DEFINITION AND CONCEPT OF A NATION

When two people of the opposite sex get together as husband and wife, they form a family.

A Family iss a social group of people who are closely related to each other. Within a family we have father, mother, children and sometimes close relatives like uncles, aunts and grandparents.

A combination of various families forms a clan. A group of different clans form tribes, whose people have the same culture, history and language. The combination of several tribes makes up the population of a nation.

Therefore a Nation can be defined as;

A group of people who have the same government, culture, economy and history. Example of nations are;- Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe.

CONCEPT OF A STASTE

A State is an organized political community in which the government has full political control.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A STATE

A country is said to be a state if it has the following qualities

Sovereignty/autonomous
Territory
Population
Government
International recognition
Fully independent

COMPONENTS OF A NATION

The following are the components / characteristics of a Nation.

Country
Sovereignty
Government
Population/People
Language
Culture
History and International recognition.

1: A COUNTRY

Is an area of land that has boundaries and is under the control of a government.

Our country, the united Republic of Tanzania was formed on 26^th April 1964. On that day Tanganyika and Zanzibar were unified to form one Country.

Our Nation: Our country Tanzania with our neighboring countries

Tanzania is Bordered by the following countries;-

Kenya and Uganda to the North.
Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique to the south.
Rwanda, Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo to the West.
The India Ocean borders Tanzania to the East.

2: SEVEREIGGNTY

Is the freedom that a country has to govern itself. This means that there is no external Power that controls that country.

TYPES OF SOVEREGINTY

There are two types of sovereignty

A: Internal Sovereignty

This is where a country has the power to supervise all its internal affairs. Tanganyika became a sovereign state on 9^th December 1961 and Zanzibar got its Sovereignty on 10^th December 1963.

B: External sovereignty

Is where a country has the freedom to form its foreign policy.

Example: In the past the colonial power has such control in countries like Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A SOVEREIGN STATE

A sovereign state is embodied with the following characteristics.

i. It has an international recognition.

ii. It has defined boundaries of its territory

iii. It has population that share a sense of belonging, language, traditional and history.

iv. The state has supreme power to control people and association within its boundaries.

v. It is able to divide its own matter for the development of its people.

IMPORTANCE OF NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY

i. It Maintain good relations with other nation

ii. It helps to maintain the peace and security of a Nation. This is done by making, executing and applying laws.

iii. It brings national stability.

iv. It encourages investor to invest in a country. The nation is free to establish policies that encourage local and foreign investors to invest in the country

v. Citizens are free from being dominated by other nations,

Hindrances to National Sovereignty

Poverty

Poverty is one of the main problems in most African Countries today. In most cases, they depend on developed countries for help trough grants and aid; although that help usually has imposed conditions that violet its sovereignty.

Civil war

The fighting between ethnic groups within the same nation can affect the freedom of the Nation.

Natural Hazard

Disaster such as flood, Earth quakes destabilize of poor countries.

3: GOVERNMENY

Refers to the selected or elected group of people who are responsible for controlling a country or state.

Is the body people which administers the state and Maintains law and orders. The government has power and authority to control and direct people’s activities within its territory.

In Tanzania we use the Republic system of government. This means that the country is led by a president and politicians who have been elected by the people.

4: PEOPLE

Refers to the persons who belong to a particular country. People in a nation must live peacefully, solve their problems and develop their Nation.

5: LANGUAGE

Is the system of communication that is used by the people of a particular society.

Tanzania has more than 130 tribes that speak their tribal languages the national language is Kiswahili.

6: CULTURE

Refers to the customs and beliefs particular group of people. It also includes the people’s art, way of life and social organization.

7: HISTORY

Refers to the past events that occurred in the development of a Nation.

NATIONAL SYMBOLS

What is a national symbol?

Is an object that is designed to identify a nation. These include; tangible things like money, flags and coat of arms and intangible things like national anthem and language. These symbols are very important as they serve as a reminder of our nationhood to us and to the rest of the world.

The major national symbols in Tanzania are:

1: The national flag

Is a piece of cloth with a special colored design.

The national flag of Tanganyika was hoisted for the first time on 9^th December, 1961 and that of united republic of Tanzania was hoisted for the first time on 26^th April, 1964 when Tanganyika and Zanzibar united to form Tanzania.

The national Flag of Tanzania

The national flag of Tanzania has four colors

i. Green- represent the land and vegetation of Tanzania

ii. Yellow-represents the mineral wealth of the country

iii. Black-represents the people of Tanzania and Africa in general

iv. Blue-represents the water bodies in the country

Importance of the National Flag to Tanzania

– Symbol of the nation

– Shows national independence and sovereignty

– A seal of the president and government

– State symbol for the president/country/citizens

– Symbol of unity and freedom

– Symbol of nationality and Tanzanian culture

– Used during unfortunate events like the death of a state leader

2: National anthem

Is the official song which reflects peoples national feelings, desire, glory and pride in their nationality.

Tanzania national anthem is always sung during important national occasion such as:-

– When special announcement is made by the president

– When foreign head of state visits our country

– When president is about to inspect a guard of honor

– When the president or vice-president visits another country

– When our national team is playing against team of other country

– On the announcement of the death of president or vice-president

– When the national flag is being hoisted

– When a national radio and television station start and ends their daily program.

Our National Anthem

Importance of the National anthem

– It symbolize our nationality and freedom

– It unifies Tanzanians

– It makes citizens feel proud of their country

– It express a sense of belonging to Tanzania and Africa in general

– It recognizes Tanzania internationally.

3: The Coat of Arms (National Emblem)

This is the government badge/logo/emblem, which comprises many different colors and landmarks of the nation of Tanzania.

Is the official seal or stamp of the government.

The Tanzania Coat of Arms

Components of the Coat of Arms

The coat of arms comprises the following components

Two human figure (a man and woman)

This represents national unity and cooperation

Two elephant tusks

Represents wildlife, game reserves and national parks.

Shield and spear

It represents the traditional weapons of defense. These weapons represents readiness of the people to defend their independence.

Golden band on the upper part of the shield

It represents mineral wealth of the country

The torch

It symbolizes freedom and enlightenment

The national flag

Symbolizes national freedom

The crossed axe and hoe

Represents tools used by peasant and farmers in Tanzania.

Red band on the shield

Symbolizes fertile red soil found in Tanzania.

Sea waves

It represents water bodies found in Tanzania. Approximately 62,000 km³of Tanzania’s total area is made up of water bodies.

Peak of mount Kilimanjaro

Represents attractive geomorphologic features found in Tanzania

The inscription UHURU NA UMOJA; means “freedom and unity”.

It is the national motto of the united Republic of Tanzania.

Crops (cotton and cloves)

Symbolizes our cash crops grown in Tanzania.

Importance of the coat of arms

1. It makes Tanzania as a state

2. It is a symbol of state sovereignty, freedom and unity of the people

3. It symbolizes state power and economic bases

4. It is a seal of the president and government

5. It symbolizes our national culture and history.

4: Uhuru Torch/Independence Torch

Is the torch of freedom introduced by the first president of Tanzania, the late Mwl. J. k. Nyerere as a symbol of freedom, unity, love, dignity, solidarity and hope among Tanzanians.

The uhuru torch was first lit on top of mountain Kilimanjaro at mid-night on 9^th December, 1961 when Tanganyika got her independence from Britain.

The uhuru Torch

Importance of the uhuru torch

1. It promote unity in the country

2. It symbolizes freedom and light

3. It promote peace, dignity, respect and hope among Tanzanians

4. It promotes development. Whenever the uhuru torch passes development projects are initiated. For example schools, water services, health centers etc.

5. It encourages social, political and economic changes through the messages passed during the race.

5: The national currency

Is the system of money used in a nation.

Tanzania’s national currency is the Shilling.

Importance of the national currency

1. Is used for measuring value

2. Money used for buying and selling

3. Used as a means of settling debts

4. It is a symbol of people’s nationality

5. It identifies freedom of a nation.

6: The national Language

Is the language spoken by all people within a country. The national language of Tanzania is Kiswahili.

The importance of the National Language

– It act as a medium of communication between all people within a country

– It symbolizes the culture of the nation

– Is a tool of unifying people

7: Presidential standards

Is a flag which is used during the official ceremonies where the president is in attendance. It has a green background with a blue border and coat of arms in the middle.

The presidential standards

Significances of the presidential standards

1. It symbolizes the authority of the president

2. It is a state symbol of the president

3. It shows the sovereignty of the nation

8: The national constitution

A national constitution: Is a system of laws and principles by which the nation is governed.

A constitution is the mother of all laws as it provides guidelines which the society must follow. Our country is ruled according to the constitution written in 1977.

Significances of the national constitution

1. It is the law governing all laws

2. It describes the form and content of the Tanzania government

3. It shows the structure of the state organs

4. It describes the distribution of power among the state organs

5. It gives people the freedom to enjoy their rights

6. It describes and promotes human rights

7. It defends all citizens of Tanzania and foreigners

NATIONAL FESTIVALS AND PUBLIC HOLIDAYS

National Festivals are days when we celebrate important national events.

TYPES OF NATIONAL DAYS

National days are often categorized into three main groups

Civic or political public days
Religious public days
Universal public days

1: CIVIC OR POLITICAL PUBLIC DAYS

These are special days that commemorate events that have a profound meaning politically.

These days are:-

Independence Day

This is marked on 9^th December, every year. Tanganyika got her independence on 9^th December 1961 and year later she became a republic on 9^th December, 1962.

Revolution Day

On 12^th January, 1964 the people of Zanzibar overthrew the Sultan’s government. They formed a new government under the leadership of the Late Sheikh Abeid Amani Karume.

Union Day

This falls on 26^th April each year. It was the day when Tanganyika and Zanzibar united to form united republic of Tanzania.

Saba Saba Day

This day falls on 7^th July each year. Tanganyika National Union (TANU) which mobilized the people of Tanganyika to struggle for independence was formed on 7^th July, 1954. To remember this day, the government has established an annual trade exhibition.

Farmer’s Day (Nane nane Day)

This day is celebrated on 8^th August every year. On this day, farmers and traders exhibit their agricultural products, farm implements and machinery. Each year, one region in the country is chosen to host the national exhibition.

Nyerere Day

Every 14^th October, Tanzanians remember the death of the first president of Tanzania, the late Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere.

Karume Day

On 7^th April every year, Tanzanians commemorate the day the first president of Zanzibar Sheikh Abeid Amani Karume was assassinated.

2: RELIGIOUS PUBLIC DAYS

These days are marked by special religious events or festivals according to the beliefs and faith of a particular group of people.

These Holidays are:-

Christmas and Boxing day

Christmas Day- is marked on 25 December every year. On this day, Christians remember the birth of Jesus Christ.

Boxing Day– is marked on 26^th December every year. It is the day when Christians open the gifts which they received on Christmas day.

Good Friday and Easter Monday

These days depends on the Christians calendar. On these days, Christians commemorate the suffering of Jesus Christ, his death and his resurrection.

Maulid Day

This is the day Muslims celebrate the birth of Prophet Muhammad. According to the Islamic calendar, Prophet Muhammad was born on 12^th Rabiul-Awal in 570AD.

Eid el Fitr

Muslims mark this day at the end of fasting during the holy month of Ramadan. The end of Ramadan depends on the sighting of the moon.

Eid el hajj

This is the day Muslims celebrate the end of the Pilgrimate to Mecca. On the day of Eid el Hajj, 10^th Dhul- Hajj according to the Islamic calendar, Muslims slaughter goats and sheep and eat together.

3: UNIVERSAL PUBLIC DAYS

These are special days for rest and celebration for all people in the world. These days are:-

New year- falls on every 1^st January each year.
Workers day- falls on 1^st may each year. In Tanzania this day is known as “MEI MOSI”.

IMPORTANCE OF NATIONAL FESTIVALS or PUBLIC DAYS

1. These days mark important events in our country

2. They unify people from different localities and make them feel as one

3. They promote the culture of the community

4. The strengthen solidarity, cooperation and fraternity among people who share a common culture and history

5. During these events leaders pass important information to the public

6. They help to transmit experience, attitudes, values and skills from one generation to another.

RESPECT FOR NATIONAL SYMBOLS

Why we respect national symbols?

This is because:-

1. They represent our dignity, freedom and culture

2. They enhance social interaction among ethnic groups

3. They promote cooperation between Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar

4. They promote national recognition

5. They establish good relationships among people.