Fikra za Mwalimu: Hizi hapa.. mzikubali au mzipinge!

[William J. Malecela]

We prefer to participate in the shaping of our own destiny, and we believe that we have the resolution and the ability to overcome difficulties and build the kind of society we want.

Nionavyo mimi fikra za Mwalimu kuhusu kubadilika kwa Afrika bado zina nguvu kubwa.Kwakweli waafrika tukitaka maendeleo ya kweli tunahitaji kubadilika.Tubadilike na tuachane na ubinafsi

Mkuu heshima mbele, Afrika haiwezi kubadilika just for the sake of kubadilika bila muongozo maalum, either kutoka kwa viongozi wake au kutoka kwa wananchi wake, sasa kama haya maneno ya Mwalimu ni ya kweli, basi Afrika ilitakiwa kuwapa wananchi wake nafasi ya kuweka mandate kwa viongozi wake of exactly what kind of change wanataka, that has not been the case so far,

Iwapo kuna kiongozi antaka kuleta mabadiliko lazima aweke muongozo unaokubalika, na kama haukubaliki ni lazima awaulize wananchi wanataka nini, lakini maneno ya change tu hayawezi kutusadia kitu, bina-adam ana tabia ya kuwa-comfortable mahali alipo, sasa kumbadili ni lazima utumie sheria, au siasa, lakini change! change! change! itasaidia nini, kama tunatka kuondoa ubinafsi dawa ni kuruhusu utawala wa sheria uchuke mkondo, lakini hatuwei kutegmnea waa-Afrika kubadilika ghafala na kuacha ubinafsi.

Yes, mawazo ya Mwalimu yana nafasi kubwa sana, lakini a change of what na under what conditions au under who's expense?

Ahsante Mkuu.

 

[KadaMpinzani]

Jamani eeh, naombeni kutoa hoja kwanza !

Lazima tukubali mchango wa Nyerere ni muhimu, na hiyo haina upinzani ! Lakini hiyo haimaniishi watu wasiwe na different views just because mwalimu alisema hivi na vile. Views zetu zinatakiwa zibadilike due to circumstances where/when needed. Kwa ufahamu wangu ni kwamba alitoa mchango mwingi lakini sio wote ambao watanzania wanaweza wakasema katika maisha yao yote wasiwe na views tofauti na zake, huo ni utapeli wa kisiasa tena na ujinga ! Tusikie hatua hii ya kumtukuza, but at the same time we have to respect his views and himself as well, and apply his views pale panapohitajika.
Tukiendelea hii tabia itafika wakati watu watakuja na mawazo bora zaidi kuliko hata hayo ya nyerere, na kuyadharau just because tuna ile imani ya kusema "nyerere alikuwa kiboko and cant be beat".

 

[Nyani Ngabu]

Mbona tayari watu wana different views kuhusu legacy yake...?

Mfano ni huu mjadala unaoendelea....we huoni tofauti yas views zilizopo?

 

[William J. Malecela]

Mkuu Kada,

Heshima mbele,

1. Heshima kwa Mwalimu hilo halina ubishi, I have a great respect kwake na all the good things he did kwa taifa letu, ninaaamini kuwa amefanya mengi sana mazuri kwa taifa letu, lakini pia kuna mapungufu, ambayo ndio hasa chanzo cha kudumaa kwetu kisiasa, kiuchumi, na hasa cha muhimu kuliko yote kisheria.

2. Change is always a good thing, lakini tatizo ni what change? Mkapa alipotoa hotuba yake ya kwanza baada ya kuapishwa kuwa rais, hivi unajua maneno aliyoyasema mkuu kuhusu change? Unakumbuka maneno ya Muungwana baada ya kuapishwa kuhusu change? Change iko wapi? Ni bin-adama gani unayemjua anayeweza kukubali change bila bakora nyuma?

3. Kinachoniudhi ni idea ya NEC Butiama, ya kusema kuwa sasa wamegundua kuwa wanahitaji kurudi kwenye maaandishi ya Mwalimu, na kwamba sasa watayachapisha na kuyasambaza, eti this way itasaidia something I do not even know ni nini, man! ninasema hivi Mwalimu, had his time, ametawala miaka 23, na hata akiwa nje ya urais bado ameeendelea kutawala, tizama tulipo, we had a chance kufanya mabadiliko, lakini tizama tunavyozidi kuzama, fisadi aliyethibitishwa na kamati ya kisheria ya bunge, eti ajiuzulu tu, that is it? hiyo ndio change?

I am a CCM, member lakini kwenye hili siko down kabisaa, maneno yanatakiwa yafanywe na vitendo, Mwalimu did what he could, sasa viongozi tulio nao sasa wanaposema kuwa turudi kwenye maneno ya Mwalimu, ina maana wameshindwa hawana mapya, basi watoke na kuwaachia wengine, lakini tusiendelee kudanganyana, tufike mahali tuambiane ukweli enough is enough!

Hapa tunajaribu kuelimishana kwa kutumia hoja, binafsi I am learning a lot, na ninategmea kujifunza more kuhusu maandishi ya Mwalimu, mimi nimeishi part of utawala wa Mwalimu, sasa ninasubiri kuona mazuri ambayo sikuyaona kwenye utawala wake, lakini yapo kwenye maneno yake na maandishi yake!

 

[Mtarajiwa]

How do we know that Nyerere was the best thing? See the problem I have with folks who regard Nyerere highly is that we don’t the alternatives, at his time, to make a logical, objective comparison. I am not even sure if we know Nyerere for who is or what he wanted Tanzanians to believe. He managed to create an aura of admiration and worship. He created an atmosphere where no one would question his ideas.

Remember the days when we couldn’t read anything other than Uhuru, Mzalendo, Daily News and Sunday News before Mfanyakazi came into existence to provide some kind of an entertainment relief? You remember the days when the 8:00 PM RTD news bulletin would be followed up by a “Ujumbe wa Leo” propaganda? I have to give it up to Nyerere. He ensured that Tanzanians couldn’t run or hide from his ideology. If you feed someone junk for twenty (20) years, they would believe that crap. He even went as far as insulting our intelligence by putting a hoe against himself in the election. A hoe or a hammer, can you believe that? Who elects a hoe as the president?

What ticked me off is the fact that he forced us to sing derogatory songs against Oscar Kambona. We sang this tune during our morning mchakamchaka routines in High School, “Kambona ameolewa! Wapi?! Wapi?! Uingereza!” Was Kambona really that bad? What is the historical truth?

Since I was born past the time Kambona took off, I had to dig into the history materials to find out for myself. This is what I found.

When the TANU National Executive Committee met in Arusha January 26-29 1967 it turned out to be a stormy session. At this meeting Nyerere proposed that Ujamaa become the official policy of the government. Oscar Kambona objected strongly to this policy. Twice during these sessions, the Executive Committee adjourned in order to allow their three leaders, Nyerere, Kambona and Kawawa to go into private session. Each time that they returned to the Executive Committee it was apparent that Kawawa had supported Nyerere to defeat Kambona. The result was that the Arusha Declaration was adopted.

Source: Maryknoll Africa

Mkuu hongera kwa kutofautiana na mleta hoja.Lakini na mimi naomba nitofautiane nawe kidogo.
Kwanza nikiri kwamba kwa sisi vijana wa miaka ya 80 wengi tunamjua Nyerere kwa simulizi tu,yaani hatujayaishi yale maisha ya uongozi wa Nyerere tukiwa tumeshapevuka kiakili.Lakini Historia nayo si haba kwani imetusaidia walau kumfahamu huyu Mzee.
Kama alivyosema MKJ ni kweli kuwa huyu Mzee hakuwa malaika.Alifanya makosa,yapo mengi tu.Hata mwenyewe alitambua hilo na kukiri.Lakini ukweli utabadi siku zote kuwa huyu Mzee alikuwa na nia ya dhati kabisa ya kumuondolea mtanzania umasikini.
Ni kweli kuwa ujamaa umefeli.Nani wa kulaumiwa??Nyerere.sawa!Hivi umeshawahi kujiuliza kwa nini China pamoja na ujamaa wao lakini wamepiga hatua kubwa sana kimaendeleo?Tatizo ni sera ya ujamaa au utekelezaji wa sera ya ujamaa?Nadhani mkuu utakuwa na data nyingi kwahiyo utaniweka sawa hapa.
Mimi nadhani hakuna mfumo wowote wa kisiasa/kiuchumi duniani ambao utamletea kila mwananchi maendeleo nyumbani kwake.Ubepari alioutaka Kambona ama Ujamaa wa Nyerere kila moja ina hasara na faida zake.Kama watanzania wangekuwa wazalendo hasa kwa nchi yao,wanaojituma,wachapakazi,siyo wabinafsi,siyo wala rushwa,siyo mafisadi,huu huu ujamaa ungetufanya tupige hatua kubwa kimaendeleo.

 

[Augustine Moshi]

Uzuri wa fikra za kiongozi unaonekana kwenye matendo yanayotokana na fikra hizo. Fikra za kiuongozi haziwezi kuwa nzuri "in abstract".

Ilikuwa fikra ya msingi ya Mwalimu kwamba wasikuobaliana naye wanavunja sheria za Tanzania. Aliwasweka ndani bila kuwapeleka mahakamani. Wengine aliwalazimisha kuishi Sumbawanga kwa kadiri ya hata miaka 10! Hii ni dhambi kubwa.

Kielimu, ilikuwa fikra ya Mwalimu kwamba ni lazima serikal ikamate, kwa nguvu, shule za madhehebu ya kidini. Na aliona ni vema akataze ujenzi wa shule za watu binafsi. Jamani hayo ni mawazo ya kukanyagwa! Si fikra za kushangilia.

Ilikuwa fkra ya msingi ya Mwalimu kwamba yeye tu ndiye awe na nguvu za kisiasa. Chombo chochote kilichoonekana kina nguvu ambazo hazitoki kwake alikivunjilia mbali. Hilo ndilo lilimfanya avunje vyama vya ushirika. Hasara ya uamuzi huo inatuathiri hadi leo.

Mwalimu alijiwekea nafasi ya kuamua hata ni nani awe mkuu wa kitu kidogo kama Idara ya Chuo Kikuu. Ni fikra za aina gani zinafanya mtu atake kuweka kila kitu chini yake? Ni udikteta?

Kuna baadhi ya Watanzania wana kasumba ya kuabudu yote aliyosema au kufanya Mwalimu. Hata Mwalimu mwenyewe hangependa kuona hayo yakifanyika.

 

[Madela Wa- Madilu]

Mwalimu aliongea kwa falsafa kubwa sana bila kuigeuza kuwa vitendo.
Akina Lee Kuan Yewe wa Singapore walikuwa na falsafa kama za Nyerere lakini wao walikwenda hatua 100 zaidi mbele kwa kugeuza Hotuba zao za majukwaani kuwa Shughuli halisi za uchumi.

Kam kuna mahali Nyerere alishindwa si katika kutangaza fikra zake ni katika kuzitimiliza.
Mwalimu alipenda waTanzania waendelee kwa kufuata maneno yake, lakini waktai huo huo Mwalimu alikuwa mgumu kupokea ushauri ulio kinyume na mawazo yake mwulizeni Edwin Mtei au Sir George Kahama.

Kosa la mwisho la mwalimu ni kuchagua aina ya siasa isiyotekelezeka kujenga ndoto zake. Uzuri ni kwamba baada ya miaka karibu 35 ya kuiongoza Tz mwenyewe alikiri kushindwa na kuachia ngazi.

kam kuna mtu anataka kudumisha Fikra za mwalimu Nyerere asituletee hotuba atupe mkakati kamili wa kiuchumi unao tafsiri Fikra hizo.
Kunukuu na kupamba maua maneno ya mwalimu na kujidai kuenzi fikra za mwalimu Nyerere bila kutoa maana halisi ya kiuchumi inayoweza fanyiwa kazi na wananchi walio wengini upuuzi na ni mambo yaliyo pitwa na wakati.

Tunataka Tafsiri halisi ya Fikra hizo katika nyanja zote za Maendeleo na uchumi wa nchi.

 

[Kuhani]

"We prefer to participate in the shaping of our own destiny, and we believe that we have the resolution and the ability to overcome difficulties and build the kind of society we want." J. Nyerere

Tafadhali Mwalimu! Wakati Nyerere anahubiri ujamaa na kujitegemea mchana, usiku alikuwa anaenda kuomba misaada Ulaya na China. Kwa hiyo, siyo tu fikra zake zilikuwa njozi, pia maneno yake hayakuendana na matendo. Mtu huyo mnamwitaje? Nikimwita anavyotakiwa nitachomwa moto kwa kumtukana Baba wa Taifa.

 

[Nyani Ngabu]

Mwalimu aliongea kwa falsafa kubwa sana bila kuigeuza kuwa vitendo.
Akina Lee Kuan Yewe wa Singapore walikuwa na falsafa kama za Nyerere lakini wao walikwenda hatua 100 zaidi mbele kwa kugeuza Hotuba zao za majukwaani kuwa Shughuli halisi za uchumi.

Kam kuna mahali Nyerere alishindwa si katika kutangaza fikra zake ni katika kuzitimiliza.
Mwalimu alipenda waTanzania waendelee kwa kufuata maneno yake, lakini waktai huo huo Mwalimu alikuwa mgumu kupokea ushauri ulio kinyume na mawazo yake mwulizeni Edwin Mtei au Sir George Kahama.

Kosa la mwisho la mwalimu ni kuchagua aina ya siasa isiyotekelezeka kujenga ndoto zake. Uzuri ni kwamba baada ya miaka karibu 35 ya kuiongoza Tz mwenyewe alikiri kushindwa na kuachia ngazi.

kam kuna mtu anataka kudumisha Fikra za mwalimu Nyerere asituletee hotuba atupe mkakati kamili wa kiuchumi unao tafsiri Fikra hizo.
Kunukuu na kupamba maua maneno ya mwalimu na kujidai kuenzi fikra za mwalimu Nyerere bila kutoa maana halisi ya kiuchumi inayoweza fanyiwa kazi na wananchi walio wengini upuuzi na ni mambo yaliyo pitwa na wakati.

Tunataka Tafsiri halisi ya Fikra hizo katika nyanja zote za Maendeleo na uchumi wa nchi.

Madela Madela Madela nsumba wane...umechokoza nyuki! Mwanakijiji akiiona hii post yako walahi hatasita kukufanyia kweli. Ohooooo....I hope uko tayari kuingia naye ulingoni na kuzipiga (kwa hoja, of course)

 

[Nyani Ngabu]

Mwalimu aliongea kwa falsafa kubwa sana bila kuigeuza kuwa vitendo.Akina Lee Kuan Yewe wa Singapore walikuwa na falsafa kama za Nyerere lakini wao walikwenda hatua 100 zaidi mbele kwa kugeuza Hotuba zao za majukwaani kuwa Shughuli halisi za uchumi.

Kam kuna mahali Nyerere alishindwa si katika kutangaza fikra zake ni katika kuzitimiliza.
Mwalimu alipenda waTanzania waendelee kwa kufuata maneno yake, lakini waktai huo huo Mwalimu alikuwa mgumu kupokea ushauri ulio kinyume na mawazo yake mwulizeni Edwin Mtei au Sir George Kahama.

Kosa la mwisho la mwalimu ni kuchagua aina ya siasa isiyotekelezeka kujenga ndoto zake. Uzuri ni kwamba baada ya miaka karibu 35 ya kuiongoza Tz mwenyewe alikiri kushindwa na kuachia ngazi.

kam kuna mtu anataka kudumisha Fikra za mwalimu Nyerere asituletee hotuba atupe mkakati kamili wa kiuchumi unao tafsiri Fikra hizo.
Kunukuu na kupamba maua maneno ya mwalimu na kujidai kuenzi fikra za mwalimu Nyerere bila kutoa maana halisi ya kiuchumi inayoweza fanyiwa kazi na wananchi walio wengini upuuzi na ni mambo yaliyo pitwa na wakati.

Tunataka Tafsiri halisi ya Fikra hizo katika nyanja zote za Maendeleo na uchumi wa nchi.

Naona hata Profesa Mazrui hapo penye rangi nyekundu anakubaliana na wewe au wewe unakubaliana naye....cheki hii article aliyoandika...

A memorial tribute to the late Julius Nyerere, one of Africa's few great statesmen.
By Ali Mazrui

When he was President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Julius Kambarage Nyerere's vision was bigger than his victories; his perception was deeper than his performance. In global terms, he was one of the giants of the 20th Century. Like all giants, he had both great insights and great blind spots. While his vision did outpace his victories, and his profundity outweigh his performance, he did bestride this narrow world like an African colossus.It is also one of the ironies of my life that Julius Nyerere and I first met neither in his country (Tanzania) nor in mine (Kenya). I first met Mwalimu Nyerere at what was then Makerere University College in Uganda. That was more than 30 years ago. He had done his homework before coming to the campus. I was at the time regarded as one of the rising stars of East Africa's academia. As soon as Nyerere and I were introduced in English, he switched into Kiswahili and said "Tunasikia sifa tu!" ["We have only been hearing of your praise!"]. He made my day!

Long before I became a professor at Makerere, Nyerere had himself been a student there. He later went to the University of Edinburgh for his master's degree. Makerere and Edinburgh prepared him for the title of Mwalimu (meaning "teacher") which he was to carry for the rest of his life. Young Julius entered the gates of Edinburgh University in October 1949.

Being both British-educated and having both been greatly influenced by Makerere were not the only bonds which Julius Nyerere and I had. After our first encounter on the Makerere campus, a complicated relationship developed.

As personalities, what did Julius Nyerere and I have in common? He was a politician who was sometimes a scholar. I was a scholar who was sometimes a politician. Indeed, President Obote once asked me in exasperation whether I knew the difference between being a political scientist and being a politician. Some of my public pronouncements in Uganda during Obote's first administration amounted to direct participation in the politics of Uganda. Nyerere shared some of Obote's exasperation with my political intrusion into matters of public policy.

Nyerere was particularly irritated when I published an article in the Journal of Commonwealth Studies in London accusing him of having unintentionally destroyed prospects for an East African Federation by his policies of socialism and economic nationalism. My article was titled "Tanzania versus East Africa: A Case of Unwitting Federal Sabotage". He conveyed his displeasure through the Principal of the University College of Dar es Salaam, Professor Pratt.

Nyerere and I had other areas of shared concern. He translated into Kiswahili two of Shakespeare's plays - Julius Caesar and the Merchant of Venice. He was making available to Africa the genius of another civilisation. It was in the same period that I published an article titled "Edmund Burke and Reflections on the Revolution in the Congo". Burke, the Anglo-Irish philosopher of the 18th Century (1729-1797) had never written on the Congo. What I had done in 1963 was to apply his ideas about the French Revolution of 1789 to the revolution in the Congo in 1960. In my own way, this was the equivalent of translating Shakespeare into Kiswahili.

In another scholarly article, I also "Africanised" the French philosopher, Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) by applying his ideas to African affairs. Nyerere and I were trying to build bridges between Africa and great minds of Western civilisation. While Nyerere 'Swahilised' Shakespeare, I Africanised Burke and Rousseau.

With his concept of Ujamaa, Nyerere also attempted to build bridges between indigenous African thought and modern political ideas. Ujamaa, which means "familyhood", was turned by Nyerere into a foundation for African Socialism. Ujamaa became the organising principle of the entire economic experiment in Tanzania from the Arusha Declaration of 1967 to the mid-1980s.

His relations with the Kenyan political elite deteriorated further and further. He found Attorney-General Charles Njonjo particularly distasteful and arrogant as a person and reckless in his attitudes towards Kenya's neighbours. Nyerere was fond of Mzee Kenyatta, but he thought Njonjo exercised disproportionate influence on the old man. Nyerere was not sure whether to be amused or outraged when Njonjo turned any discussion on Kenyatta's mortality into something close to a capital offence!

Nyerere was against turning rulers into gods - "Like the old Pharaohs of ancient Egypt." Making Kenyatta immortal was like turning him into a god.

Nyerere and I remembered the proposal which was made in 1964 to celebrate annually the day of Kenyatta's arrest by the British as "the Last Supper". There was such a strong negative reaction from Christian churches in Kenya against using the concept of "the Last Supper" in this way that the idea was dropped.

My own strongest disagreements with Nyerere concerned Zanzibar and Nigeria. Did Tanganyika unite with Zanzibar to form Tanzania under pressure from President Lyndon Johnson of the United States and Prime Minister Sir Alec Douglas Home of Britain who did not want Zanzibar to become another communist Cuba? Nyerere bristled when it was suggested that the union with Zanzibar was part of the Cold War and not a case of Pan- Africanism.

Nyerere's recognition of Biafra in the middle of the Nigerian civil war was another hot subject. I personally did not share the suspicion that Nyerere recognised Biafra because the Igbo were fellow Roman Catholics claiming to be threatened by Muslim Northerners in Nigeria. But I did believe in one Nigeria and therefore disagreed with Nyerere's policies. Nyerere also bristled if it was suggested that he was ungrateful to Nigeria which had helped him with his own army in1964, and wanted to create a new force.

Nyerere's involvement with Uganda was more direct. In 1971, did Julius Nyerere convince Milton Obote to leave Uganda and go to Singapore to attend the Commonwealth conference of Heads of State and government? Milton Obote had hesitated about going to Singapore because of the uncertain situation in Uganda. Did Nyerere tilt the balance and convince Obote that he was needed in Singapore to fight Prime Minister Edward Heath's policy towards apartheid South Africa? Obote's decision to go to Singapore was disastrous for himself and for Uganda. In Obote's absence, Idi Amin staged a military coup and overthrew Obote. Eight years of tyranny and terror in Uganda had begun.

I never succeeded in getting either Nyerere or Obote to confirm that it was Nyerere who convinced Obote to leave for Singapore. But we do know that Nyerere was so upset by the coup that he gave Obote unconditional and comfortable asylum in Tanzania. Nyerere also refused to talk to Idi Amin even if the policy practically destroyed the East African Authority which was supposed to oversee the East African Community. Was Nyerere feeling guilty for having made it easy for Amin to stage a coup by diverting Obote to Singapore?

I shall always remember Nyerere's speech in Tanzania upon his return from Singapore. I was in Kampala listening to him on the radio. Nyerere turned a simple question in Kiswahili into a passionate denunciation of Idi Amin. Nyerere's repeated question was "Serikali ni kitu gani?" ("What is government?"). This simple question of Political Science became the refrain of denouncing usurpation of power through a military coup. It was a powerful speech to his own people and against the new "pretenders" in Kampala.

I visited Milton Obote at his home in Dar es Salaam during his first exile. Obote and I discussed Idi Amin much more often than we discussed Julius Nyerere.

One of the major ironies of my life is that I was introduced to my own founder president of Kenya, Mzee Kenyatta, by President Obote before Amin's coup.

We were all at a major ceremony of the University of East Africa in Nairobi in the 1960s. I knew Obote far better than I knew Kenyatta. Obote took me to Kenyatta to introduce me!

In 1979, Nyerere paid his debt to Milton Obote. His army marched all the way to Kampala and overthrew the regime of Idi Amin. My former Makerere boss, Prof Yusufu Lule, succeeded Idi Amin as President of Uganda. But Nyerere was so keen on seeing Obote back in power that Nyerere helped to oust Lule. Was Nyerere trying to negate the guilt of having encouraged Obote to go to Singapore for the Commonwealth Conference way back in 1971? Was that why Nyerere was so keen to see Obote back in the presidential saddle of Uganda in the1980s?

Unfortunately, Obote's second administration was catastrophic for Uganda. He lost control of his own army, and thousands of people perished under tyranny and war. Was Julius Nyerere partly to blame?

"The two top Swahili-speaking intellectuals of the second half of the 20th Century are Julius Nyerere and Ali Mazrui". That is how I was introduced to an Africanist audience in 1986 when I was on a lecture-tour of the United States to promote my television series: The Africans: A Triple Heritage (BBC-PBS.) I regarded the tribute as one of the best compliments I had ever been paid. In reality, Mwalimu Nyerere was much more eloquent as a Swahili orator than I although Kiswahili was my mother tongue and not his.

In the month of Nyerere's death (October 1999), the comparison between the Mwalimu and I took a sadder form. A number of organisations in South Africa had united to celebrate Africa's Human Rights Day on October 22. Long before he was admitted to hospital, they had invited him to be their high-profile banquet speaker.

When Nyerere was incapacitated with illness, and seemed to be terminally ill, the South Africans turned to Ali Mazrui as his replacement. I was again flattered to have been regarded as Nyerere's replacement. However, the notice was too short, and I was not able to accept the South African invitation.

It is one of the ironies of my life that I have known the early Presidents of Uganda and Tanzania far better than I have known the Presidents of Kenya. Over the years, Julius Nyerere and I met many times. Milton Obote was one of the formative influences of my early life, inspite of our tumultuous relationship.

Ngugi wa Thiong'o (the novelist) and I were marginalised by the Kenyatta regime in spite of the fact that Ngugi and I wanted to become Kenyatta's literary biographers. When Daniel arap Moi was still Vice-President, I was considered a possible speech-writer for him in order to strengthen his credentials for the Presidency. I never played that role. Since he became President, the Moi regime and I have had an ambivalent relationship. I have never been formally introduced to him as President.

With Julius Nyerere and I, it was a bond of genuine ups and downs. Nyerere was once angry with me because I had written a citation for an honorary doctorate which was too long. The honorary doctorate was for an elderly American academic, and Nyerere was awarding the degree as Chancellor of the University of East Africa (which at that time consisted of the campuses of Makerere, Nairobi and Dar es Salaam).

As University Orator, I had written the citation, and was reading it as the elderly gentleman knelt before Nyerere. My oration was indeed too long. Nyerere did not speak to me that evening after the ceremony. He deliberately snubbed me. He had been disturbed that the elderly recipient of the honorary degree had to kneel for so long while I delivered the oration praising him. I had not struck the right balance. I felt truly chastised by the Mwalimu.

Let me also refer to Walter Rodney. He was a Guyanese scholar who taught at the University of Dar es Salaam and became one of the most eloquent voices of the left on the campus in Tanzania. When Walter Rodney returned to Guyana, he was assassinated.

Chedi Jagan, on being elected President of Guyana, created a special chair in honour of Walter Rodney. Eventually I was offered the chair and became its first incumbent. My inaugural lecture was on the following topic: "Comparative Leadership: Walter Rodney, Julius K. Nyerere and Martin Luther King Jr."

After delivering the lecture, I subsequently met Nyerere one evening in Pennsylvania, USA. I gave him my Walter Rodney lecture. He read it overnight and commented on it the next morning at breakfast. He promised to send me a proper critique of my Rodney lecture on his return to Dar es Salaam. He never lived long enough to send me the critique.

Nyerere's policies of Ujamaa amounted to a case of Heroic Failure. They were heroic because Tanzania was one of the few African countries which attempted to find its own route to development instead of borrowing the ideologies of the West. But it was a failure because the economic experiment did not deliver the goods of development.

On the other hand, Nyerere's policies of nation-building amount to a case of Unsung Heroism. With wise and strong leadership, and with brilliant policies of cultural integration, he took one of the poorest countries in the world and made it a proud leader in African affairs and an active member of the global community.

Julius Nyerere was my Mwalimu too. It was a privilege to learn so much from so great a man.

 

[Mtarajiwa]

Mkuu heshima mbele, Afrika haiwezi kubadilika just for the sake of kubadilika bila muongozo maalum, either kutoka kwa viongozi wake au kutoka kwa wananchi wake, sasa kama haya maneno ya Mwalimu ni ya kweli, basi Afrika ilitakiwa kuwapa wananchi wake nafasi ya kuweka mandate kwa viongozi wake of exactly what kind of change wanataka, that has not been the case so far,

Iwapo kuna kiongozi antaka kuleta mabadiliko lazima aweke muongozo unaokubalika, na kama haukubaliki ni lazima awaulize wananchi wanataka nini, lakini maneno ya change tu hayawezi kutusadia kitu, bina-adam ana tabia ya kuwa-comfortable mahali alipo, sasa kumbadili ni lazima utumie sheria, au siasa, lakini change! change! change! itasaidia nini, kama tunatka kuondoa ubinafsi dawa ni kuruhusu utawala wa sheria uchuke mkondo, lakini hatuwei kutegmnea waa-Afrika kubadilika ghafala na kuacha ubinafsi.

Yes, mawazo ya Mwalimu yana nafasi kubwa sana, lakini a change of what na under what conditions au under who's expense?

Ahsante Mkuu.

Sasa ndugu yangu huo muongozo unaoutaka kutoka kwa viongozi wa kiafrika ili uwabadilishe waafrika ni upi?Unazungumzia utawala wa sheria,utawala wa sheria utatoka wapi bila kwanza kuondoa ubinafsi kwa hizo mamlaka husika?Neno ubanafsi kwangu lina maana pana sana.Kama umesoma post yangu mpaka mwisho utakuwa umenipata.Ndugu yangu kwa kifupi huu usanii,ulaghai,wizi,ufisadi wote unasababishwa na ubinafsi tu,hakuna kingine.Manake ukishakuwa mbinafsi huwezi tena kufikiria kuwajali na wengine,huwezi kuwa na huruma na dhiki,shida,mateso na karaha zote zitakazotokana na kutokuwajibika kwako as long as maslahi yako,ya mkeo,ya mwanao,ya mshkaji yako intact.
Ubinafsi ndiyo umewafanya watu kama Chenge kuuleta na kuupitisha muswada wa takrima bungeni akijua kuwa rafiki zake watanufaika ama na yeye kesho na keshokutwa akiwa mgombea basi atanufaika nao.Ubanafsi ndiyo unawafanya viongozi wa kiafrika waibe mabilioni ya pesa kutoka nchi zao na kuyaficha nje,Ubinafsi ndiyo unawafanya viongozi wa kiafrika kushindwa kutenga pesa kidogo ili waboreshe huduma za afya katika hospitali zetu na watibiwe ndani ili kuepuka gharama na badala yake wanatumia mamilioni ya shilingi kwenda kutafuta matibabu nje ya nchi,Ubinafsi ndiyo umewafanya Mkapa na Yona wajiuzie kinyemela ile Kiwira coal mine,Ubinafsi ndiyo umewafanya viongozi wetu wasaini mkataba wa kihuni wa Richmond etc etc
Sasa ndugu yangu unategemea watu kama hawa wakuletee mikakati madhubuti ya kuondoa umaskini tanzania?
Ndiyo maana nikasema wote tubadilike sasa.Waanze viongozi kuuacha ubinafsi kisha tufuatie na sisi ili tupige hatua za kweli kuelekea maendeleo.

 

[William J. Malecela]

Kama alivyosema MKJ ni kweli kuwa huyu Mzee hakuwa malaika.Alifanya makosa,yapo mengi tu.Hata mwenyewe alitambua hilo na kukiri.Lakini ukweli utabadi siku zote kuwa huyu Mzee alikuwa na nia ya dhati kabisa ya kumuondolea mtanzania umasikini.

Mkuu heshima mbele, ninakubali sana unayosema, tatizo langu ninaomba mnionyeshe hotuba moja tu ya Mwalimu, aliyo-break down makosa yake, kwa sababu ninaaamini tukiipata hiyo itakuwa rahisi sana kufanya marekebisho kwa taifa sasa, na hata kuwabebesha lawama 100%, viongozi wetu wa sasa, kwa sababu pamoja na kwamba viongozi wetu wa sasa wanastahili lawama kwa matatizo ya taifa tuliyonayo, bado wanayo nafasi ya kujitetea kuwa mengine mengi wamerithi kutoka kwa Mwalimu, siasa inakubali hilo la kutupia lawama mwingine au wa chini yako kwa makosa yako, as long as unajua kupanga hoja, na una ukweli angalau nusu.

Ni kweli kuwa ujamaa umefeli.Nani wa kulaumiwa??Nyerere.sawa!Hivi umeshawahi kujiuliza kwa nini China pamoja na ujamaa wao lakini wamepiga hatua kubwa sana kimaendeleo?Tatizo ni sera ya ujamaa au utekelezaji wa sera ya ujamaa?Nadhani mkuu utakuwa na data nyingi kwahiyo utaniweka sawa hapa.

Mkuu mimi sina dataz zozote, lakini I have lived Mwalimu's policies, nimezisoma primary, secondary, JKT, sasa tatizo likawa what is next? Hakuna! U-China, nimefika na nimekaa sana Shangai, karibu miezi mitatu baada ya meli yangu kuharibika pale, nilichooona licha ya kusoma then, ilikuwa baiskeli tupu mji mzima, niliona wananchi asubuhi wakijipanga mbele ya ofisi zao na kufanyua mazoezi ya viungo, I mean wote kama vile ukiwa Urabuni saa za kuswali, watu wote huinama, yes I was impressed na ile nidhamu ya taifa ya kufanya mazoezi, Wa-china wote walikuwa hawali chumvi wala mafuta, walikatazwa na Mao, sasa nikajiuliza sisi bongo vipi? Hii ilikuwa 1985, all you could see mjini Dar ni magari ya kisasa kila kona, sasa China kulikuwa na somekind ya national's nidhamu,

Besides, hawa viongozi wa China, unawaona sasa hakuna wa kubahatisha au kutumia ujanja ujanja, karibu wote wamekuwa viongozi wa muda mrefu, rekodi zao zinafahamika, na line ya kuachiana uongozi huko iko clear, na kumbuka Mao was a serious leader hakuwa na mchezo kwenye kupitisha ides zake, wao wana kitu kimoja muhimu sana alichokiweka Mao, nacho ni heshima kwa sheria, pamoja na mengine yote mazuri yao, cha muhimu kuliko yote wanaheshimu sheria, kiongozi akiiba ni risasi mbele ya umma, that helps a lot kwenye utekelezaji wa sera, badala sisi umeharibu hapa kwenye uwaziri unaenda kuwa balozi nje, sasa unashangaa kwa nini tuko hapa au ujamaa umeshindwa? Enzi zile watoto wote wa wananchi ni kusoma bongo tu, isipokuwa watoto wa viongozi kusoma nje, sasa unashangaa kwa nini sasa wanakuwa viongozi wetu kama baba zao?

Mimi nadhani hakuna mfumo wowote wa kisiasa/kiuchumi duniani ambao utamletea kila mwananchi maendeleo nyumbani kwake..Kama watanzania wangekuwa wazalendo hasa kwa nchi yao,wanaojituma,wachapakazi,siyo wabinafsi,siyo wala rushwa,siyo mafisadi,huu huu ujamaa ungetufanya tupige hatua kubwa kimaendeleo.

Ujamaa usingeweza kupiga hatua kubwa bongo kwa sababu aliyeuleta hakuwa very serious kwenye kuu-implemment, hivi unajua Mao aliua wananchi wangapi kuuweka ujamaa? Mfumo hauwezi kumletea kila mwananchi faida, lakini angalau unampa kila mwananchi nafasi ya kujaribu, badala ya viongozi tu na watoto wao, na wafanya biashara za viongozi hao hao wanaolilia ujamaa, huku wakituchezea wananchi. Mengine mengi uliyosema ni kweli tupu, wananchi wabinafsi, wavivu na rest, lakini hizi tabia walizitoa kwa viongozi wetu, au kutokana namziangara ya kisasa tuliyokuwa nayo, rushwa ilianzia juu hadi chini, lakini ukweli ni kwamba wananchi wa Tanzania, tumechezewa vya kutosha, somnething has to happen now, lakini sio ya kusema kurudia maneno na maandishi ya Mwalimu, kwa sababu China sasa hivi hawarudii maneno ya Mao, ila wanatekeleza pmaoja na modifications nyingi walizoziweka on it,

Kumbuka Ping, alikuwa ni mfuasi wa karibu wa Mao, Chuo-en lai, kina Hua-guofeng, wale walikuwa wafuasi wa karibu na Mao, na wote walikuwa wtu makini wenye mawazo very independent, na hata ukisoma vitabu vya China, utaona kuwa hawakusita hata siku moja kumwambia ukweli Mao, the matter of fact kuna wakati hata walimpunguzia madaraka, walipooona anaanza kukosa muelekeo!

Ahsante Mkuu!

 

[Mkandara]

Pamoja na mengi mazuri ya Mwalimu lazima nikubaliane na Field Marshall Es alipoandika haya:-
Yes yanayotukuta sasa, mengi ni uzembe wetu wenyewe kibin-adam, as a nation, lakini kisiasa ni lazima kuwe na someone to point a fingure at..

Hapa mkuu nipo nawe mia kwa mia..samahani kwa kuwarudisha nyuma.

Nyerere Kisiasa alitumaliza kabisaaaaaaaaa na ndio maana tumeshindwa kufanya mageuzi ya Kiuchumi kwani hadi leo siasa zetu ndizo zinaongoza hali ya uchumi...
Pamoja na mazuri yote ya Azimio la Arusha chini ya chama kimoja hapakuwepo na haja ya kutokea tena Azimio la Zanzibar wala kuendelea kulienzi Azimio hilo ambalo limejengwa na baadhi ya watu wachache toka chama kimoja...

 

[Bikirembwe]

Mwanakijiji kabla sijachangia nauliza jee mambo yaliyofanyika wakati wa uongozi wake na kuyabariki tuyaingize katika fikra na mawazo yake?

 

[Kuhani]

Huyu Profesa Mazrui naye michosho. Ukianza kumchambua kiongozi kwa kukumbuka ulivyokunywa nae chai huwa nashindwa kuendelea kusoma kwa sababu ushanionyesha unavyo muabudu. Hivyo ni vigumu ukawa na usawa katika maoni yako. Lakini nimevumilia nimemsoma kwa sababu umetumia nguvu zako kutuwekea hiyo makala. Kasema Nyerere alimnunia kwa sababu alimuandikia ki utambulisho kirefu kupita kiasi na yeye bifu yake kubwa na Nyerere ni vita vya Biafra na sababu za kweli za muungano. Kwa hiyo hawa ni wapenzi, issue zao anazotueleza ni cha mtoto.

Sasa huyu Mazrui ni mmoja wa wataalam, viongozi wa maoni ya Historia na Siasa za Tanzania, halafu anachoweza kutuambia kuhusu Nyerere ni bifu za Biafra, Nigeria na nadharia za njama za Muungano (eti Lyndon Johnston ndio alimshurutisha Nyerere aungane na Zanzibar). Kwa hiyo ukiwa unamjua Nyerere kupitia wataalam kama hawa lazima uandamane kutaka tumfanya mtakatifu.

Mtakatifu Nyerere alikuwa ana sheria inaitwa 'Preventive Detention Act' inayosema unaweza kufungwa bila mashitaka kama usalama wakishuku wewe ni mchochezi! Mwinyi, Mkapa na Kikwete hawajawahi kuitumia hii sheria.

Mtakatifu mng'atukaji alitawala miaka ishirini na hamsa mpaka alipoona siasa zake zimeshindwa -hakusema ngoja niachie wengine, alisema siasa zake zimeshindwa. Vinginevyo angeendelea?).

Mtakatifu Nyerere alikuwa anahamisha wafisadi toka idara moja kwenda nyingine. Masoo ya mashirika ya mazao, mnakumbuka?

Mhenga wa siasa, Mtakatifu Nyerere, alimtukana Mwinyi ananuka rushwa badala ya kutubu kwa Watanzania kwa kumleta huyo mnuka rushwa. Halafu akawa na kibri cha kupendekeza Mkapa wakati kesha haribu kwa kuleta mtu ambaye alikuja kumuita mnuka rushwa.

Tafadhali Mwalimu!

 

[KadaMpinzani]

wazee ! Kamwe hatuwezi kurecycle views za mwalimu kama views nzuri zaidi zipo LAKINI ukweli unabaki kwamba mzee nyerere alikuwa na nia njema na tanzania. Hiyo haina ubishi !

But at this particular time HAKUNA CHOCHOTE KILICHOSHAURIWA TOKA NYERERE AFE KIKAWA KIZURI ZAIDI zaidi ya yale aliyosimamia mwalimu nyerere. (mtazamo wangu)!! Na kwa mtaji huu wa viongozi ambao ni waroho wa madaraka chama tawala na wapinzani, then my conclusion is NOBODY ROCKS LIKE NYERERE !!!! cant beat it better than he did !

 

[KadaMpinzani]

Huyu Profesa Mazrui naye michosho. Ukianza kumchambua kiongozi kwa kukumbuka ulivyokunywa nae chai huwa nashindwa kuendelea kusoma kwa sababu ushanionyesha unavyo muabudu. Hivyo ni vigumu ukawa na usawa katika maoni yako. Lakini nimevumilia nimemsoma kwa sababu umetumia nguvu zako kutuwekea hiyo makala. Kasema Nyerere alimnunia kwa sababu alimuandikia ki utambulisho kirefu kupita kiasi na yeye bifu yake kubwa na Nyerere ni vita vya Biafra na sababu za kweli za muungano. Kwa hiyo hawa ni wapenzi, issue zao anazotueleza ni cha mtoto.

Sasa huyu Mazrui ni mmoja wa wataalam, viongozi wa maoni ya Historia na Siasa za Tanzania, halafu anachoweza kutuambia kuhusu Nyerere ni bifu za Biafra, Nigeria na nadharia za njama za Muungano (eti Lyndon Johnston ndio alimshurutisha Nyerere aungane na Zanzibar). Kwa hiyo ukiwa unamjua Nyerere kupitia wataalam kama hawa lazima uandamane kutaka tumfanya mtakatifu.

Mtakatifu Nyerere alikuwa ana sheria inaitwa 'Preventive Detention Act' inayosema unaweza kufungwa bila mashitaka kama usalama wakishuku wewe ni mchochezi! Mwinyi, Mkapa na Kikwete hawajawahi kuitumia hii sheria.

Mtakatifu mng'atukaji alitawala miaka ishirini na hamsa mpaka alipoona siasa zake zimeshindwa -hakusema ngoja niachie wengine, alisema siasa zake zimeshindwa. Vinginevyo angeendelea?).

Mtakatifu Nyerere alikuwa anahamisha wafisadi toka idara moja kwenda nyingine. Masoo ya mashirika ya mazao, mnakumbuka?

Mhenga wa siasa, Mtakatifu Nyerere, alimtukana Mwinyi ananuka rushwa badala ya kutubu kwa Watanzania kwa kumleta huyo mnuka rushwa. Halafu akawa na kibri cha kupendekeza Mkapa wakati kesha haribu kwa kuleta mtu ambaye alikuja kumuita mnuka rushwa.

Tafadhali Mwalimu!

unanitia shombo unapomwita nyerere, mtakatifu ! *sniff sniff*. this also pisses me off to the maxima ! HAKUNA BINADAMU ALIYE MTAKATIFU, pleaseeeeeeeeee ! Lets not go there ! He was a wise man, mkarimu lakini sio mtakatifu !

 

[Mkandara]

Kuhani Mkuu,
Mkuu hata Yesu alimpendekeza Petro kuwa na Ufunguo wa dini na ndiye aloiyesemekana kumkana Yesu jogoo la pili..pamoja na makali yote ya Petro kumkata sikio askari aliyejaribu kumkamata Yesu..
Yesu aliwachagua pia kina Yuda na kadhalika na hata ukirudi nyuma ktk historia za viongozi wote mashujaa duniani walifanya maksa makubwa kutika kurithisha uongozi ikiwa ni pamoja na hata Pharaoh achana mbali kina Julius Kaezali.
Hivyo basi sii swala la Nyerer alimchagua nani isipokuwa ni pale sisi wenyewe tulipokosa sauti ya kukataa kwa sababu ya siasa za mwalimu pamoja na hali yetu sisi akina Ndivyo tulivyo kwani China waliweza kuwakataa viongozi waliofuata baada ya Mao Tse Tung na kudai mageuzi.. toka ndani ya chama hicho hicho wakatokea mashujaa ambao leo tunaona faida ya kutotawaliwa kiakili..

2. Umezungumzia pia kuwa Nyerere alikuwa na sheira inayoitwa Preventive Detention act... mbona nchi kibao duniani zina sheria hiyo hadi leo hii?...
Mkapa na Mwinyi hawakuzifanya hizi kwa sababu wao ukituhumiwa tu basi KIFO bila hukumu ndio solution, wakati wa Mwinyi na Mkapa wameondoka wengi mkuu tena bila aibu wala msalie.

 

[Ogah]

Yes Mwl JKN hakuwa malaika lakini hakufikia kiwango cha kutuambia

1.You can go to hell
2. Kila mtu ataubeba mzigo wake mwenyewe (Elimu)
3. Mtakula Nyasi...ndege ya Rais lazima inunuliwe
4. tuuze rasilimali + mashirika yetu (yes mengine yalistahili kuuzwa lakini sio yote)
5. Kuruhusu upuuzi wa mikataba ya Madini unaoendelea hadi sasa
6. Mikataba ya ajabu ajabu............youname it

and on and on

Running a country is not a one man show or a show of few selected.............One need to have an idea and appreciate it (borrowing ideas its not a bad thing), sell the idea and then put it into practice.......for the benefit of all

hata mawazo ya kibepari nayo tumekopa pia........ona sasa tunavyopelekeshana na UFISADI......kila leo ukigeuka kila kona ni UFISADI!!

The point is one has to appreciate the sera/idea prior to its implementation phase.

Na huu UTITIRI wa shule binafsi mnaoupigania hapa na usio na udhibiti sijui mnataka kutujengea Taifa la aina gani............one need to come out and substantiate his/her arguments kuhusu benefits ya huu UTITIRI wa shule binafsi against what we had before (ambazo mpaka leo ndio zinazofanya vizuri kielimu)...............hata hivyo mbona shule binafsi zilikuwepo

 

[Nyani Ngabu]

Yes Mwl JKN hakuwa malaika lakini hakufikia kiwango cha kutuambia

1.You can go to hell
2. Kila mtu ataubeba mzigo wake mwenyewe (Elimu)
3. Mtakula Nyasi...ndege ya Rais lazima inunuliwe
4. tuuze rasilimali + mashirika yetu (yes mengine yalistahili kuuzwa lakini sio yote)
5. Kuruhusu upuuzi wa mikataba ya Madini unaoendelea hadi sasa
6. Mikataba ya ajabu ajabu............youname it

and on and on

Running a country is not a one man show or a show of few selected.............One need to have an idea and appreciate it (borrowing ideas its not a bad thing), sell the idea and then put it into practice.......for the benefit of all

hata mawazo ya kibepari nayo tumekopa pia........ona sasa tunavyopelekeshana na UFISADI......kila leo ukigeuka kila kona ni UFISADI!!

The point is one has to appreciate the sera/idea prior to its implementation phase.

Na huu UTITIRI wa shule binafsi mnaoupigania hapa na usio na udhibiti sijui mnataka kutujengea Taifa la aina gani............one need to come out and substantiate his/her arguments kuhusu benefits ya huu UTITIRI wa shule binafsi against what we had before (ambazo mpaka leo ndio zinazofanya vizuri kielimu)...............hata hivyo mbona shule binafsi zilikuwepo

Nani alsema 'go to hell'...?