IN MY HUMBLE OPINION: Are we in Tanzania as unhappy as global study suggests?

Nowadays I feel that everyone I meet is unhappy. Recently everyone I have met and communicated with has a long face, heavy heart and sour mood. Can this be quantified?
Interestingly, since 2012, the degree of a country’s happiness is actually quantified and reported by the United Nations in their annual World Happiness report. In the 2019 report, Tanzania scored 3.231 – this makes us the fourth unhappiest on a list of 156 countries. Were we once happier? From a score of 3.770 in 2013, the decline of 14.3 percent is notable. Interestingly the largest decrease happened between 2016 and 2017. We went from a score of 3.666 in 2016, to score 3.349 in 2017 – making it an 8.6 percent decline in a year.
It is tragic that on the World Happiness Index, we are as miserable or even more than some of the war and civil strife afflicted countries. Also, it seems we cannot find a way to improve our score, it just keeps getting worse. Some countries improved their moods it seems. Take a look at Togo, in 2013, it had come last in the ranking with a score of 2.936. By 2019 though, its score had increased to 4.085. Similarly, Burundi and Benin had been ranked below us in 2013 but are ahead of us in 2019 because their scores improved while ours deteriorated. OK, so not to make us out as the gloomiest country on the planet, there are others who have fared worse than Tanzania. A good example is Afghanistan, whereby it ranks below us at 3.203 in 2019, but was way ahead of us in 2013 with a score of 4.040.
So thinking about it more, we may be suffering from what is dubbed as “siege mentality”. This is not my invention but it is an existing group phenomenon that a quick search on Wikipedia explains, “… It is a collective state of mind in which a group of people believe themselves constantly attacked, oppressed, or isolated in the face of the negative intentions of the rest of the world… Among the consequences of a siege mentality … lack of trust, but also a preparedness for the worst..”
I find this definition fits us more as a nation, don’t you? Let us consider “the negative intentions of the rest of the world”.  Isn’t it the norm to assume that foreigners are here to harm us? Don’t we hear that donors have hidden agendas and foreign investors exploit us? Lately, some leaders from the pulpit throw around “beberu (means: imperialist or male goat) like this and like that” – doesn’t this lift latent xenophobia to mainstream politics and policy making?
And then there’s “lack of trust, but also preparedness for the worst”. Try telling someone a great business idea and see how they will tell you not to share with anyone because they will steal it. Or try to inspire people to take action about something as mundane as street cleaning and see them tell you haiwezekani (means “impossible”).
How is it possible that we are such an unhappy nation? Unlike many others, we did not have to go to war for our independence. When we did go to war, we were victorious in Kagera and sent packing His Excellency, President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hajji Doctor Idi Amin Dada, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Seas and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular. We do not have internal strife and conflict. We are not poorer than many other nations, who are happier than us. Are we not the haven of peace and stability in the region?
In my humble opinion, the World Happiness Index should be redefined to be the World Hope Index. Because what it really reflects is how people, despite everything, have a more hopeful outlook about their future. They believe a better future is possible and they can make it. So the key question is where do we find Hope? Albert Einstein said, “Peace is not merely the absence of war but the presence of justice, of law, of order - in short, of government”. When our personal sense of justice through rule of law is satisfied, we find inner peace. We believe again that everything is in order. But when we feel that externally things are not just - some people are more equal than others and the law doesn’t apply to them - inner turmoil rises. It is the role of government to give hope through justice, law and order. But I say it is our duty to make sure that we have hope, justice and peace. No one will make us happy, we have to pursue and create our own happiness.  IMHO.