THE most fundamental aspect of any nation’s survival is its history.

It is from history that we chart the way forward.

We open avenues for a better tomorrow.

Enduring legacies are founded on the basis of the past.

Conquests, heroism and unwavering ideologies reside in history.

Mistakes of the past find their way in the thick of things as well.

Great narratives of a nation find themselves firmly etched in the past.

Our story, as a country, has its roots imprinted in our history.

Our successes, which have miffed the enemy, have found their way in the curriculum.

That is for a noble reason.

Our children now learn about our past because it carries with it an enduring legacy.

A legacy of success.

A legacy of bravery.

A legacy of prosperity and a legacy of empowerment.

The enemy resents those glowing attributes for a reason.

We bravely resisted colonisation.

We shrugged off interference into our internal affairs.

We refused ownership and control of our land and resources by outsiders.

We showed the downtrodden of this world the way; our way.

And our way has been to give life and meaning to freedom.

Our way has been to resist all forms of domination by external forces.

Our way has been to give indigenes access to our resources.

We will not relent from that no matter the immense pressure from all over.

We are our own heroes, our own future.

We will face resistance from outsiders.

They will fight us even.

They will use all sorts tactics to reclaim ownership of our resources.

They will come with their might, but lessons from our past have taught us to remain steadfast.

They have taught us to control what rightfully belongs to us.

We have learnt to be in charge of our destiny.

This is why we are humbled by efforts to repatriate the heads of the First Chimurenga heroes and heroines.

These heroes and heroines are symbols of resistance to colonialism.

And the fact that colonialists took them to Britain as trophies of conquest is symbolic of what they represented and still represent.

They are souls of the nation.

They are the spirits of a nation whose lifeblood has been diluted by other religions.

We need them home.

We need them in their own land for inspiration.

We need them here so they can bring the much-needed motivation.

We are equally humbled by the fact they are coming back home in April.

April is a significant month in the history of our country.

Those heroes and heroines deserve to be honoured.

We can only hope that they will be given a befitting honour.

That nationwide welcome ceremonies will be held for these icons.

That everyone in Zimbabwe will play a role in honouring these legends.

That narratives of their heroic and historic exploits will be told in full.

We hope that their exploits will form a critical chunk of our historical accounts.

Their coming back home should not be the end.

It should, in fact, mark the beginning of processes to bring those who are lying out there in marked and unmarked graves home.

Everyone who fought in the war of liberation should be given a proper burial.

They should be given the honour they all deserve.

We applaud the Government for allowing us to reconnect with our past.