Nyerere: The Man, The Myth and the Legend

[Mkandara]

Mvuvi,

Haya maneno!... kweli kabisa historia ya Tanganyika ama Tanzania utakuta wapo watu ambao wamesahaulika kabisa, wengine leo tunawajua kwa majina tu. Trust me, watu kama Mkwawa, Mirambo, Mangi sina, Mangi Meza na huko visiwani wamejaa wengi tu ambao walijaribu sana kumwondoa Sultan - hawa wote wamebaki majina na wengine wamefutwa kabisa historia zao. Na watu wengine muhimu sana wakati wa TAA na TANU kabla ya uhuru bila kujali dini zao akina Hassan bin Amir, Chaurembo, Stephen Mhando, Nesmo Eliufoo, Fundikira, John Keto, Vedast Kyaruzi, Mwakangale, Bomani, John Rupia na wengine wengi tu ambao wote walichangia kwa hali na mali ktk harakati za Uhuru.
Ni kweli kabisa makosa yanafanyika sana inapokuwa anaandikwa Nyerere tu kama vile Uhuru kautafuta mwenyewe na ndio haya yanawapata South Afrika watu kama Steve Bhiko, Oliver Tambo wamesahaulika kabisa na jina leo linalotamba ni Mandela pekee.
Ukitazama nchi zote za kiafrika sii Kenya wala Uganda wapo watu muhimu sana wamesahaulika kabisa. nadhani hii ndio nia nzuri ya kumbukumbu zetu na sio kutumia rangi zao.
Tunawahitaji sana watu kama Al -Jaazera -wakati ndio huu., tuiweke historia yetu sawa kwa vizazi vijavyo.
Kichuguu,
Mzee naona hii issue imeku- touch ile mbaya. Achana na hiyo ya Sarakikya - ndio dunia mzee ila naomba tu ieleweke kuwa sijasema mapinduzi hayo yalikuwa ya udini isipokuwa wahusika wake. Hapa nikijibu hoja za wale wanaotumia rangi za watu kuhalallisha jambo fulani.
Nyerere alikuwa acussed kwa Udini wakakaa waliokaa na kuamua njia ni kumwondoa kama vile Sadat...hii habari ilikuwa ifanyike ktk mkutano huko Arusha. Nyerere alitonywa habari hiyo na kuombwa akitoe haraka kurudi Dar. Hiyo ndio habari yenyewe na siwezi kuendelea zaidi ya hapo!...

 

[JokaKuu]

kichuguu,
hata mimi nimewahi kusikia uvumi wa maj.gen.sarakikya kutaka kumuondoa nyerere madarakani. nilidokezwa kwamba wahusika wakuu walikuwa ni wanajeshi wasomi vijana toka maeneo ya meru na uchagani.

kutokana na "jaribio" hilo, nyerere na kawawa waliwaondoa jeshini junior officers wengi toka kilimanjaro na arusha na kuwapa vyeo katika mashirika ya umma. sarakikya alipewa uwaziri wa michezo, na baadaye ubalozi ethiopia.

abdala twalipo alikuwa jeshini kwa muda mrefu. alikuwepo kwenye jopo la majaji lililosikiliza kesi ya sajini.hingo ilogi aliyeongoza machafuko ya 1964. sikuwa nafahamu kwamba alikuwa mkuu wa mkoa kabla ya kuteuliwa kuongoza jwtz. inasemekana twalipo alikuwa mtu wa rashidi kawawa.

 

[Kulikoni]

Nimesoma maelezo yako na ningependa sana kueleza khabari za Sheikh Kassim bin Juma kwani nina hakika si wengi wanafahamu historia yake. Ukishasoma khabari za Sheikh Kassim na uhusiano wake na Mwalimu Nyerere na Waislam labda tunaweza sasa tukaingia katika mjadala wa maana. Ila kwa kugusia tu hayo 'mapinduzi' ambayo uliyotaja Waislam wengi waliwekwa kizuizini babu yangu Salum Abdallah akiwa mmoja kati ya hao. Yeye wakati ule alikuwa Mwenyekiti wa Tanganyika African Railway Union (TRAU). Hata hivyo kesi ilipokwenda mahakamani hakuna hata Muislam mmoja alisimamishwa kizimbani kwa kosa la uhaini. Waliachiwa kimya kimya. Nina mada nilitoa Chuo Kikuu cha Kenyatta Agosti 2006 kuhusu maisha ya Sheikh Kassim. Nimemfahamu Sheikh Kassim toka utoto wangu hadi anafariki. Ikiwa wasomaji watapenda ninaweza nikaiweka katika mtandao huu kwa faida yetu sote. Mohamed Said

Samitungo,
Maandishi yako haya yanaashiria kuwa nawe unafahamu kitu kuhusu hayo
'mapinduzi' ambayo Mkandara ameusiwa asiyazungumze. Kwa hiyo tunageukia kwako labda hapo utakapoleta stori ya Shk Kassim utatumegea. Mimi, mwenzangu kichuguu na probably wengineo bado tunakuna vichwa on that issue.

Mkandara,
Kama Samitungo nae asipotuelezea basi ndio tumepata homework tukionana na wazee tutawahoji. Na kama yanasemeka tutasema na tukiusiwa kutosema ndio itabidi tunyamaze. Lakini nimekuelewa ndugu yangu, .. hata mimi kuna mengine siwezi yasema kwa sababu kama hizo zako.

By the way, as a point of information, I have another comment on your challenge:

...Jamani hili swala si la kidini kabisa, Na kama kweli bado kuna watu wanashikiria Udini kwa Nyerere, wajibu kuhusu hoja ya Muungano!..

Huu Muungano ambao uliharakishwa na kushinikizwa na mpaka sasa hauleweki na hati zake hazijitoshelezi, kuna theories nyingi behind it .. zikiwemo zile za kipuuzi tulizofundishwa shule kuwa eti ni 'urafiki wa karibu kati ya Nyerere na Karume', na kuna theories za sababu za kiulinzi na kiusalama kuwa ni kwa ajili ya kuilinda ZNZ, kuna theory ya kuwa Muungano ni shinikizo la waingereza na wamarekani ili kuavoid ukomunisti uliokuwa ukiinukia, kama alivyoandika Amrit Wilson katika kitabu chake "The US Foreign policy and revolution, the creation of Tanzania" ambae ametumia sana declassified CIA documents and diplomatic communications kusupport theory hiyo. Na ziko theory nyinginezo nyingi tu. Sasa for the sake of kuhabarishana, napenda kuhabarisha kuwa ipo pia theory ya kuwa udini wa Nyerere nao ulikuwa ni msukumo wake katika issue ya Muungano. Nishawasikia wazanzibari wengi wakinung'unika kuwa moja ya sababu za Nyerere kuushinikiza na kuung'ng'ania Muungano ni kuimeza Zanzibar ili ku-neutralize uislamu ulioelekea kustawi visiwani humo. Na wana madata chungu nzima kuisupport theory hii. Mbali na hawa wazanzibari wenyewe, amabo twaweza sema 'hawa jamaa wamezidi kulalamika', kuna british historian aitwae Mervyln Hiskett nae ameandika katika kitabu chake "The Course of Islam in Africa", ukurasa wa 170, kuwa:
"Union was imposed on the Muslims of Zanzibar by Nyerere, a militant Christian and his henchmen Okello against the will of the Zanzibari people, and that has been followed by a deliberate campaign to extinguish the Islamic character of Zanzibar under a secular constitution."

While I may not fully support this theory due to lack of sufficient proofs and clear indicators, ... in light of what I have come to know about Nyerere, to me it remains a possibility.

 

[Aljazeera]

Kulikoni

Hili swala la Muungano ni mojawapo ya maswala ambayo nimekuwa nayatafiti kwa muda mwingi. katka utafiti wangu nilifanikiwa kuona nakala ya makubaliano ya Muungano. Bado nina mlima wa taarifa ambazo napitia. mpaka sasa hivi bado hamna sehemu yo yote swala la uislamu limezunguziwa, bali la kiusalama. kama kuna haja naweza kufanya summarization hapa. mara nyingi sipendi kuzungumzia jambo nusunusu kwani watu hubadilisha maana.

Mkandara
Mzee wewe ni historia inayotembea kwani kila unachosema hapa kipo kwenye baadhi ya mafile niliyonayo. Lugha unayotumia hapa ni laini ya kueleweka ukilinganisha na ile iliyotumika kwenye hizi ripoti.

Nadhani nitakuwa na muda wiki hii kumwanga baadhi ya mambo hapa.

Tuendelee kuelimishana.

 

[Kulikoni]

Al-Jazeera,

Hata kama hiyo theory ina ukweli, I think it is unlikely kuwa utaikuta katika official reports.

Naomba confirmation kuhusu hii hati ya Muungano niliyoiweka hapa:
http://jamboforums.jamboo.co.tz/showpost.php?p=7403&postcount=9

Je ni sawa na uliyoiona wewe? Mimi nlipasiwa na mtu aliedai kaipata National Archive. DrWHO anabisha kuwa hii haiwezi kuwa ya kweli maana haijitoishelezi na ina mapungufu mengi ya kisheria. Utatasaidia sana ukatupatia confirmation ya kuwa ni sahihi au la.

Muda ukikuruhusu pitia pia hicho kitabu cha Amrit Wilson angalau uone references zake za kusupport theory ya kuwa Muungano ulikuja kwa pressure from the west, nyingi zikiwa ni za kijasusi na mawasiliano ya kidiplomasia. Anasema zinapatikana sasa Uingereza na Marekani baada ya kuwa declassified. Be careful though, maana nlipokisoma hicho kitabu .. Abdul Rahman babu alikuwa portrayed as a hero na mzalendo mwenye nia njema kuliko wote. I only came to know later that huyu mwandishi, Amrit Wilson, ni mwanamama and was married to Abdulrahman Babu!

 

[Kichuguu]

Mkandara,

Aisee kweli umaneiacha na kichwa kizito hapa. Kwa tabia yangu huwa napenda kufuatilia mambo hadi nipate jibu la kuridhisha ndiyo maana nilikuwa najaribu sana kujikumbusha matukio na taarifa nilizokuwa nimepata kuhus mapinduzi ya kijeshi wakati wa nyerere katika utawala wake kuanzia miaka ya 60 mpaka mwazoni mwa 80. Hilo fumbo uliloweka hapo kweli ni kubwa kabisa kutengua. Kuhusu udini wa Nyerere huo ni wazi kabisa kuwa huo haukuwapo, nina imani kuwa kuna watu waliomchukia kwa sababu moja au nyingine hivyo wakamzulia hilo na kulindeleza kwa vizazi vilivyofuata ambavyo vingine vimekuwa na uchungu na kufanya kila hila ya kufuta jina la nyerere katika historia ya nchi hii. Wengine ni wale waliotaifishiwa nyumba zao baada ya Azimio la Arusha, jambo ambalo lilikuwa ni kosa la sera lakini halikuwa na udini wowote.

Kulikoni,

Huyu Semitungo ndiye mwandishi wa kitabu kilichozua mada hii hasa kwa vile ameongelea kuhusu babu yake Salumu Abdallah. Nimejitahidi kukitafuta kitabu chake bila mafanikio, kwa hiyo hadi wakati huu sijakisoma. Inaelekea kuwa anajua pia kuhusu hayo mapinduzi na sijui kama yamechangia katika kumtuma kuandika kitabu kile katika mwelekeo huo wa kidini. Nitapenda kusoma kitabu hiki niangalie jinsi alivyoandika kuhusu mapinduzi hayo mle kitabuni, na vile vile kupata majibu juu ya uhusiano baina ya Sheik Khassim na Nyerere.

Swala la Muungano niliwahi pia kulisoma katika article moja iliyotoka kwenye jarida la Africa Now mwanzoni mwa miaka ya 80 ikisema kuwa ule Muungano ulishinikizwa kisirisiri na CIA bila ya Karume wala Nyerere wenyewe kujua shinikizo hilo. Kulikuwa na taarifa kuwa Karume alipewa helicopter na Marekani (CIA) yenye pilot ambaye kazi yake ilikuwa ni kumshinikiza Karume aingie muungano ili kupunguza makali ya Prof Abdurlahman Babu ambaye alikuwa na mwelekeo wa ukomunist na ambaye vilevile ndiye aliyekuwa msomi zaidi katika serikali ile ya mwanzo. Kwa bara alikuja jamaa mmoja Bwana Caruci ambaye alikuwa amekamilsiha mission ya kumwua Patrice Rumumba kule Congo. Bwana Caruci alikuwa na kazi ya kuona kuwa muungano huo unafanyika kwa gharama yoyote hasa kwa vile wakati huo hawakujua kuwa Nyerere aliyesoma Uingereza na ambaye alikuwa hajawahi kufika nchi za Mashariki angeweza kufikiria siasa za mlego wa ukomunist.

Al-Jazeera,

Nadhani kwa jinsi mjadala huu unavyoendelea, span ya kitabu chako nayo inazidi kupanuka. Kama ulifikiria kuishia miaka ya sitini tu, nakuomba uweke historia nzima hadi wakati Nyerere anastaafu October 1985. Itasaidia sana kwa watu kama mimi ambao tulikuwa mbumbumbu tukiwachukulia watanzania wote kama ndugu zetu bila kuangalia dini zao kumbe kulikuwa na vinyongo vya kidini chinichini. Inaniboa sana kwa kuwa mimi ni mkristo na mke wangu ni mwislamu tuliyekuwa naye pamoja pale Tabora bila kujua tofauti zetu za kidni. halafu baada ya kuwa wakubwa tunasikia kelele nyingi za kidni zinaibuka; hiyo ni mbaya sana na ndiyo maana nina hamu ya kujua mambo haya kwa kina.

 

[Kulikoni]

kichuguu,

Yeah, Samitungo ni Mohamed Said, ni kawaida yake kutojificha anapoandika.. naona hata hapo juu kaweka jina lake.

Kitabu chake kilikuwa kinapatikana Amazon.com, nimecheki sasa hivi wanasema currently unavailable. Kama ulivyomsikia katika mahojiano, bookshop pekee iliyokubali kukiuza pale bongo ni iliyopo opposite na mskiti wa Manyema. Mimi nlipata copy ya Swahili version of the book kutoka hapo. Unaweza kumuagiza mtu akakununulia na kukutumia huko uliko. Pia nna hakika ukiwasiliana na 'samitungo' hata kwa PM basi akipita tena hapa nna hakika atakueleza wapi pa kukipata.

 

[Tabasamu]

RIP Baba wa Taifa Mwl Julius Kambarage Nyerere.
Haya madai ya Nyerere na udini ni uzushi wa hali ya juu. Ni fikra za watu ambazo kila wakishindwa wanatafuta mtu wa kumtishwa lawama. Eeh Ukoloni, utumwa, Ukabila, udini n.k
Nyerere amefanya makosa mengi kama binadamu lakini si kwa sababu alikusudia kupendelea jamii fulani, hakuna ushahidi wa hayo. Hakuna. Ati watu wanataka tuamini hata Muungano nao ni sababu ya udini mwe!
Ndio kuna sababu nyingi zilizopelekea muungano. Lilo wazi ni kuwa Nyerere alimzidi Karume akili. Karume was dragged into this. Kama alivyowahi kusema mwanabodi mmoja kuwa hata Southern States huko US zilililazimwishwa kuingia kwenye Union na leo ukiwaambia kutoka watapigana tena.
Kitu kimoja tu kilileta Muungano, Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Nyerere alishaliona hilo, alikuwa na maarifa, alipenda kujisomea, alikuwa mwana historia alikuwa na upeo wa kuona mbele alijua ni raslimali lukuki baharini kuliko hata huko bara, akajua akicheza ataambullia 10 neutical miles asipoichangamkia Zanzibar. Na tena subirini kidogo, kwa sababu mikataba mingi ya kikoloni ilikuwa inaheshimiwa, Zanzibar ilikuwa ina miliki kilometa 10 ndani ya bara kutokea ufukweni, zile alizokatiwa Sultani na Waingereza. Kwa hiyo haijalishi kuna articles hakuna, kuna page mbili au tabu zima la articles Muungano ndo ulishaundwa hivyo na hautavunjika ng'o. Bora Wazanzibar waridhike na aoutnomy waliyo nayo kwani zaidi ya hapo ni annexetion. Ni nchi gani itakuwa tayari kuachia 200 nautical miles? Labda Tanzani kwani kama anavyosema Quarz au alles; "Yasiyowezekana duniani kote yanawezekana Tanzania."

 

[Game Theory]

why not?

Nyerere alikiri uwa kulikuwa na tatizo na hili la yeye kuwa mdini halina ubishi

ila kitu ninachoweza kukikuali ni kuwa jamaa alikuwa sio MWIZI hilo niatetea Mwaimu

lakini la kuwakandamiza watu wa PWANI au MWAMBAO nalikubali jamaa alikuwa na strategic agenda ya kuwabana watu wa Pwani na nadhani hii ilichangiwa na wengi waliotaka kumpindua walitokea COAST kama Tanga

 

[Mkandara]

Wanabodi,
Huyu Semitungo ndiye Mohammed Said na kama ukisoma kitabu chake hiki mtapata cheche hapa na pale za haya tunayozungumzia. Mohammed kayafanyia utafiti mambo mengi sana na kitabu chake kinasema ukweli mtupu (tukiondoa rangi za dini) ambao hata ukiwauliza wazee wetu wote watakiri kuwa huyu Nyerere aliwazidi kete tu na sio Udini. Kifupoi kila mmoja wao aliingia ktk siasa kwa sababu ya maslahi fulani lakini mjamaa huyu aliwavisha kanzu safi sana.
Kichuguu,
Nyerere alifikwa na mengi sana, wala sii kidogo na hata ktk harakati zake za kuikomboa Afrika - Makaburu walijaribu sana... Idd Amin alituma wamawake na kadhalika lakini security ya mchonga ilikuwa Kiboko... na alipendwa na wengi waliomfahamu nini anakizungumzia. Kumwondoa haikuwa rahisi kabisa...
Nafungua mada nyingine inayo husu mahojiano kati ya Nyerere na Ikaweba Banting November 1998. Kuna mawili matatu tunaweza kuyaunganisha na hapa pia kupata mwanga wa mengineyo...

 

[Mkandara]

Interview

Ikaweba Bunting (IB): What was the anti-colonial movement's greatest contribution to humanity?
Mwalimu Julius Nyerere (MJN): There are two fundamental things that the anti-colonial liberation movement contributed to humanity. The first is simply that the suffering of a whole chunk of human beings through the actions of others was halted. The arrogance of one group of people in lording it over the human race and exploiting the poorer peoples was challenged and discredited - and that was a positive contribution made by the liberation struggle to all humanity.
Second, the liberation movement was very moral. It was not simply liberation in a vacuum. Gandhi argued a moral case and so did I. Liberation freed white people also. Take South Africa: there, the anti-apartheid victory freed whites as well as black people.
IB: When did you first encounter the idea of liberation from colonialism?
MJN: I cannot say I encountered the idea of liberation in a totality like a flash of light. I did not have an experience like Paul on the road to Damascus. For me it was a process - something that grew inside of me. Our elders fought and were defeated by the Germans and the British. We were born under colonialism. Some of us never questioned it. Those who got educated began to think about it. What many of us went through was simply a desire to be accepted by the white man. At first this is what it was - a kind of inert dissatisfaction that we were not accepted as equals.
World War Two and what it was fought for - democracy and freedom - started the process for many people, especially those who were in the Army. For me the transformation came later. At Makerere in 1943 I started something called the Tanganyika African Welfare Association. Its main purpose was not political or anti-colonial. We wanted to improve the lives of Africans. But inside us something was happening.
I wrote an essay in 1944 called The Freedom of Women. I must be honest and say I was influenced by John Stuart Mill, who had written about the subjugation of women. My father had 22 wives and I knew how hard they had to work and what they went through as women. Here in this essay I was moving towards the idea of freedom theoretically. But I was still in the mindset of improving the lives and welfare of Africans: I went to Tabora to start teaching.
Then came Indian independence. The significance of India's independence movement was that it shook the British Empire. When Gandhi succeeded I think it made the British lose the will to cling to empire. But it was events in Ghana in 1949 that fundamentally changed my attitude. When Kwame Nkrumah was released from prison this produced a transformation. I was in Britain and oh you could see it in the Ghanaians! They became different human beings, different from all the rest of us! This thing of freedom began growing inside all of us. First India in 1947, then Ghana in 1949. Ghana became independent six years later. Under the influence of these events, while at university in Britain, I made up my mind to be a full- time political activist when I went back home. I intended to work for three years and then launch into politics. But it happened sooner than I planned.
[Note: Independence came in 1961, and Nyerere became President. Six years later, he issued the Arusha Declaration, which nailed Tanzania's colours firmly to the mast of socialism and self-reliance. The great Caribbean historian CLR James once called the Arusha Declaration `the highest stage of resistance ever reached by revolting Blacks'.]
IB: Does the Arusha Declaration still stand up today?
MJN: I still travel around with it. I read it over and over to see what I would change. Maybe I would improve on the Kiswahili that was used but the Declaration is still valid: I would not change a thing. Tanzania had been independent for a short time before we began to see a growing gap between the haves and the have-nots in our country. A privileged group was emerging from the political leaders and bureaucrats who had been poor under colonial rule but were now beginning to use their positions in the Party and the Government to enrich themselves. This kind of development would alienate the leadership from the people. So we articulated a new national objective: we stressed that development is about all our people and not just a small and privileged minority.
The Arusha Declaration was what made Tanzania distinctly Tanzania. We stated what we stood for, we laid down a code of conduct for our leaders and we made an effort to achieve our goals. This was obvious to all, even if we made mistakes - and when one tries anything new and uncharted there are bound to be mistakes.
The Arusha Declaration and our democratic single-party system, together with our national language, Kiswahili, and a highly politicized and disciplined national army, transformed more than 126 different tribes into a cohesive and stable nation.
However, despite this achievement, they say we failed in Tanzania, that we floundered. But did we? We must say no. We can't deny everything we accomplished. There are some of my friends who we did not allow to get rich; now they are getting rich and they say `See, we are getting rich now, so you were wrong'. But what kind of answer is that?
The floundering of socialism has been global. This is what needs an explanation, not just the Tanzanian part of it. George Bernard Shaw, who was an atheist, said, `You cannot say Christianity has failed because it has never been tried.' It is the same with socialism: you cannot say it has failed because it has never been tried.
IB: After independence you pursued an African socialism while in Kenya Jomo Kenyatta embraced a more conservative nationalism. The two of you came to symbolize opposing visions of development. Were you conscious at the time of the need to chart a different course that might inspire other new African nations?
MJN: Anti-colonialism was a nationalist movement. For me liberation and unity were the most important things. I have always said that I was African first and socialist second. I would rather see a free and united Africa before a fragmented socialist Africa. I did not preach socialism. I made this distinction deliberately so as not to divide the country. The majority in the anti-colonial struggle were nationalist. There was a minority who argued that class was the central issue, that white workers were as exploited as black workers by capitalism. They wanted to approach liberation in purely Marxist terms. However, in South Africa white workers oppressed black workers. It was more than class and I saw that.
Jomo Kenyatta was clearly capitalist and we were trying a different course. But I must confess I did not see myself as charting out something for the rest of Africa. One picks one's way. I never saw the contradictions that would prevent Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania from working together. I was na‹ve, I guess. Even now for me freedom and unity are paramount.
I respected Jomo (Kenyatta) immensely. It has probably never happened before in history. Two heads of state, Milton Obote [Uganda's leader] and I, went to Jomo and said to him: `let's unite our countries and you be our head of state'. He said no. I think he said no because it would have put him out of his element as a Kikuyu Elder.
IB: In 1990 you were quoted as saying that you thought the absence of an opposition party had contributed to the Tanzanian ruling party's abandonment of its commitments. Do you think it was a mistake for so many new African nations to opt for a one-party state?
MJN: I never advocated this for everyone. But I did for Tanzania because of our circumstances then. In 1990 the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) abandoned the one-party state for a multi-party system. But we do not have an opposition. The point I was making when I made the statement was that any party that stays in power too long becomes corrupt. The Communist Party in the Soviet Union, the CCM of Tanzania and the Conservative Party of Britain all stayed in power too long and became corrupt. This is especially so if the opposition is too weak or non-existent.
IB: What were your main mistakes as Tanzanian leader? What should you have done differently?
MJN: There are things that I would have done more firmly or not at all. For example, I would not nationalize the sisal plantations. This was a mistake. I did not realize how difficult it would be for the state to manage agriculture. Agriculture is difficult to socialize. I tried to tell my government that what was traditionally the family's in the village social organization should be left with the family, while what was new could be communalized at the village level. The land issue and family holdings were very sensitive. I saw this intellectually but it was hard to translate it into policy implementation. But I still think that in the end Tanzania will return to the values and basic principles of the Arusha Declaration.
IB: Why did your attempt to find a new way founder on the rocks?
MJN: I was in Washington last year. At the World Bank the first question they asked me was `how did you fail?' I responded that we took over a country with 85 per cent of its adult population illiterate. The British ruled us for 43 years. When they left, there were 2 trained engineers and 12 doctors. This is the country we inherited.
When I stepped down there was 91-per-cent literacy and nearly every child was in school. We trained thousands of engineers and doctors and teachers.
In 1988 Tanzania's per-capita income was $280. Now, in 1998, it is $140. So I asked the World Bank people what went wrong. Because for the last ten years Tanzania has been signing on the dotted line and doing everything the IMF and the World Bank wanted. Enrolment in school has plummeted to 63 per cent and conditions in health and other social services have deteriorated. I asked them again: `what went wrong?' These people just sat there looking at me. Then they asked what could they do? I told them have some humility. Humility - they are so arrogant!

 

[Mkandara]

IB: Do you think Third World independence actually suited the industrialized world, leaving it with the economic power but without the political responsibility?
MJN: It seems that independence of the former colonies has suited the interests of the industrial world for bigger profits at less cost. Independence made it cheaper for them to exploit us. We became neo-colonies. Some African leaders did not realize it. In fact many argued against Kwame (Nkrumah)'s idea of neo-colonialism.
The majority of countries in Africa and the rest of the South are hamstrung by debt, by the IMF. We have too much debt now. It is a heavy burden, a trap. It is debilitating. We must have a new chance. If we doubled our production and debt-servicing capabilities we would still have no money for anything extra like education or development. It is immoral. It is an affront. The conditions and policies of the World Bank and the IMF are to enable countries to pay debt not to develop. That is all! Let us argue the moral case. Let us create a new liberation movement to free us from immoral debt and neo-colonialism. This is one way forward. The other way is through Pan-African unity.
IB: Should African resistance movements have embraced Pan-Africanism more readily? Do you think we should be working now towards a federal United States of Africa?
MJN: Kwame Nkrumah and I were committed to the idea of unity. African leaders and heads of state did not take Kwame seriously. However, I did. I did not believe in these small little nations. Still today I do not believe in them. I tell our people to look at the European Union, at these people who ruled us who are now uniting.
Kwame and I met in 1963 and discussed African Unity. We differed on how to achieve a United States of Africa. But we both agreed on a United States of Africa as necessary. Kwame went to Lincoln University, a black college in the US. He perceived things from the perspective of US history, where the 13 colonies that revolted against the British formed a union. That is what he thought the OAU should do.
I tried to get East Africa to unite before independence. When we failed in this I was wary about Kwame's continental approach. We corresponded profusely on this. Kwame said my idea of `regionalization' was only balkanization on a larger scale. Later African historians will have to study our correspondence on this issue of uniting Africa.
Africans who studied in the US like Nkrumah and [Nigerian independence leader] Azikiwe were more aware of the Diaspora and the global African community than those of us who studied in Britain. They were therefore aware of a wider Pan-Africanism. Theirs was the aggressive Pan-Africanism of WEB Dubois and Marcus Garvey. The colonialists were against this and frightened of it.
After independence the wider African community became clear to me. I was concerned about education; the work of Booker T Washington resonated with me. There were skills we needed and black people outside Africa had them. I gave our US Ambassador the specific job of recruiting skilled Africans from the US Diaspora. A few came, like you. Some stayed; others left.
We should try to revive it. We should look to our brothers and sisters in the West. We should build the broader Pan-Africanism. There is still the room - and the need.

Haya haya nambieni wasomi!...

 

[Ole]

Acheni jamani! Huyo mchonga yuko kwenye league nyingine kabisa - kimburu JK anayaona haya .................... lakini ndio tulipo potea step kumpa hatamu. Mwacheni aendeleze pumba zake ............ tumeumia tena kweli kweli.

 

[William J. Malecela]

Wazee nina swali moja, Mwalimu hakuwa mdini, Mwinyi alipoingia ndio kwa mara ya kwanza tukasikia kuwa kuna Waisilamu maprofessor kibao, kina Kapuya, Mtulia, Msabaha, na the likes,

Sasa hawa walikuwa wapi enzi za Mwalimu the man? Enzi za Mwalimu tulimsikia Malima na Mwandoro, lakini sikujua kuwa kuna Waisilamu wasomi kabisaaa mpaka Mwinyi alipoingia, WHY? Ilikuwa tu ni bahati nzuri au mbaya?

Mwalimu hakuwa na tatizo na sisi watu wa Pwani, isipokuwa yalikuwa ni matatizo ya uvivu wetu! Ni wavivu mno wa viuongo mpaka akili, ndio maana mfano hauko mbali, hata awamu ya nne imekwama, ndio jadi yetu watu wa Pwani sio siri! Tunajua kunywa gahawa, na kashata, na kuongelea ngoma ya mwali, baada ya mpira wa Yanga na Simba, ambazo hata ubingwa wa East Africa ni matatizo, watu wa pwani tuamke tuache kulaumu watu wengine kwa ujinga wetu, sisi Pwani ndio kina Ditopile, kazi kuangushana na hadithi nyingi! Watu wa bara wanakuja na treni, wanatuacha baho tu, kazi kucheza ngoma ya mwali tu!

 

[Jasusi]

Mkandara,
Hivi hizi correspondence anazozungumzia Mwalimu baina yake na Nkrumah zimehifadhiwa wapi? I am salivating.

 

[JokaKuu]

Mzee ES,
aliyemteua Prof.Kapuya kuwa waziri ni Ben Mkapa siyo Mzee Mwinyi. Wakati wa Mzee Mwinyi, Prof.Kapuya alikuwa UDSM akifundisha Botany. Dr.Msabaha alikuwa mkufunzi chuo cha diplomasia. Prof.Idirisa Mtulia alikuwa Muhimbili kwa muda mrefu. Vilevile Prof.Mtulia alikuwa daktari wa Raisi Mwinyi.

Kapuya,Msabaha,Mtulia etc wote walisoma, na kupata uzoefu wa kazi, wakati wa utawala wa Juliasi.

Waislamu waliokuwa madarakani wakati wa Mzee Juliasi kwa uchache tu ni hawa hapa😛rof.Swedi Mwankemwa--Mkurugenzi Mkuu wa kwanza Muhimbili. Dr.Saidi Madalali--PS Kilimo na Mifugo. Prof.Awadhi Mawenya -- Dean wa kwanza mzalendo Faculty of Eng. Ibrahim Kaduma--VC UDSM. IGP.Hamza Azizi--Polisi. Col.Nassoro Maftaha--Kikosi cha kuzuia rushwa. Gen.Abdalah Twalipo--JWTZ. Prof.Abdulrahman Msangi-- Dean wa kwanza mzalendo faculty of Sc. Judge.Nassoro Mzavas--Jaji Kiongozi Mahakama Kuu. Saidi Nkya --DG ??Balozi Tatu Nuru--Mwakilishi Ethiopia. Balozi.Swedi--Mwakilishi Cairo. Mohamed Aboud-- Auditor General. Bakari Mwapachu--GM ATC. Mohamed "Bob" Makani --Naibu Gavana BOT. Mwalimu pia alikuwa na msaidizi wake wa karibu Dr.Jummane Wagao.....etc etc..wapo wengine wengi zaidi.

 

[Jasusi]

DrWho,
Kama Nyerere aliwakandamiza watu wa PWANI au MWAMBAO, basi na ndugu zangu Wachagga, Wahaya, Wasukuma nao wanaweza kutoa madai kama hayo hayo. Hawa walikuwa wameendelea zaidi lakini ili kuleta hali ya mlingano ilibidi wapige maktaimu wakati wale waliokuwa chini yao wakipewa "upendeleo."

 

[Poorman]

Nakupa Tano ( 5) Jokakuu kwa data zenye uhakika. nakubaliana na wewe kabisa, kuwa kama Nyerere angekuwa mdini basi hali ingekuwa mbaya zaidi kuliko inavyofikiriwa, Kwanza ikumbukwe kuwa hata hizo shule walizosoma hao waislamu maprofesa zilikuwa za kikristu, na walimu wote wakristu lakini ilifikia hatua wazitaifishe ili ziwe za umma kwa lengo la kuwawezesha hata hao waislamu wasome. Bila hivyo angekaa kimya basi hata hao maprofesa na hata wewe unayelalamika hungeiona kamwe school.

Kitu kingine swala la shule kwa muslim linatokana na historia, kwani mwarabu aliyeleta hiyo dini hakuwa na lengo lolote la kuwapa elimu wazalendo zaidi ya dini. Mtoto tangu chekechea anafundishwa madrasa, !!!!! bila kufundishwa elimu dunia !!!! Na hili kwa sisi watu wa Pwani bado tumerithi. Mtaani kwangu pale Temeke kuna wapemba wamefungua darasa la awali lina wanafunzi watoto si chini ya 50, lakini full time anawafundisha madrasa. Upande wa pili hapo hapo kuna darasa lingine limeanzishwa watoto wanasoma dini, na elimu dunia. Hawa watoto wakifika std 1, unategemea yupi atakuwa na mwelekeo wa kufaulu elimu ya msingi!!!!!!!! Na wakisha fail mitihani tunaanza kusema waliingia waislam 100, secondary wamekwenda 20, huuu ni upendeleo!!

Kwa hiyo waislamu wenzangu, naomba tuamke . Tuanze na harakati toka majumbani kwetu, pelekeni watoto tuition kama wenzetu wakristu wanavyofanya, sikatai kufundisha dini muhimu lakini viende sambamba na elimu dunia. Hata Mtume Mohamed alisema kuwa tafuteni elimu hadi China, na China ilikuwa inaeleweka walikuwa wanaishi makafri. Lakini aliwambia waende ili wapate elimu.

Tusiwaige waarabu bila sababu za msingi, ukiende Kuwait watu hawana haja ya shule kwani hawaoni umuhimu wake, serikali ina pesa nyingi za mafuta wanagawiwa kila kitu, na wapo wachache. Lakini wewe mwenzangu na mie Poorman, unataka kuiga huku hujui utakula nini, utasomeshea nini , na mwisho unabaki unalalama tu.

Naona niishie hapo kwa leo karibu kwetu Kipalang'anda

 

[William J. Malecela]

Siamni kuwa Mwalimu alikuwa mdini, lakini ninamfahamu Mzee Mwakawago na robo tatu ya uliowataja mbona ilikuwa sio rahisi kujua kuwa ni Waisilamu? Mpaka Mwinyi alipoingia? Mimi sikujua kuwa Kaduma ni Muisilamu mpaka ulimpotaja leo? Sikujua kuwa Kitine ni Muisilamu mpaka siku moja majuzi nilipomuona bungeni amevaaa kanzu?

Malima mwenyewe ni mpaka enzi za Mwinyi ndio nilikuja gundua kuwa ni Muisilamu, ni kwa nini walikuwa wakijificha? Halafu kwenye list yako umemuacha Maswanya, siamini kuwa Mwalimu alikuwa mdini, but somebody needs to explain ilikuwaje wasialamu walikuwa wanajificha? Mwakawago hata unitishie bunduki ninakukatalia kuwa haakuwahi hata kuonyesha dalili za Uisilamu, mpaka Mwinyi alipoingia, WHY?

Ingawaje ninaheshimu kujitahidi kwako kutoa data, lovely, na udumu!

Mzee P,

Sidhani kama ninaelewa unachosema, ni yupi anyelalamika hapo juu au wewe ndiye unayelalamika, hebu nisaidie kuelewa?

 

[Augustine Moshi]

Habari zilizotolewa hapo juu sio sahihi zote. Kuna kubadili dini. Kati ya waliotajwa, wapo waliobadili dini. Sio kosa. Wapo vile vile Wakristu wanaobadili na kuwa Waislamu.

Kama kuna mtu alijitahidi kusaidia Waislamu wa Tanzania ni Mwalimu Nyerere. Vile vle, Mwalimu alishirikiana na kusaidiana na Waislamu ulimwenguni kote. Mwalimu alichukia sana maonevu, bila kujali dini. Kina Arafat, na Wapalestina kwa ujumla, wanamshukuru Mwalimu hadi leo, kutokana na kuongoza kwake kuwateta UN na popote duniani. Kusema Mwalimu alikuwa mdini ni kukosa shukrani kwa hali ya juu sana.

Kikulacho ki nguoni mwako. Waislamu hawajitendei haki kwenye ELIMU. Wako wengi wenye uwezo wa kujitolea kuimarisha Elimu kwa kujenga shule na vyuo, lakini hawafanyi hivyo. Namshukuru sana Rais Mkapa kwa kuwapa Waislamu Chuo cha Tanesco ili waanzishe chuo kikuu pale. Lakini mbona chuo walichoanzisha hakiwiki? Kuna tatizo gani?

Nalishukuru vile vile Kanisa Katoliki kwa kuanzisha shule nzuri sana Bagamoyo, na sehemu nyingine za Pwani. Ni tumaini langu kwamba Waislamu wenye uwezo wanalisaidia Kanisa kuanzisha shule nyingi zaidi ukanda wa Pwani. Hii ndiyo njia ya uhakika ya kuwaendeleza Waislamu.

Augustine Moshi