H.E Museveni's address to the United Nations in Swahili on African unity as a source of survival

Ugandans have joined the rest of the world to mark the world international Kiswahili day 2024.

It is written in the bible that there was a time when people congregated using one language, but this didn't last because man was selfish, he tried to challenge the power of God by constructing the tower of babel which could reach heaven.

The story of the tower of babel does not just highlight the ignorance of man to challenge God but also the power of one language, one language is important in creating unity in cultural and traditions among people with different backgrounds and communities.

Therefore, when Greek was a language of the Greek, Latin for romans, English for the English, we in Africa and East Africa, we are blessed to have a language that does not lean to any of these languages but ours.

Our people in East Africa managed to form a dialect from the Bantu dialects which does not belong to any tribe and expanded it from the Arabic, Greek and other dialects.

Why do we need a united Africa, it's because it is the way of creating unity, and peace for the people of Africa.

The beginning of the weakness in Africa has been disunity amongst African small sections of political segments that could not defend themselves against the powers outside Africa. Haven't we seen the benefits of unity amongst other nations outside Africa?

Africa is known for its rich cultural heritage, language, and the belief systems - religious beliefs.

The people with African heritage, the Negros, Africans from west Africa, Muslims from the northern Africa, the Nilotic from the East, Northern and Central Africa, the Hamites from Northern, central Africa and the horn of Africa and the bantu from East, Central and South Africa. All these are a big group of people here in Africa.

So, it’s our responsibility to champion unity amongst them and use it to create stability amongst our people.

If the whites who have been killing each other for decades have united politically, financially and culturally, why should it be hard for Africans? Whites have abandoned their differences and united, why can't Africans do the same for Africa?

We can change this destiny if we decide to do so. By all means we need to follow this path to change the destiny of our people.

By 2050, East Africa will have 878 million people with 1 million square miles of land. If you add DRC and Somalia, this land will be bigger - close to 2.5 million square miles, bigger than the Indians.

This can be united through Swahili but also contribute to the peace of Africa. It can also be used to protect Africa in case of an emergency if need be on land, in the sea and air.
Therefore, the spread of Swahili is important. It's the beginning of bringing unity to the whole of Africa.