Tread softly, okay!??? We loved him so much, but the bitter truth is, he is no more. You can choose to live in unforgiving bitterness ama you can choose to move on ^positive-mindednessly.^ The best way to honor his legacy is to emulate his profound spirit of unassuming patriotism, deep & real love for his people, efficient and productive hardwork and creative leadership style.
I love the way he went his way while we still needed him the most. Sounds confusing, yeah!??? Not quite really!!! In my opinion, the seemingly brief moment has witnessed enormous breakthroughs so much so that individuals of goodwill cannot help but ponder and wonder. He has delivered his best. In the language of a common man, ^Magufuli ametufumbua macho; tumeyajua mengi sana yaliyokuwa yamejificha.^ If we cannot learn anything worthwhile from his five years of noble leadership, then we wouldn't learn anything even had he stayed in power forever.
It is as though the good angels alerted him from the outset of his regime, that he had no time to lose. He worked with dispatch. He worked day in and day out, spending sleepless nights dreaming, as it were, and planning as best as he could for the wellbeing, sustainable development & future prosperity of his country and people. He has shed an amazing light never again to be extinguished. The path he trod & traced can never be erased.
Even his vicious enemies know very well that he was an exceptional figure -- not only that he knew what his people needed the most, but he had all it takes to get them there in order to realize their long-delayed desires. He led by example. Nothing, in his opinion, should be allowed to hamper this singular goal. Though very humble, he was tough & undaunted. Though a character of unquestionable generosity, he very well understood mathematics of economization. He was also charismatic, affable, widely loved and lovable. He loved and feared God, too.
He always found opportunity to talk to and with his people in a manner with which close, familiar and mutually respecting friends and companions would usually address each other. He listened to them. He felt their cries. He heard their problems and even solved most of them on the very spot. He would jokingly but seriously tell his eager and cheering crowds, ^Mambo mengine siyo ya kungoja na kuyachelewesha; tunayamaliza hapahapa. Au nasema uongo ndugu zangu?^ No wonder his successor President Samia has it as her new slogan, ^Zege halilali!^
He hired and fired the way a real responsible boss & manager would normally do, or more acurrately, would be expected to do. He took orders from no one. He paid no attention to detractors. Never even once was he cowed into submission nor compliance by selfish imperialists, self-designated super- and hyper-powers of the world, nor their cartels and all their comprehensive channels of exploitation. He fought them like hell -- left, right, center -- every whichway that their venomous heads, so to speak, seemed to protrude and intrude into the nation's internal affairs. And he triumphantly won!
Sometimes when the goings seemed to get tough and rough, he would eloquently reassure his subjects, ^Jamani, eti na madudu haya nisiyaseme? Kwa kumwogopa nani? Sasa nilichaguliwa ili niwe Rais wa nini? Si afadhali nife lakini ukweli nimeusema?^ He was the true definition of man of, for and by the people. Those who call him the true Son of Africa are clearly unmistaken. He was a Pan-Africanist, the incarnate, combination and embodiment of the spirit of the late Mwalimu Nyerere and all great leaders Africa has ever had.
When PLO was once asked why he thinks Magufuli ranks as one of the best presidents, the famous law professor replied solidly: ^Magufuli had a clarity of vision that was underpinned by true patriotism. One thing among many that he has taught us is that it matters the most who is at the top -- leadership matters and Magufuli was its doctor. All African leaders should take a benchmarking tour under the tutorship of John Magufuli in order to learn the finer points of governance.^
That makes me even happier than almost all sadness combined. I would rather honor his glimmering legacy by emulating his much-coveted rare spirit, rather than wail in an unfathomable, never-ending, fruitless uncertainty. Surely and wilfully, may his name be preserved in all the capitals, not of Africa, as one notable president recently remarked during his send-off address, but rather in all the capitals of our hearts, brains, souls and actions. Those who assert that once legends are born they never go, are just right on a point of highest note.