#NyerereDay: A Time for Reflection

Happy Nyerere Day to all Tanzanians and to everyone who espouses the ideals of a great man. Nyerere is the embodiment of our nation. Though he had his weaknesses as a person, Nyerere stood for equality, progress and self-reliance. He believed in a unique form of African socialism which he termed as 'Ujamaa'. I grew up idolizing the man. His picture still hangs in my bedroom wall. I read his books, listened to his speeches and promised myself to be as selfless like him. Mwalimu Nyerere was a man of vision. He envisioned a Tanzania that is self-reliant and free from external aid. He succeeded in uniting Tanzanians. We are one people with one language thanks to Mwalimu Nyerere. 

Today, Tanzania risks being divided by partisan politics. The current constitutional conundrum risks dividing Tanzanians. Nyerere would have loved to see a consensual approach to the constitution process. The process has been hijacked by politicians who only look for their personal interests. The process has lacked nationwide consensus which any constitution process should have. The process has been about which side is stronger instead on building consensus (maridhiano). The process has been hurried by the powers that be. The powers that be want to gain political mileage instead of nationwide consensus. People's views have been ignored by the powers that be. Cynicism and antipathy is now rife among many Tanzanians. As we mark this day, it is important that we take time to reflect. Let us do a self-reexamination and see where we went wrong. We should mark this day by reflecting on the ideals Mwalimu championed. HAPPY NYERERE DAY!   

Thirty Years later, Sokoine Remains a Tanzanian Statesman

Nations world over are built on the ideals of their founding fathers. Some like in America, the sheer will and dedication of the founders molded a nation while wisdom, courage and selflessness built empires, strong democracies and civilizations. Historic moments such as revolutions, civil wars, crises, constitution making, war for independence, and many others define polities. Great men also define nations. When I was growing up, tales of Tanzanian great men where told to me either by my parents or at school. Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere was a man whose stories were told to me as a child. I grew up listening to his speeches in the national radio, seeing his face on the currency, his grayed hair portrait hung on government offices and private businesses. During one Christmas holiday in our rural home, as I looked into my dad's high school and college books, I found Nyerere's book "Miaka Kumi Baada ya Azimio la Arusha". I read it despite not knowing exactly Ujamaa was at the time. Of course I was born after the Arusha Declaration of 1967 that made Tanzania a Socialist country in what Nyerere termed as "Ujamaa is Tanzania's unique form of Socialism" in yet another great book "Freedom and Socialism" which I read later on. Nyerere was not the only Tanzanian hero I knew while growing up. Edward Moringe Sokoine was another Tanzanian statesman whose remarkable leadership was told to me while I grew up. As an avid lover of history and politics, I read of this great Maasai man who served as Prime Minister of Tanzania on two occasions.

Reading yet another Tanzania history book "Maadili ya Taifa na Hatma ya Tanzania: Enzi kwa Mwalimu Julius K. Nyerere" by Ibrahim Mohamed Kaduma, he recalls in 1980 when Edward Moringe Sokoine vied for a seat in Monduli Constituency together with a driver in the Department of Livestock and who was his supervisor. This was the Tanzania of old when character and service was the drive for power and not money, wealth and status. Prime Minister Sokoine as is written was a man with character, love for the people, and one who wanted a better Tanzania. He condemned corruption and excessive capital accumulation - some allude his death to these principles that he stood for. Reading yet another book (I can't recall the title or the author), it is written that Edward Sokoine died in a car crash. Although it is believed that he survived the crash after a collision with a car driven by a South African man by the name Dumisani Dube, it is said the man finished him off. That is a story for another day. A man who spoke openly in support of equality for the ordinary Tanzanian passed away on 12 April, 1984. Thirty years on, the Tanzania he envisioned where government is free from corruption and without excessive and exuberant capital accumulation is still there. Without wealth, riches and glory that comes with status you cannot vie for an elective post and win, ask Torongey, the man who vied for the Chalinze seat with the President's son. You cannot get a job if you don't know somebody, electoral corruption is rampant. But again, he did his best in a short stint as Prime Minister and he remains a man of honor in Tanzania.       

 

Uhuru's new Foreign Policy Approach: Pragmatic or Precarious?

Nicodemus Minde

In one of his analysis of Kenya's new foreign policy approach under President Uhuru Kenyatta, Peter Kagwanja remarked that Kenya’s foreign policy is emerging and is reflecting an assertive new Africa-centred approach as the central plank of Nairobi’s regional and global policy. He was writing this in the regional paper, the East Africa soon after President Kenyatta took oath of office on April 9, 2013. Kenya has historically been the 'hub' of the region, as evidenced by the international presence such as the UN offices in Nairobi. 

When Kenya gained political independence in 1963, it took a pure capitalist approach based on the Western model. Her relations with the West were thus strengthened by this. Kenya became the darling of the West and a close ally unlike her East African neighbors, Tanzania and Uganda. Tanzania had taken up the socialist model, Ujamaa, which President Nyerere described as 'Tanzania's unique model of socialism.' Uganda under Milton Obote also pursed a similar path. It was no wonder that Tanzania strengthened her relations with the likes of China, USSR, and Cuba, who were all communist states. Under President Daniel Moi, Kenya's foreign policy was quite pragmatic due to the Cold War at the time. However, Kenya maintained close relations with the West particularly US and Britain. However, since 2002 as my colleague puts it "the Kibaki administration had been keen on expand the pool of international partners. China was one such available partner". This has seen Kenya adapt an Economic Diplomacy Foreign Policy Agenda which focuses largely on trade, bilateral and multilateral business partnerships. 

Uhuru Kenyatta, during his campaigns said he would "look East" upon his ascension to president. Foreign policy commentators and media saw his move was instigated by his indictment at the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes committed during Kenya's Post-poll Violence of 2007/2008. Coupled with the former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson remark that 'choices have consequences' warning Kenyans against electing an indictee president, Kenyatta administration was without doubt going to pursue a "look East" approach. 

US President Barack Obama, whose father was Kenyan, has skipped Kenya from his latest African tour. He visits Tanzania instead, to the dismay of many Kenyans, who view it as a snob. Obama through the foreign department has explained that he visits Tanzania for economic reasons and most recently the White House explained that the ICC cases facing Kenya’s top leaders are the reason why US President Barrack Obama is skipping Kenya during his Africa tour which kicks off Wednesday next week. Outspoken critic of Uhuru Kenyatta, Makau Mutua reiterated this in his column on Sunday Nation stating that Mr Obama is simply giving Mr Carson’s truism a nod.

President Kenyatta will embark on a tour to Japan, Russia and China in a move seen by many as a counter-check to the Obama snob and reiterating his "look East" approach. Kenyatta has proven to be quite an astute politician who tries to balance Kenya's relations without necessarily being seen as an 'anti-West' leader. He has to trade like this since he still has a pending a case at the ICC.    

The Trouble with Tanzania

Introduction

I am not wise enough to point out the trouble with Tanzania, neither am I old enough to even understand the complexity of Tanzanian history to state the trouble of Tanzania. Literature guru Chinua Achebe wrote the short précis of The Trouble with Nigeria in 1983 to explain the troubles that plagued the country ranging from vices of corruption, tribalism, the cult of mediocrity, indiscipline among others. A critical analysis of the 67 paged book by Achebe can be juxtaposed with the general trouble of the politics of the African societies. The failure of leadership was the underlying theme of the book that explained the demagoguery of Nigerian leadership which can narrate the other troubles that ail the country.

“The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership. There is nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian character. There is nothing wrong with the Nigerian land or climate of water or air or anything else. The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal example which are the hallmarks of true leadership.”  

The trouble in Nigeria as explained by Achebe is synonymous to the African political setting. As pointed out earlier, I am not wise or old enough to state the trouble with Tanzania, but I will try to place myself into the Tanzanian political and societal setting to explain what could be wrong with us. There is nothing wrong with the Tanzanian lad or climate or air. On the contrary, Tanzania is a blessed country in many fronts. Tanzania is the land of Kilimanjaro, the land of the great Serengeti; the land of Zanzibar, the land of Lake Tanganyika. Tanzania is blessed with abundant natural resources, good climate and weather. The people of Tanzania are beautiful and hospitable. Tanzania is the cradle of civilization. The Olduvai Gorge is one of the most important pale-anthropological sites in the world and has been instrumental in furthering the understanding of early human evolution. Tanzania is the home of Mwalimu Julius Nyerere; the great thinker of African Socialism as explained by the Ujamaa philosophy. 

There is nothing basically wrong with Tanzania as was conceived after the political merger of Tanganyika and Zanzibar in 1964. Tanzania’s problem is as Achebe explained a failure of leadership. This failure has resulted in a myriad of other troubles that I will try to explain in a series format.

Cowardice

William Shakespeare once said “Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.”

................Continues tomorrow.