The Fading Face of Mwalimu Speech by John Ulanga, at the 15th Annual Mwalimu Nyerere's Memorial Symposium at Don Bosco College, Moshi, Tanzania
Saturday, October 18th, 2014
Opening Remarks
Goodmorning!
After all that has been said about me, I should admit that I am a bit scared that I may not be able to fulfill your expectations. I feel like your level of expectations has been raised so high above such that there is no way I can fulfill them.
However, I should say that the reason I accepted without any hesitation to come and speak to you this morning is not because of what has been said about what I do or who I am, no!
I accepted to come today because I always feel very excited whenever I get an opportunity to speak to young people like you. Because I hope that out of so many of you, if I could inspire only three of you, they may do great things in our society!
I also accepted this invitation because I am passionate about Mwalimu Nyerere. I would recall when I was probably younger than you; I made sure I listened to the last speech Mwalimu Nyerere made as the President of the United Republic of Tanzania at the United Nations General Assembly in September 1985 although because of the time difference, it was about 11.00 p.m. in Tanzania! I think I have read all the books he wrote, I have listened to all his speeches that are available, and I have over 700 pictures of Mwalimu. Having read all his books, I have extracted close to 600 quotes from them.
It is because of all that, I agreed to come and share my thoughts and ideas with you this morning.
1 Introduction
On 14 October, 2014 Tanzania marked 15 years without the person we call the Father of our Nation, Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere; we marked 15 years of his passing.For those of us who were old enough to remember, we remember the exact moment we were when we heard the news of his passing. We remember the events that followed his passing; we remember the emotions, the fears and disbelief that engulfed our country.
I personally stood by Mandela road when his body was returned from the UK. I saw the hundreds of young men who ran all the way from the airport to Msasani alongside the casket; the hundreds of men and women who wept and cried helplessly when the gun carriage car that carried the casket carrying Mwalimu's body was passing by. I was again along the road, this time, corner of Samora Avenue and Morogoro Road when the gun carriage car was passing from St. Joseph's Cathedral Church to the then National Stadium for Mwalimu Nyerere's body to lay in state to allow people to pay their last respects. I remember this time, people were not crying as much as they were; at least on the part of the city I was standing. They were singing, Muslims and Christians alike, "Parapanda italia parapanda…"
The next day I left home at 1.00 a.m. to go to the National Stadium in order to pay my last respects to Mwalimu. I had to go at that strange hour because if I had gone in the afternoon, I would have stood in the queue for hours before I could get the opportunity to pay my respects. By going at that time, at least I spent only an hour or so before getting that opportunity. For me, it was the first time I got that close to Mwalimu Nyerere. I got an opportunity to pay my last respects to someone I thought was a larger than life figure; someone I adored, I respected, I admired, I revered, I hoped would live for long. And yet, he was gone; just like that. I believe that my experience represents that of millions of Tanzanians then, young and old, women and men, rich and poor.
Having said that, 15 years on, how have the years been without him? Have the people and the country he loved so dearly, lived up to the values and expectations left by Mwalimu? If Mwalimu was to come back today, what would he see? Would he be proud of what he would see now? In interrogating these questions, one needs first to respond to two broad questions; who was Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere? And what did Mwalimu Nyerere stand for?
2 Who was Mwalimu Julius Nyerere?
In describing who Mwalimu was, I am not going to talk about his personal life since I know that last year you had Rosemary Nyerere, his daughter, as a guest speaker who I believe must have told you enough about his personal life, or political career that consumed most of his life, and most of us already know that part well. I am going to attempt describing him from a set of attributes that I believe he possessed and which I think are the ones that defined him and his career. The following are what I believe are the attributes he possessed:
2.1 An Intellectual
Mwalimu Nyerere was an intellectual in a real sense of the word. He enjoyed learning, reading, and writing. Besides the fact that he was the first Tanzanian/Tanganyikan to obtain a Master's Degree, but his learning journey started long before that and continued long after that. He wrote his first piece of academic thinking in 1944, when he was 22 years. Ever since he has written a lot about his thinking, his ideas, and his philosophy. He is probably the only Tanzanian to have translated two Shakespeare plays (Merchants of Venice and Julius Caesar).
Recently I got an opportunity to visit Mwalimu Nyerere's residence in Butiama, and one of the special places that his son Madaraka allowed me to go into was Mwalimu's private library that has over 8,000 titles/books that Mwalimu had read all of them. Now imagine that out of his 77years of life, he spent say 60 years reading books. That means, to finish 8,000 titles, he must have been reading at least 130 books every year for 60 years! This is an average of between two to three books per week, for 60 years non-stop!
He also emphasized the need to inculcate the culture of reading amongst our young people in which he said:
"I think we have to try very hard in Tanzania to cultivate the habit of reading among our young people and among our newly literate citizens. It is a fact which we must recognize, that in dealing with the modern world, children in Europe have two big advantages over our own children. One is the familiarity with mechanical things; the other, and perhaps even more important one, is the familiarity with books. [1]"
Mwalimu Nyerere was awarded at least 21 PhD from 21 different Universities of the World.
He was a real intellectual.
2.2 Visionary
Mwalimu Nyerere was a visionary, he always had a vision of what he wanted to be and achieve, and what he would like the country to be and achieve. If you listen to his speeches, you could feel clearly that he was a man with a clear vision of the future, and worked to realize his vision.
Having a vision of what you want to achieve or become is critical to one's success in life.
2.3 Of High Integrity
Mwalimu Nyerere was a person of high integrity. He was true to himself and never used his position for personal gain. He had all the opportunity to use his intellect, his position, his foresight for his personal gain, he never did that. He actually warned against the use of education to accumulate wealth when he said:
"We can try to cut ourselves from our fellows on the basis of the education we have had; we can try to carve out for ourselves an unfair share of the wealth of the society. But the cost to us, as well as to our fellow citizens, will be very high. It will be high not only in terms of satisfactions forgone, but also in terms of our own security and well-being.[2]"
This week, Africa lost one of yet its other great son, Prof. Ali Mazrui, who died on Monday October 13, 2014. Prof. Ali Mazrui was a friend but also a critique of Mwalimu Nyerere. He differed with Mwalimu on many fronts, but three days after Mwalimu's death, on October 17, 1999, he wrote an article that came out on the Daily Nation of Kenya, and among other things, he said:
"Above all, Nyerere as President was a combination of deep intellect and high integrity. Leopold Senghor's intellect was as deep as Nyerere's, but was Senghor's integrity as high as Nyerere's? Nelson Mandela's integrity was probably higher than Nyerere's, but was Mandela's intellect as deep as Nyerere's?"
2.4 Humble
Mwalimu Nyerere was humble. Despite the fact that he was highly educated and attained a political position that gave him privileges for the rest of his life. Still, Mwalimu lived a simple life, and respected people for who they are. I had the privilege recently to visit Butiama and visited the house that Mwalimu lived for over 15 years while he was the President. It was such a simple house which has no even a security fence. You could not tell any difference between that house and the other houses in the village!
2.5 God Fearing
Mwalimu Nyerere was God fearing. He was religious and he used religion to give him his moral standing and compass. Recently, a Catholic Priest who used to be at St. Joseph's Cathedral Church told his congregation of the shock he got one Sunday afternoon, without any notice, when Mwalimu went to Church and requested for a confession session and insisted that much as he is the President of the country but he is just like any other believer and needed to confess his sins on that day.
Recently, I was also talking to one Prof. Brian Van Arkadie who worked as an advisor to the Government of Tanzania in the late 60's up to 70's and I asked him as to what informed Mwalimu's economic theories and approaches; he identified two factors, among others; he was influenced by what was going on in China, and his Catholic egalitarianism (sense of equality of and among all people).
3 What did Mwalimu Stand for?
Having looked briefly at the attributes of Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, let us now examine briefly what did Mwalimu stand for? Someone's stand is important in defining what he/she does, where he/she dedicates his/her efforts, what are they ready to fight or die for? They say that if you don't stand for something, you can fall for anything. As some of you may know, when Nelson Mandela and his colleagues were tried during what came to be known as the Rivonia Trial, as he was already convicted and was about to be sentenced, he was invited to say anything before the judge sentenced them. He used that opportunity to say what he stood for, and the following is an extract of his speech:
"During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."
This showed what Mandela stood for, and what he was prepared to die for.
What did Mwalimu stand for?
3.1 Leadership as Service to the people
Mwalimu strongly believed in the fact that leadership is about service to the people, and not vice versa. And he stood by that. He therefore dedicated his life and his energy in serving the people of Tanzania, and that is why we all would still remember him with pride since we all knew that he never used his position for any other purpose except service to his people and his country. In a speech to Parliament in 1965, he said:
"Politics is, and must be looked upon as a field of service, not as a means of earning a living [3]".
3.2 Development is about people
Mwalimu had a strong conviction that development is about people therefore all efforts for development has to be efforts to develop an individual and his ability to master his environment. It is for that reason; he did put a lot of emphasis in education and health service provision because he knew that those will have a direct impact on the quality of life of people. He also believed that if development is about people, then people should be involved in deciding what is important for them. Hence, participation was critical in determining development priorities of the people. Below are some of Mwalimu's position statements on development that signifies his stand:
"People are both the purpose and means of development.[4]"
"I am not an expert on anything: certainly not on development. I am only a crier in the wilderness that development is about people: they are the purpose, the creators and the beneficiaries of anything deserving the name development. Further, people cannot be developed by others; they can only develop themselves![5]"
"Development is about people. It is about an extension of the well-being of people and their social as well as economic and personal. It is, therefore, about human dignity, and the expansion of the human personality – the fulfillment of the unique potential of each human being.[6]"
"Development is about people, because it is about people, development cannot mean that the people directly affected are disregarded, ignored, or not brought into consultation about the changes modern life is forcing upon us all.[7]"
"Development is a process which enables human beings to realize their potential, build self-confidence, and lead lives of dignity and fulfillment. It is a process which frees people from the fear of want and exploitation. It is a movement away from political, economic, or social oppression. But a nation is its people. Development has, therefore, to be an effort of, by, and for the people.[8]"
"True development has to be people-centred. And it has to be designed to secure what the people themselves perceive to be their social and economic interests.[9]"
"To measure a country's wealth by its gross national product is to measure things, not satisfactions.[10]"
For Tanzanian environment, Mwalimu's emphasis was on developing farmers and the rural areas because that is where most of the people are. He therefore put a lot of his efforts to try to ensure that the rural areas are empowered to develop. The attempts for the creation of Ujamaa Villages were one such attempt to find best ways to ensure social and economic services reach people in the rural areas. Some of his position statements on his thinking on this issue are here below:
"If our farmers are ignorant, conservative and backward, then our nation will be ignorant, conservative and backward. Unless our farmers have the knowledge and attitudes which encourage progress to a better life, then all the fine buildings of the towns, the good roads, and everything else, will be like the handful of fresh fish with which a dishonest salesman tries to cover up the smell of the rotten fish underneath [11]..."
"…while other people can aim at reaching the moon, and while in the future we might aim at reaching the moon, our present plans must be directed at reaching the villages [12]…"
3.3 Value-based leadership
Mwalimu stood for value-based leadership. I had a privilege to recently talk to a couple of senior citizens who worked with Mwalimu, two of them having being in the first cabinet of independent Tanganyika. They all reiterated Mwalimu's strong stance on value-based leadership. During his first cabinet meeting, Mwalimu spoke to his cabinet Ministers on what he was expecting from them. His emphasis was to urge them to shun away from corrupt practices and indecent conduct. This is what Mwalimu said about corruption in 1960:
"…I think corruption must be treated with ruthlessness because I believe myself corruption and bribery is a greater enemy to the welfare of a people in peacetime than war. I believe myself corruption in a country should be treated in almost the same way as you treat treason. If people cannot have confidence in their own Government, if people can feel that justice can be bought, then what hope are you leaving with the people?[13]"
And I know that we are all aware of the fight against corruption that Mwalimu led during his tenure in office.
3.4 Visionary Leadership
We know that the main roles of any good leader are to provide vision, direction and hope to his people, and this is what Mwalimu stood for; he provided Vision for our country: Vision for Africa Liberation, and Vision to build an equitable society in Tanzania. In order to achieve that vision, he provided direction – the path through which we needed to take to reach to our destination. And when the going seemed very hard, he stepped in and provided hope that despite the difficulties we were facing, still our vision was clear and our direction was right. His 1958 speech in the Legislative Assembly that Tanganyika would like to light a torch and put it on top of Mount Kilimanjaro was an excellent stipulation of a Vision for African Liberation, and the Arusha Declaration of 1967 was a robust stipulation of a vision for building an equitable and self-reliant nation.
3.5 African Liberation and African Unity
Mwalimu Nyerere stood for African Liberation and African Unity. We do know of how much Mwalimu personally took a risk in supporting the independent struggles in Southern Africa. I had the privilege recently of talking to Judge Joseph Warioba, Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim, General Mirisho Sarakikya and General Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of Nigeria, and I got to hear of how Mwalimu took personal initiatives to ensure that all Southern African States become free. Through his conviction, Tanzania as a whole was committed to supporting independence movements in Southern Africa. Mwalimu even said that Tanzania's independence will not be complete if the rest of Africa is not free.
Mwalimu also stood for African Unity, at regional and continental levels. Mwalimu was ready and prepared to delay Tanzania's independence in order for the three East African States of Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania to become free at the same time and unite though he sadly found out that the others were not ready. Mwalimu was among the Founding Fathers of Organisation of African Unity(OAU). Even after his retirement from office, and having achieved the goal of African Liberation, he still challenged African Leaders to work for African Unity:
"The founding fathers of the OAU set up the Liberation Committees. I am urging that the current generation of our leaders and people should begin this movement towards African unity by setting up a Unity Committee of the Organization of African Unity. The task of that committee would be to plan for unity, to work out the steps needed to move towards unity, and to campaign for unity.[14]"
3.6 Equality/equity
Mwalimu also stood for equity and equality in society. Mwalimu believed that all people should be treated equally regardless of their colour, religion or tribe. And we all see efforts during his time to ensure that as a country we all live peacefully regardless of our many differences. And we are actually still reaping the benefits of the soft investments done during his time that enabled the creation of such a peaceful country.
Income-wise, Mwalimu believed that:
"The division of any society into the ‘haves' and ‘have–nots' is… dynamite [15]"
These are some of the things that I believe and know that Mwalimu stood for. The list was not meant to be exhaustive but an indication of the kind of issues that Mwalimu stood for and spent his life trying to realize and achieve them. And because he stood for such things, he did not fall for anything else; he remained congruent until his last day. And it is for that reason, we all do remember him.
4 What would he have found today?
But having said all that, if Mwalimu was to come back today, what would he have found? Would he have found the current practice of leadership being seen as a service to the people? If he would have come just before elections and stayed up to the elections, what would he have seen? What would he have said?
If he would have come and observe the professional and personal conduct of some or many of our leaders, what would he have said? Would he pat them on the back and congratulate them for value-based leadership? If he was to ask them on how some of them have acquired their wealth, would they be able to respond to him with confidence and full disclosure?Would he see a society that is moving towards becoming more equitable and equal or otherwise?
Would he see a society that is more hegemonic than it was 15 years ago, such that he would have been proud that the pillars of peace and stability that he built during his time are still standing strong? Would he look at the pillars of religious tolerance, equality before the law, non-tribal politics, and say how proud he is that we have strengthened them?
It is not my intention to respond to the specific questions that I have just raised. Knowing that many of you are students, actually some being students of philosophy and education, some being students of other subjects, some just being students of society and its trends, I believe you have answers to most of these questions.
Sufficing to say that, anecdotes and mere observations in our society show that things have changed. What seemed to be a taboo then is almost a norm now. We tend to mention his name only when it is convenient to justify some of our actions or positions but I am not convinced that we are living up to his vision, his values and his expectations. Mwalimu Nyerere's face was a face of integrity in our country, vision, value-based leadership, equity and equality. They are all fading; sadly his face is fading in our minds. And because we are not doing enough to inculcate his philosophy, his vision, his ideas and his values to the youth, the young generation is fast losing sight of what he stood for. The young generation is fed with the new narrative that does not necessarily treasure Mwalimu's ideals.
5 What is at stake?
Mwalimu Nyerere predicted this situation, and had this to say about it:
"There are many good and honest people who believe that those ideas, which in this country are associated with my name, are now dead and should be properly buried. You will not be surprised to hear I disagree! Great ideas do not die so easily; they continue nagging, and every human society in history ignores them at its own peril. And I can say this without inhibition or pretended modesty because in a very real sense they are not my ideas. I never invented them. I am simply a believer, like many other believers, in the world and in human history. I believe in the equality and dignity of all human beings, and the duty to serve, their well-being as well as their freedom in a peaceful and cooperative society. I am an ardent believer in the freedom and welfare of the individual [16]"
Do we want to ignore his ideas at our own peril? As students and as citizens, are we happy with what we are seeing happening in our country now? Are we hopeful, optimistic or we have just decided to disengage? Is that helpful?
I for one see danger ahead. The gap between the rich and the poor is increasing, and the poor increasingly feel marginalized and ignored. Infrastructure development is given more priority than human development. Justice for the poor is had to realize. Value-based leadership is increasingly becoming endangered species. In my opinion, what are at stake are peace, stability and development of our country.
6 What can we do?
You may wish to know that fifty percent of the population in Tanzania is below the age of 18.5 years. This means that young people are the majority in this country. You have the numbers, hence you have the power. Use it wisely. Educate yourselves. Read his writings, listen to his speeches, reflect on them. Try to emulate his way of life. Speak up your mind using the formal channels existing at your communities. Take up leadership positions when an opportunity arises. Challenge us, the leaders of today if you think and see that our practices do not reflect value-based leadership and other attributes possessed by Mwalimu. That, in my opinion, is the best way for you to serve and save our country.
I believe that Mwalimu's ideals presented a set of principles with which our country maintained peace, stability and attained social development of our country. Ignoring those principles or breaking them, will sooner or later have a negative impact to our society. In 1961, Mwalimu said:
"…principles have a way of revenging themselves. If you break a principle, it will find a method of breaking you. And if a people try to break a major principle, those principles find a way of breaking that people.[17]"
Here, again, I would like to share wisdom from Mwalimu. He said:
"The basis of human progress throughout history has been the existence of people who regardless of the consequences to themselves stood up when they believed it necessary, and said "That is wrong; this is what we should do ...' If we know that the world is round we must say so, even if the majority of our people may still think that it is flat.[18]"
7 Conclusion
As a way of concluding, I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank the leadership and management of Don Bosco College, Moshi, for according me this great honour of talking to you this morning. As we mark 15 years without Mwalimu, it is important to reflect on his Vision and Ideas, and contextualize them in our current environment, what would he do? Let us reflect, and act!I would also like to share with you a challenge that I face when marking his day. Should I mourn or should I celebrate? All over the world, the days set aside for marking people like Mwalimu Nyerere are their dates of birth not deaths. That allows people to celebrate their life. We all know that to die is for every human being, no human being can live forever. But to be born is a lucky and happy event. That is why, all over the world, they mark the day their great leaders were born, e.g. Mandela's day, Gandhi's day, Martin Luther King Jr day, George Washington's (known as President's day),etc. They are all a celebration of their lives on the days of their birth not their death. There has been a call to move the holiday from October 14 which is a mourning day to April 13 which is his birthday. I remember last year the President also referred to this anomaly but the relevant Ministry has not yet followed it up with legislative amendments. I think it is now time to move the holiday to the day that God gave us the gift of Mwalimu into the world, not the day he took it away. Let us speak up to ensure that this year becomes the last year that we mark his day on the date of his death.
I thank you for your attention
[1] In "The Importance and Pleasure of Reading", a speech while opening a printing and book warehouse in Arusha, Tanzania, 29 November 1965 (Freedom and Socialism: 108)
[2] In "The Intellectual Needs Society", an Address tothe University of Liberia, 29 February 1968 (Freedom and Development: 27)
[3] Opening of the New National Assembly, 12 October 1965 (FREEDOM AND SOCIALISM: 90)
[4] In "African States Must Cooperate", Speech at the 10[SUP]th[/SUP] and Final Meeting of the South Commission and the East and Southern Africa Launch of The South Commission report – The Challenge to the south Arusha, Tanzania: 6[SUP]th[/SUP] October, 1990
[5] In "Challenges And Imperatives Of Growth And Sustainable Development Putting People First", Speech at the General Assembly of the UN in the Consultations on the Proposed UN Agenda for Development New York, USA: 7[SUP]th[/SUP] June, 1994
[6] In "African States Must Cooperate", Speech at the 10[SUP]th[/SUP]and Final Meeting of the South Commission and the East and Southern Africa Launch of The South Commission report – The Challenge to the south Arusha, Tanzania: 6[SUP]th[/SUP] October, 1990
[7] In "The Meaning of "Development" and of "The South"", Speech at the Opening of a South Commission Meeting, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: 1[SUP]st[/SUP] March, 1988
[8] The Report of The South Commission Not "Anti-North", It Is "Pro-South"; Speech at the FFU Society; in Sweden to Introduce a Discussion on the Recommendation of the Report of the South Commission – The Challenge to the South Stockholm, Sweden: 22 November, 1990
[9] The Report of The South Commission Not "Anti-North", It Is "Pro-South"; Speech at the FFU Society; in Sweden to Introduce a Discussion on the Recommendation of the Report of the South Commission – The Challenge to the South Stockholm, Sweden: 22 November, 1990
[10] In "The Rational Choice", a speech given on 2 January 1973 in Khartoum, Sudan.
[11] A Speech while opening the Mahiwa Young People's Training Centre, Masasi, Mtwara,15 October 1964 (FREEDOM AND UNITY: 316)
[12] In "Education and Law", an Address during the first ceremony of the Faculty of Law of the new University College of Dar es Salaam, 25 October 1961 (FREEDOM AND UNITY: 131)
[13] In "Corruption as an Enemy of the People", Debate on the Budget in the Legislative Assembly, 17 May 1960 (FREEDOM AND UNITY: 82)
[14] In "African Unity: The Unfinished Agenda Of The OAU", Speech at the Final meeting of the Formal Winding up of the Liberation Committee of the OAU Arusha: 15[SUP]th[/SUP] August 1994
[15] Responsible Self-Government Proposals, an Address in Reply in the Legislative Council debate, 16 December 1959 (FREEDOM AND UNITY: 80)
[16] Mwl.J. K. Nyerere, September 14, 1996
[17] In "The Principles of Citizenship", Speech to the Legislative Assembly of Tanganyika, 18[SUP]th[/SUP] October 1961 (FREEDOM AND UNITY: 127)
[18] Inauguration of the University of East Africa, Nairobi, Kenya, 28[SUP]th[/SUP] June 1963(FREEDOM AND UNITY: 221)
