BongoTz
JF-Expert Member
- Nov 3, 2006
- 272
- 3
Without doubt, these days there are lots of angry Tanzanians out there than any other time in our country's history. And nobody is angrier these days than me, myself, following the recent unfair and undemocratic presidential election which gave President Jakaya Kikwete a second and final five-year term in the office (so he can continue to mess things up and/or perhaps sell the whole country to Sultan of Oman or to the Republic of China). Besides, I heard he has already sold Kigamboni city to some wealthy Arab guy and now he's finalizing a deal to sell the magnificent Serengeti to some rich western investors. Who knows? He could even be considering selling some parts of the lower Rufiji valley to some obscure British firms as we speak.
Um, my Chadema's friends are very angry, too. They rightly believe that this election was stolen from them-that Tanzania Election Commission (NEC) in collaboration with Tanzania Intelligence and Security Service (TISS) might have played some sort of foul which cost them the election.
They argue, with good reason that because there were lots of unexplained irregularities related to 2010 general election; for them, to recognize Kikwete as a legitimate President will, in some way, tarnish their "consistency" mantra (whatever that is, after they've just finished confusing us-following their recent infamous "walk-out" theatrical-to their subsequent contradicting statements which followed immediately thereafter).
And then there are another group of few angry folks from the ruling Chama Cha Mafisadi (CCM) who possess a different kind of anger. The anger that is rooted in insanely stupid and corrupt ideas of hating anyone who dare to speak and/or point out their get-rich-quick crooked scheme. Ask former speaker, Samuel Sitta or Harrison Mwakyembe and they will give you a little chat on that.
But, "anger," as the guy who goes by the name 'Something the Dog Said,' once counseled: "is a tough thing to control. It is hot and sweet and once you get used to it, there is a need to keep feeding it. It also tends to cloud our thinking. When one is angry it is easy to lash out and harm our own self interest."
My fellow countrymen, this is not the time to give in to anger and disappointment.
This is the time to develop a new tactic.
A time for us to submerge our differences and realize that we are all in this together.
Whether you're an Adventist, a Catholic, a Hindu, or a Muslim. A Chagga, a Sukuma, or a Kuria. A die-hard Chadema supporter, or a die-hard CUF member, we are all in the same boat.
Thus, a task of finding solutions to the most serious problems our country faces today is not solely a government's responsibility, but a duty of every single Tanzanian.
See, even in the most developed countries, people are still struggling with this sort of thinking. In America, for example, the liberals believe that it's the federal government's duty to solve nearly every single nation's problem. The conservatives, on the other hand, believe that the government should let individuals solve their own problems.
But it doesn't work that way.
The government's bureaucracy alone can't solve every single problem of any given nation. And blaming the government for everything is not the right remedy to our problems.
That's why I strongly urge you [all] to put aside your "fringe" political ideologies, baloney tribal differences; and yes, your dull religious differences and come together so we can do for our country what she has failed to do for herself for almost 49 years now since she first gained her independence from the mighty British Empire.
In other words, it's time for you and me to convert our noises into actions and thereby harness this anger/passion and direct it to something productive for the general good of our country.
It's about time we start doing something [at least something, no matter how small that something may be] than just sit by and watch our country getting flushed down the toilet by… [You know who they are]
This is not the time to take an easy way out. This is the time to start acting like grown-up and fearlessly begin to challenge the status quo.
See, the election is over. Kikwete is your President, so man up and stop whining. Accept it, deal with it, and if possible, dusts off those painful election memories, and get to work.
I mean, seriously, why should we waste our precious time and energy here every day reading and commenting on thousands and thousands of articles/posts-full with ‘what if' scenarios-from people like Mwanakijiji and Zitto Kabwe, at a time when we should be trying to forge alliance with any group willing to work with us (CUF included) and actually start fighting for the things that will lead this country to a better tomorrow?
Things like access to basic health care, access to clean drinking water, raising the standards of living of ordinary Tanzanians. Improving our country's infrastructure, addressing the problem of unemployment and putting pressure to our lazy government to get its act together and actually start looking for a permanent solution to the on going power crisis in our country.
My point is: talk, talk, talk, and do nothing attitude won't solve any of those problems.
But one may fairly ask: so, what do we do then?
Well, before I answer that question, please allow me to share with you a short story that I came across couple of days ago while reading Eric Foner's book, Give Me Liberty [2nd edition].
The story goes something like this: on the afternoon of February 1, 1960, four students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical States University, a black college in Greensboro, North Carolina, entered the local Woolworth's department store. After making a few purchases, they sat down at the lunch counter, an area reserved for whites. Told that they could not be served, they remained in their seats until the store closed. They returned the next morning and the next. As the protest continue, other students, including a few local whites, joined in. Demonstrations spread across the country. After resisting for five months, Woolworth's in July agreed to serve black customers at its lunch counters.
"The sit-in," Eric insists, "reflected mounting frustration at the slow pace of racial change."
Similar demonstrations soon took place throughout the South, demanding the integration not only of lunch counters but of parks, pools, restaurants, bowling alleys, libraries, and other facilities as well.
In a sense, what these four young students did was basically risking their lives to lay claim to freedom. As a result, their courage inspired a host of other challenges to status quo, including a student movement known as the New Left "second wave" of feminism, and activism among the minorities… They made American society confront the fact that certain groups, including students, women, members of racial minorities, and poor, felt themselves excluded from full enjoyment of American Freedom (Eric Foner, 2008).
So I suggest we take a page from these four students.
That is, if Mbowe, Lissu, Zitto and Dr. Slaa truly believe that pushing for constitutional reforms to allow the presidential results to be challenged in the court of justice and/or establishing a new independent electoral body is the way to go, then don't just talk about it. Demand it.
"Freedom," as Dr. King was once noted, "is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed." So stand true to your convictions, Mr. Mbowe, Lissu, Zitto, and Dr.Slaa. Enlist the general public to help you. Engage in direct action campaign. Dramatize those two issues until they can no longer be ignored by Kikwete's regime. I mean, Kenya did it, why can't we do it?
To paraphrase the outgoing Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, we go through the gate. If the gate's closed, we go over the fence. If the fence is too high, we'll pole vault in. If that doesn't work, we'll parachute in. But whatever it takes (whether be through petitions, protest marches, demonstrations, or community organizing tactics), it's about time we force this lazy CCM government to gets off its butts and starting working for Tanzanian people.
I must, however, warn you that change doesn't happen over night. It takes time. And more so, meaningful and long lasting change takes even more time, effort, and a lot of heart. As John Steinbeck once wrote, "Change comes like a little wind that ruffles the curtains at dawn, and it comes like a stealthy perfume of wildflowers hidden in the grass."
P.S. Tell that Shitambala guy to stop messing up with Dr. Slaa!
Thank you.
Um, my Chadema's friends are very angry, too. They rightly believe that this election was stolen from them-that Tanzania Election Commission (NEC) in collaboration with Tanzania Intelligence and Security Service (TISS) might have played some sort of foul which cost them the election.
They argue, with good reason that because there were lots of unexplained irregularities related to 2010 general election; for them, to recognize Kikwete as a legitimate President will, in some way, tarnish their "consistency" mantra (whatever that is, after they've just finished confusing us-following their recent infamous "walk-out" theatrical-to their subsequent contradicting statements which followed immediately thereafter).
And then there are another group of few angry folks from the ruling Chama Cha Mafisadi (CCM) who possess a different kind of anger. The anger that is rooted in insanely stupid and corrupt ideas of hating anyone who dare to speak and/or point out their get-rich-quick crooked scheme. Ask former speaker, Samuel Sitta or Harrison Mwakyembe and they will give you a little chat on that.
But, "anger," as the guy who goes by the name 'Something the Dog Said,' once counseled: "is a tough thing to control. It is hot and sweet and once you get used to it, there is a need to keep feeding it. It also tends to cloud our thinking. When one is angry it is easy to lash out and harm our own self interest."
My fellow countrymen, this is not the time to give in to anger and disappointment.
This is the time to develop a new tactic.
A time for us to submerge our differences and realize that we are all in this together.
Whether you're an Adventist, a Catholic, a Hindu, or a Muslim. A Chagga, a Sukuma, or a Kuria. A die-hard Chadema supporter, or a die-hard CUF member, we are all in the same boat.
Thus, a task of finding solutions to the most serious problems our country faces today is not solely a government's responsibility, but a duty of every single Tanzanian.
See, even in the most developed countries, people are still struggling with this sort of thinking. In America, for example, the liberals believe that it's the federal government's duty to solve nearly every single nation's problem. The conservatives, on the other hand, believe that the government should let individuals solve their own problems.
But it doesn't work that way.
The government's bureaucracy alone can't solve every single problem of any given nation. And blaming the government for everything is not the right remedy to our problems.
That's why I strongly urge you [all] to put aside your "fringe" political ideologies, baloney tribal differences; and yes, your dull religious differences and come together so we can do for our country what she has failed to do for herself for almost 49 years now since she first gained her independence from the mighty British Empire.
In other words, it's time for you and me to convert our noises into actions and thereby harness this anger/passion and direct it to something productive for the general good of our country.
It's about time we start doing something [at least something, no matter how small that something may be] than just sit by and watch our country getting flushed down the toilet by… [You know who they are]
This is not the time to take an easy way out. This is the time to start acting like grown-up and fearlessly begin to challenge the status quo.
See, the election is over. Kikwete is your President, so man up and stop whining. Accept it, deal with it, and if possible, dusts off those painful election memories, and get to work.
I mean, seriously, why should we waste our precious time and energy here every day reading and commenting on thousands and thousands of articles/posts-full with ‘what if' scenarios-from people like Mwanakijiji and Zitto Kabwe, at a time when we should be trying to forge alliance with any group willing to work with us (CUF included) and actually start fighting for the things that will lead this country to a better tomorrow?
Things like access to basic health care, access to clean drinking water, raising the standards of living of ordinary Tanzanians. Improving our country's infrastructure, addressing the problem of unemployment and putting pressure to our lazy government to get its act together and actually start looking for a permanent solution to the on going power crisis in our country.
My point is: talk, talk, talk, and do nothing attitude won't solve any of those problems.
But one may fairly ask: so, what do we do then?
Well, before I answer that question, please allow me to share with you a short story that I came across couple of days ago while reading Eric Foner's book, Give Me Liberty [2nd edition].
The story goes something like this: on the afternoon of February 1, 1960, four students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical States University, a black college in Greensboro, North Carolina, entered the local Woolworth's department store. After making a few purchases, they sat down at the lunch counter, an area reserved for whites. Told that they could not be served, they remained in their seats until the store closed. They returned the next morning and the next. As the protest continue, other students, including a few local whites, joined in. Demonstrations spread across the country. After resisting for five months, Woolworth's in July agreed to serve black customers at its lunch counters.
"The sit-in," Eric insists, "reflected mounting frustration at the slow pace of racial change."
Similar demonstrations soon took place throughout the South, demanding the integration not only of lunch counters but of parks, pools, restaurants, bowling alleys, libraries, and other facilities as well.
In a sense, what these four young students did was basically risking their lives to lay claim to freedom. As a result, their courage inspired a host of other challenges to status quo, including a student movement known as the New Left "second wave" of feminism, and activism among the minorities… They made American society confront the fact that certain groups, including students, women, members of racial minorities, and poor, felt themselves excluded from full enjoyment of American Freedom (Eric Foner, 2008).
So I suggest we take a page from these four students.
That is, if Mbowe, Lissu, Zitto and Dr. Slaa truly believe that pushing for constitutional reforms to allow the presidential results to be challenged in the court of justice and/or establishing a new independent electoral body is the way to go, then don't just talk about it. Demand it.
"Freedom," as Dr. King was once noted, "is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed." So stand true to your convictions, Mr. Mbowe, Lissu, Zitto, and Dr.Slaa. Enlist the general public to help you. Engage in direct action campaign. Dramatize those two issues until they can no longer be ignored by Kikwete's regime. I mean, Kenya did it, why can't we do it?
To paraphrase the outgoing Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, we go through the gate. If the gate's closed, we go over the fence. If the fence is too high, we'll pole vault in. If that doesn't work, we'll parachute in. But whatever it takes (whether be through petitions, protest marches, demonstrations, or community organizing tactics), it's about time we force this lazy CCM government to gets off its butts and starting working for Tanzanian people.
I must, however, warn you that change doesn't happen over night. It takes time. And more so, meaningful and long lasting change takes even more time, effort, and a lot of heart. As John Steinbeck once wrote, "Change comes like a little wind that ruffles the curtains at dawn, and it comes like a stealthy perfume of wildflowers hidden in the grass."
P.S. Tell that Shitambala guy to stop messing up with Dr. Slaa!
Thank you.