Let me state at the outset that I am a Nyakyusa, kabila la wala ndizi kama Wachagga, Wahaya na wengineo.
Tujiangalie sana tunapojadili jambo hili kuhusu ukabila. Lawama kutoka kwa wananchi fulani wanaosema Wachagga, au Wachaga, wanatunyonya kama kupe haina msingi wowote.
Hawa ni ndugu zetu. Wamefanya kila jitihada kujiendeleza kwa miaka mingi sana hata kabla ya uhuru wa nchi yetu iliyokuwa inaitwa Tanganyika.
Nani walimpiga mrija na kumfyonza damu walipofanikiwa kupata elimu kabla ya Watanzania wengi kutimiza lengo hilo?
Ni makabila gani waliyoyanyonya na kuyakandamiza walipofanikiwa kuwa na maendeleo kule Kilimanjaro kabla ya mikoa mingine nchini Tanzania?
Nani aliwazuia watu wa makabila mengine kujenga shule kama Wachaga walivyojijengea shule katika mkoa wao?
Nani aliwazuia watu wa makabila mengine kwenda shuleni?
Kwanini Wachaga wameweza kupata elimu ya juu kuliko makabila mengi nchini Tanzania?
Kwanini wamefanikiwa kibiashara na kuchuma fedha sehemu zote za taifa letu kuliko watu wengi wa makabila mengine?
Mnataka Wachaga waache kusoma shule ili wasifanikiwe maishani?
Mnataka Wachaga waache kufanya biashara ili raia wote tuwe sawa katika umaskini?
Mnataka Wachaga waangamie?
Wamefanya nini, hawa ndugu zetu Wachaga, kustahili chuki ya aina hii?
Tangu lini katiba yetu imesema ili kuwa na taifa moja, ni lazima makabila yetu yaishi sehemu zao, yatengane, na kwamba Wachaga, Wanyakyusa, Wahaya na watu wa makabila mengine hawana haki kuhamia na kuishi na kufanya biashara sehemu mbali mbali za Tanzania?
Tumesahau Mwalimu alipotuonya kwamba tukiendelea na ubaguzi huu na kuwalaumu Wachaga, Wahaya na Wanyakyusa, taifa letu litakwisha na tutaanza kupigana na kuuana. Alivyosisitiza, ni upuzi na ukabila wa aina hiyo "which led to the establishment of Biafra," a point he underscored in his radio broadcast to the nation in September 1968 a few months after Tanzania recognised Biafra as an independent nation in April that year, the first country to do so; the late Chediel Mgonja, who was then minister of state for foreign affairs, made the official announcement.
Kama kuna Watanzania wengi wanaowachukia Wachaga, mnataka wajitenge? Watakuwa na haki kufanya hivyo na kuwa na nchi yao.
And if they do so, please, please, don't do anything to impede their progress by denying them access to the sea or by trying to choke off their landlocked nation. Leave them alone so that they can continue to thrive in their homeland - the Republic of Kilimanjaro or Chaggaland or whatever they want to call it.
Ndiyo maana ni muhimu katiba yetu pamoja na katiba zote katika bara letu ziwe na provisions ambazo zinawaruhusu watu wanaobaguliwa kuwa na nchi yao - the right to self-determination. Let them go. The same applies to Zanzibar. Kama the majority of Zanzibaris - for whatever reason - hawataki kubaki katika muungano and have demonstrated their wish in a referendum or plebiscite to pull out of the union, fine, - let them go!
Thank God, the vast majority of Tanzanians don't feel that way: that discrimination is right, and that tribalism should be institutionalised as a national virtue as it has been in Kenya since - and even before - independence despite claims to the contrary by some Kenyans.
We are the only country in Africa with a reputation of having virtually conquered tribalism in spite of the fact that we have one of the largest numbers of tribes or ethnic groups on the continent and are also one of only four countries with more than 100 - the others being Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Cameroon.
I hardly post anything here. I am just an interested observer. But my conscience won't let me rest and I have decided to write something in response to what I consider - as many people do - to be a vicious campaign against the Chagga on this forum and elsewhere. And it's nothing new in Tanzania and among Tanzanians elsewhere concerning the Chagga.
There seems to be a concerted effort by a number of unscrupulous individuals to whip up sentiments against the Chagga in an attempt to mobilise forces against them, portraying them as villains who have been able to forge ahead at the expense of their fellow countrymen - and women.
The Nyakyusa and the Haya have been hammered the same way, although in varying degrees. More often than not, the primary target seems to be the Chagga.
The sledgehammer that's being wielded and used against the Chagga - and to a somewhat smaller degree against the Haya and the Nyakyusa but sometimes just as viciously by a few individuals - is the same lethal weapon Hitler used in his diabolical campaign to exterminate six million Jews.
It's also the same weapon the Hausa-Fulani used against the Igbo in Northern Nigeria, leading to pogroms in which more than 50,000 Igbos were massacred in different parts of Northern Nigeria within three months in 1966 alone - between July and September - and eventually to the death of about 2 million of them by the time the Nigerian civil war ended on 12 January 1970 - officially on January 15th when the seccesionist forces of Biafra were forced to surrender to federal might after they were viciously pounded into submission by Nigerian federal troops of an army division led by Olusegun Obasanjo, a Yoruba from the Western Region, who later became the military head of state and then civilian president of Nigeria.
It's also the same weapon, stoking embers of hatred against a targeted group, which led to genocide involving the extermination of about 1 million Tutsis in neighbouring Rwanda in 1994 at the hands of the Hutu, and to the massacre of about 500,000 Hutus in Burundi by the Tutsi since 1993, without even counting the 100,000 Hutus who were wiped out by the Tutsi in Burundi in 1972 and 1973.
It's also the same weapon members of different ethnic groups have used against each other with unconstrained fury in neighbouring Kenya with tragic consequences; also the same weapon the Zulu used against the Xhosa and vice versa in South Africa in the early 1990s when more than 10,000 people were killed just before the diabolical institution of apartheid came tumbling down.
And it can happen right here in Tanzania if we are not careful about that.
Kuna watu wanaosema kusudi la mjadala huu wa swala hili kuhusu Wachaga ni kusisitiza kwamba kila Mtanzania ana haki zote kama wananchi wenzake.
I'm skeptical of that. It's just a clever way of trying to hide one's ulterior motives which include fostering and fuelling tribal sentiments against the Chagga and members of other tribes who are accused of thriving at the expese of their fellow countrymen.
But having said all that, haimanishi kwamba hatuna ukabila - kabisa au hata kidogo - nchini Tanzania. Kuna ukabila, but not of the virulent kind that's prevalent in Kenya. And we should admit that there are tribalists in every tribe.
Tukiendelea kukaa kimya ingawa tunajua ukweli kuhusu ukabila wa wenzetu katika makabila yetu, taifa letu halitakwenda popote. Huo ni ukabila, na tutajiangamiza wenyewe na ukabila wetu.
Hakuna Mchagga anayesema ukweli ambaye atakana ukimwambia kwamba kuna Wachagga ambao wana ukabila sana. Hakuna Mnyakyusa, Mhaya, Mgoni, Mhehe ambaye atakana hilo - kwamba kuna watu katika kabila lake ambao wana ukabila sana. Kuna ukabila katika makabila yote. Tatizo ni kuwalaumu watu kutoka makabila machache - hasa Wachagga, Wahaya na Wanyakyusa - kwamba ndiyo hao tu wenye ukabila nchini hapa Tanzania au kwamba ndiyo hao ambao wanawanyonya na wanawakandamiza wananchi wenzao.
Kitu ambacho nasisitiza hapa ni kwamba tupambane na ukabila wa kila aina kama tulivyopambana na ukoloni na kama tulivyowasaidia ndugu zetu nchi za Afrika kusini katika vita vyao vya ukombozi ambavyo pia vilikuwa ni vita vyetu kama Wafrika - kwani sisi sote Wafrika ni "ndugu moja" - (si Kiswahili cha Wahindi tu!)
Kama TANU creed ilivyosisitiza tulipoanza kugombea uhuru, Afrika ni moja na Wafrika wote ni ndugu zangu.
And practise what you preach.
Tumeishi kwa amani bila kuchapana mapanga, kupigana virungu na kuchomana visu tangu tulipopata uhuru. Hata kabla ya uhuru, watu wa makabila mbali mbali katika nchi yetu waliishi pamoja bila kumwaga damu. Lakini ikiwa hatujitahadhari, that's exactly where we are headed.
God forbid!
Ukabila ni balaa. Na tunaposema Mungu ibariki Tanzania, we should mean it. Hatuwezi kufanya hivyo ikiwa tumejaa chuki ya ukabila. Wachagga ni ndugu zetu. Sisi sote ni ndugu moja.
Mungu ibariki Tanzania.
Tujiangalie sana tunapojadili jambo hili kuhusu ukabila. Lawama kutoka kwa wananchi fulani wanaosema Wachagga, au Wachaga, wanatunyonya kama kupe haina msingi wowote.
Hawa ni ndugu zetu. Wamefanya kila jitihada kujiendeleza kwa miaka mingi sana hata kabla ya uhuru wa nchi yetu iliyokuwa inaitwa Tanganyika.
Nani walimpiga mrija na kumfyonza damu walipofanikiwa kupata elimu kabla ya Watanzania wengi kutimiza lengo hilo?
Ni makabila gani waliyoyanyonya na kuyakandamiza walipofanikiwa kuwa na maendeleo kule Kilimanjaro kabla ya mikoa mingine nchini Tanzania?
Nani aliwazuia watu wa makabila mengine kujenga shule kama Wachaga walivyojijengea shule katika mkoa wao?
Nani aliwazuia watu wa makabila mengine kwenda shuleni?
Kwanini Wachaga wameweza kupata elimu ya juu kuliko makabila mengi nchini Tanzania?
Kwanini wamefanikiwa kibiashara na kuchuma fedha sehemu zote za taifa letu kuliko watu wengi wa makabila mengine?
Mnataka Wachaga waache kusoma shule ili wasifanikiwe maishani?
Mnataka Wachaga waache kufanya biashara ili raia wote tuwe sawa katika umaskini?
Mnataka Wachaga waangamie?
Wamefanya nini, hawa ndugu zetu Wachaga, kustahili chuki ya aina hii?
Tangu lini katiba yetu imesema ili kuwa na taifa moja, ni lazima makabila yetu yaishi sehemu zao, yatengane, na kwamba Wachaga, Wanyakyusa, Wahaya na watu wa makabila mengine hawana haki kuhamia na kuishi na kufanya biashara sehemu mbali mbali za Tanzania?
Tumesahau Mwalimu alipotuonya kwamba tukiendelea na ubaguzi huu na kuwalaumu Wachaga, Wahaya na Wanyakyusa, taifa letu litakwisha na tutaanza kupigana na kuuana. Alivyosisitiza, ni upuzi na ukabila wa aina hiyo "which led to the establishment of Biafra," a point he underscored in his radio broadcast to the nation in September 1968 a few months after Tanzania recognised Biafra as an independent nation in April that year, the first country to do so; the late Chediel Mgonja, who was then minister of state for foreign affairs, made the official announcement.
Kama kuna Watanzania wengi wanaowachukia Wachaga, mnataka wajitenge? Watakuwa na haki kufanya hivyo na kuwa na nchi yao.
And if they do so, please, please, don't do anything to impede their progress by denying them access to the sea or by trying to choke off their landlocked nation. Leave them alone so that they can continue to thrive in their homeland - the Republic of Kilimanjaro or Chaggaland or whatever they want to call it.
Ndiyo maana ni muhimu katiba yetu pamoja na katiba zote katika bara letu ziwe na provisions ambazo zinawaruhusu watu wanaobaguliwa kuwa na nchi yao - the right to self-determination. Let them go. The same applies to Zanzibar. Kama the majority of Zanzibaris - for whatever reason - hawataki kubaki katika muungano and have demonstrated their wish in a referendum or plebiscite to pull out of the union, fine, - let them go!
Thank God, the vast majority of Tanzanians don't feel that way: that discrimination is right, and that tribalism should be institutionalised as a national virtue as it has been in Kenya since - and even before - independence despite claims to the contrary by some Kenyans.
We are the only country in Africa with a reputation of having virtually conquered tribalism in spite of the fact that we have one of the largest numbers of tribes or ethnic groups on the continent and are also one of only four countries with more than 100 - the others being Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Cameroon.
I hardly post anything here. I am just an interested observer. But my conscience won't let me rest and I have decided to write something in response to what I consider - as many people do - to be a vicious campaign against the Chagga on this forum and elsewhere. And it's nothing new in Tanzania and among Tanzanians elsewhere concerning the Chagga.
There seems to be a concerted effort by a number of unscrupulous individuals to whip up sentiments against the Chagga in an attempt to mobilise forces against them, portraying them as villains who have been able to forge ahead at the expense of their fellow countrymen - and women.
The Nyakyusa and the Haya have been hammered the same way, although in varying degrees. More often than not, the primary target seems to be the Chagga.
The sledgehammer that's being wielded and used against the Chagga - and to a somewhat smaller degree against the Haya and the Nyakyusa but sometimes just as viciously by a few individuals - is the same lethal weapon Hitler used in his diabolical campaign to exterminate six million Jews.
It's also the same weapon the Hausa-Fulani used against the Igbo in Northern Nigeria, leading to pogroms in which more than 50,000 Igbos were massacred in different parts of Northern Nigeria within three months in 1966 alone - between July and September - and eventually to the death of about 2 million of them by the time the Nigerian civil war ended on 12 January 1970 - officially on January 15th when the seccesionist forces of Biafra were forced to surrender to federal might after they were viciously pounded into submission by Nigerian federal troops of an army division led by Olusegun Obasanjo, a Yoruba from the Western Region, who later became the military head of state and then civilian president of Nigeria.
It's also the same weapon, stoking embers of hatred against a targeted group, which led to genocide involving the extermination of about 1 million Tutsis in neighbouring Rwanda in 1994 at the hands of the Hutu, and to the massacre of about 500,000 Hutus in Burundi by the Tutsi since 1993, without even counting the 100,000 Hutus who were wiped out by the Tutsi in Burundi in 1972 and 1973.
It's also the same weapon members of different ethnic groups have used against each other with unconstrained fury in neighbouring Kenya with tragic consequences; also the same weapon the Zulu used against the Xhosa and vice versa in South Africa in the early 1990s when more than 10,000 people were killed just before the diabolical institution of apartheid came tumbling down.
And it can happen right here in Tanzania if we are not careful about that.
Kuna watu wanaosema kusudi la mjadala huu wa swala hili kuhusu Wachaga ni kusisitiza kwamba kila Mtanzania ana haki zote kama wananchi wenzake.
I'm skeptical of that. It's just a clever way of trying to hide one's ulterior motives which include fostering and fuelling tribal sentiments against the Chagga and members of other tribes who are accused of thriving at the expese of their fellow countrymen.
But having said all that, haimanishi kwamba hatuna ukabila - kabisa au hata kidogo - nchini Tanzania. Kuna ukabila, but not of the virulent kind that's prevalent in Kenya. And we should admit that there are tribalists in every tribe.
Tukiendelea kukaa kimya ingawa tunajua ukweli kuhusu ukabila wa wenzetu katika makabila yetu, taifa letu halitakwenda popote. Huo ni ukabila, na tutajiangamiza wenyewe na ukabila wetu.
Hakuna Mchagga anayesema ukweli ambaye atakana ukimwambia kwamba kuna Wachagga ambao wana ukabila sana. Hakuna Mnyakyusa, Mhaya, Mgoni, Mhehe ambaye atakana hilo - kwamba kuna watu katika kabila lake ambao wana ukabila sana. Kuna ukabila katika makabila yote. Tatizo ni kuwalaumu watu kutoka makabila machache - hasa Wachagga, Wahaya na Wanyakyusa - kwamba ndiyo hao tu wenye ukabila nchini hapa Tanzania au kwamba ndiyo hao ambao wanawanyonya na wanawakandamiza wananchi wenzao.
Kitu ambacho nasisitiza hapa ni kwamba tupambane na ukabila wa kila aina kama tulivyopambana na ukoloni na kama tulivyowasaidia ndugu zetu nchi za Afrika kusini katika vita vyao vya ukombozi ambavyo pia vilikuwa ni vita vyetu kama Wafrika - kwani sisi sote Wafrika ni "ndugu moja" - (si Kiswahili cha Wahindi tu!)
Kama TANU creed ilivyosisitiza tulipoanza kugombea uhuru, Afrika ni moja na Wafrika wote ni ndugu zangu.
And practise what you preach.
Tumeishi kwa amani bila kuchapana mapanga, kupigana virungu na kuchomana visu tangu tulipopata uhuru. Hata kabla ya uhuru, watu wa makabila mbali mbali katika nchi yetu waliishi pamoja bila kumwaga damu. Lakini ikiwa hatujitahadhari, that's exactly where we are headed.
God forbid!
Ukabila ni balaa. Na tunaposema Mungu ibariki Tanzania, we should mean it. Hatuwezi kufanya hivyo ikiwa tumejaa chuki ya ukabila. Wachagga ni ndugu zetu. Sisi sote ni ndugu moja.
Mungu ibariki Tanzania.
