MY TRAVEL TO DODOMA CITY,IN TANZANIA
- Katsina City News
- 02 Nov, 2023
- 551
I arrived in Dodoma, the capital of Tanzania at 6:7PM. Which means, we were on the road for 8 Hours.
Before I embarked on this journey,I made a casual research, and I discovered that the idea of relocating the national city of Tanzania from Dar Es Salaam to Dodoma was conceived in 1973,by late Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere, the first president of the united Republic of Tanzania . The reason that informed this decision was very convincing. In fact, Nigeria advanced the same reason to transfer its capital from a coastal city of Lagos built by colonial masters to a more strategic location, Abuja.
Like Abuja, Dodoma is in the centre,and therefore more accessible to all parts of the country.It is the cultural melting pot of Tanzania.
The city is blessed with hills and inselbergs. Its weather is cool in the morning and afternoon and its not exposed to sea, rather its protected within the hinterland.
The uniqueness of Dodoma is that it is not originally designed for high-rise buildings that are more common in the metropolitan centres of capitalist societies. Mwl J. K. Nyerere, the father of African socialism,had envisioned a capital city that reflects the reality of his people.
Today,many capital cities in Africa have become symbols of inequality, discrimination and class segregation.
Behind exotic villas and skyscrapers are slums and poverty, overflowing gutters , filthy dumb sites and shanties everywhere. We are designing ourselves cities that do not accommodate the majority poor but only a few parasitic class.
I hope the Tanzanian leaders will uphold the vision of Mwl J. K. Nyerere by implementing original Dodoma master plan that is inclusive,safe and sustainable.