The battalions of idiocy are on the march in Tanzania, old haven of global intellectuals

[Zak Malang]

The battalions of idiocy are on the march in Tanzania, old haven of global intellectuals


By JENERALI ULIMWENGU

We have earned ourselves quite a reputation as a superstitious people who still believe in flying baskets, people-snakes and hyenas that talk.

Some reports have ranked us at the very top of the sorcery league table, making us outperform even such veteran believers as the juju artists of West Africa.

The killing and mutilation of albinos has surely played a role in growing this perception that has us on CNN and other media for all the wrong reasons, portraying our society as hopelessly mired in the occult, so much so that the mere mention of Tanzania in certain circles outside the country elicits knowing glances.

It was not always this way. Our country used to command great respect as a nation of honest, upright men and women, a people imbued with sentiments of human solidarity, social justice and the total emancipation of humankind. Revolutionaries and freedom fighters came from far and wide to drink at the fount of knowledge and liberty.

It was thus that, apart from the usual suspects — the Mondlanes, Machels, Netos, Mandelas, Nujomas, Cabrals — other, more poetic characters came calling: Che Guevara, Angela Davis, Owusu Sadaukai, the Tupamaros, the Black Panthers….

Intellectuals and scholars of renown — Walter Rodney, John Iliffe, Tamas Zentes, TO Ranger, Artie Mafeje — came to teach and to learn, and in doing so created what came to be known as the Dar es Salaam School, which was a well known brand around the world. That was the heyday of the University of Dar es Salaam; when Ali Mazrui wrote about “Tanzaphilia,” he was, perhaps unwittingly, expressing a certain jealousy born of the fact that he was not part of what was happening.

Obviously, this did not come out of nowhere; it was engendered by a dispensation that recognised the importance of learning as a central plank in the edifice of human emancipation. The pursuit of enlightenment was seen as inseparable from the efforts to free the human species from the shackles of obscurantism and backwardness.

Now, obscurantism speaks to much more than ignorance and illiteracy. It denotes a state of affairs wherein the afflicted individual blocks from their mind anything that might educate or inform correctly, clinging to the most absurd notions about all manner of creatures and phenomena and standing ready to lay down their life in the defence of their right not to know. The obscurantist is the zealous combatant in the battalions of idiocy.


They are legion in our midst, since we diluted our education by building brick and mortar structures without trained teachers or proper books. These anti-knowledge militants have effectively banished books from their lives, having discovered, no doubt, that books have the nasty habit of depriving us of our beloved ignorance.

So, when two boys argued as to whether urinating on a holy book would turn one into a snake — a frequent transfiguration in our society, I understand — one of them decided to test the hypothesis., and the result was the violence and arson that we witnessed this past week.

The obscurantist also does not bother to pair cause with effect. If somebody has urinated on a holy book of one faith, it must be the fault of an “opposing” faith, so the proper thing is to attack, set on fire and loot that other faith’s properties and, if possible, beat up and kill its followers. Obscurantism has no time for niceties such as worrying about punishing people who have had no part in the outrage complained against.


As interfaith animosities continue to flare up, and as the people entrusted with leading the country continue to look like deer in the headlights, we may be entering a quagmire of violence from which it will be hard to extricate ourselves.

As the elections approach – 2015 is not that far off — our juju craftsmen will be making a killing dispensing vote catching potions.

These, be warned, may contain ground albino body parts.


Source: The East African.

 

[KakaJambazi]

Sijasoma sababu ni ya ki zimbabwe.

 

[georgeallen]

zaidi ya kuelezea ukweli, sijapaona panapovunja mbavu. Tusaidiane kupatafuta

 

[Dingswayo]

Hakuna kitu cha kuchekesha hapa, bali ni ukweli ambao unasikitisha.

 

[Khakha]

imetulia ila cjaona pa kuvunja mbavu.

 

[mtotowamjini]

Sijasoma sababu ni ya ki zimbabwe.

tumuombe mtoa mada aibadilishe aweke kipemba zaidi :biggrin1:

 

[WEMBE WENGE]

Kinachovunja mbavu hapa nadhani ni taarifa yote, kwamba wakati dunia ipo kwenye high level ya technology, bado kuna watu wanakwenda kwenye ndumba na vikombe??? wakati taifa liliandikwa sifa nzuri kwenye ngazi za kimataifa sasa CNN inatuandika misurur mirefu kule samunge, wakati wenzetu wanajenga flyovers kukubaliana na hali ya maendeleo ya wanadamu sisi tunazungumzia utaalamu wa misukule wa kufufua wafu.
hii kweli ni kichekesho na ni kichekesho cha uchungu si cha furaha.
kinachotuponza ni pilau, kofia na elfu kidogo wakati wa kampeni za uchaguzi.

 

[Fitinamwiko]

Shakespeare again, what kind of english is this? who does use this obscurantism in regular convarsation? Good writter never use a big words to confuse his readers
Nothing fan at all, tired with dictionary language

 

[georgeallen]

Shakespeare again, what kind of english is this? who does use this obscurantism in regular convarsation? Good writter never use a big words to confuse his readers
Nothing fan at all, tired with dictionary language

mkuu english yako nayo imekaa Ki-Mlugo Mlugo vile. Hebu isome vizuri post yako

 

[Papa D]

Tanzania haijawahi kupewa sifa nzuri popote pale duniani!! wanasiasa uchwara wa Tanzania ndo huja kutudanganya kuwa Mataifa mbalimbali yanatusifu!! LIIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!!
Sifa zote tunazopewa huko nje tangu enzi za nyerere ni zile zinazofanana na hiyo ya CNN!
Hebu jamani ondokeni kwenye hiyo nusu kaputi ya kuvishwa ukoka kuwa mna amani; wenye upendo, wakarimu and all those bullshits siadi by our politicians!!

 

[George Smiley]

The battalions of idiocy are on the march in Tanzania, old haven of global intellectuals


By JENERALI ULIMWENGU

We have earned ourselves quite a reputation as a superstitious people who still believe in flying baskets, people-snakes and hyenas that talk.

Some reports have ranked us at the very top of the sorcery league table, making us outperform even such veteran believers as the juju artists of West Africa.

The killing and mutilation of albinos has surely played a role in growing this perception that has us on CNN and other media for all the wrong reasons, portraying our society as hopelessly mired in the occult, so much so that the mere mention of Tanzania in certain circles outside the country elicits knowing glances.

It was not always this way. Our country used to command great respect as a nation of honest, upright men and women, a people imbued with sentiments of human solidarity, social justice and the total emancipation of humankind. Revolutionaries and freedom fighters came from far and wide to drink at the fount of knowledge and liberty.

It was thus that, apart from the usual suspects - the Mondlanes, Machels, Netos, Mandelas, Nujomas, Cabrals - other, more poetic characters came calling: Che Guevara, Angela Davis, Owusu Sadaukai, the Tupamaros, the Black Panthers….

Intellectuals and scholars of renown - Walter Rodney, John Iliffe, Tamas Zentes, TO Ranger, Artie Mafeje - came to teach and to learn, and in doing so created what came to be known as the Dar es Salaam School, which was a well known brand around the world. That was the heyday of the University of Dar es Salaam; when Ali Mazrui wrote about "Tanzaphilia," he was, perhaps unwittingly, expressing a certain jealousy born of the fact that he was not part of what was happening.

Obviously, this did not come out of nowhere; it was engendered by a dispensation that recognised the importance of learning as a central plank in the edifice of human emancipation. The pursuit of enlightenment was seen as inseparable from the efforts to free the human species from the shackles of obscurantism and backwardness.

Now, obscurantism speaks to much more than ignorance and illiteracy. It denotes a state of affairs wherein the afflicted individual blocks from their mind anything that might educate or inform correctly, clinging to the most absurd notions about all manner of creatures and phenomena and standing ready to lay down their life in the defence of their right not to know. The obscurantist is the zealous combatant in the battalions of idiocy.


They are legion in our midst, since we diluted our education by building brick and mortar structures without trained teachers or proper books. These anti-knowledge militants have effectively banished books from their lives, having discovered, no doubt, that books have the nasty habit of depriving us of our beloved ignorance.

So, when two boys argued as to whether urinating on a holy book would turn one into a snake - a frequent transfiguration in our society, I understand - one of them decided to test the hypothesis., and the result was the violence and arson that we witnessed this past week.

The obscurantist also does not bother to pair cause with effect. If somebody has urinated on a holy book of one faith, it must be the fault of an "opposing" faith, so the proper thing is to attack, set on fire and loot that other faith's properties and, if possible, beat up and kill its followers. Obscurantism has no time for niceties such as worrying about punishing people who have had no part in the outrage complained against.


As interfaith animosities continue to flare up, and as the people entrusted with leading the country continue to look like deer in the headlights, we may be entering a quagmire of violence from which it will be hard to extricate ourselves.

As the elections approach – 2015 is not that far off - our juju craftsmen will be making a killing dispensing vote catching potions.

These, be warned, may contain ground albino body parts.


Source: The East African.

Jenerali anawapiga bao wana JAMIIFORUMS bila wenyewe kujijua.

Siku hizi tumeishia na ushabiki wa CCM vs CHADEMA , Mwanajiji kaaandika weeeee ma articles mpaka naona kachemka.

Kuna thread ilianzishawa humu kuuliza intelligentsia wa wa TANZANIA wako wapi?

kila mmoja aliingia mitini

 

[Tausi Mzalendo]

zaidi ya kuelezea ukweli, sijapaona panapovunja mbavu. Tusaidiane kupatafuta

Nilikua nasubiri kwa hamu kuvunja mbavu..badala yake it got me crack my head hard and think seriously as to which way are we heading for!

 

[Kadogoo]

Kinachovunja mbavu hapa nadhani ni taarifa yote, kwamba wakati dunia ipo kwenye high level ya technology, bado kuna watu wanakwenda kwenye ndumba na vikombe??? wakati taifa liliandikwa sifa nzuri kwenye ngazi za kimataifa sasa CNN inatuandika misurur mirefu kule samunge, wakati wenzetu wanajenga flyovers kukubaliana na hali ya maendeleo ya wanadamu sisi tunazungumzia utaalamu wa misukule wa kufufua wafu.
hii kweli ni kichekesho na ni kichekesho cha uchungu si cha furaha.
kinachotuponza ni pilau, kofia na elfu kidogo wakati wa kampeni za uchaguzi.

Wakulaumiwa ni wasomi na wataalamu wetu tangu enzi ya uhuru mpaka leo!! Elimu yetu imeshindwa kutatua tatizo letu!

 

[NOD]

Hii ni makala nzuri sana ikionyesha ni wapi tumefikia. Ilikuwa ni kitu cha ajabu sana kuona baadhi ya viongozi wetu ambao wangekuwa ni mfano wa kuigwa wakimimika kwa babu eti kutibiwa kwa kikombe cha huyu Mzee ambaye ni product ya religious fantasy. Kweli viongozi wetu wako kwenye kundi la ufinyu wa kufikiri ( naamini ni moja ya talanta Kama zinavyosemwa katika vitabu vitukufu) kiasi ambacho unaweza kudanganyika kiasi hicho? AU ndi hao waliokwenda kwa waganga na coincidentally wakapata hayo madaraka hivyo wanaendelea na huo ufinyu wa kufikiri! Analosema Ulimwengu ni kweli kabisa na tunahitaji kuwaandaa watoto wetu iliwasije wakawa sehemu ya huu ufinyu wa kufikiri na kuishi kwa kuogopa akili zao wenyewe walizopewa na mwenyezi Mungu.

Kama uwezo wa kufanya hayo mambo ya kiajabu tunayoamini ungekuwapo nina nchi yetu ingekuwa Kati ya nchi zilizoendelea! Ujinga na uoga wa kufikiri hasa unapokuwa na role models wa aina hiyo, basi unakuwa pia na taifala aina hiyo. Angalia Haiti, Gambia na mataifa mengine ambayo yamekumbatia upuzi tunaoanza kuuheshimu hapa Tanzania. Gambia imefikia kuwa na rais mvivu wa kufikiri na sasa taifa la Hilo limo matatizoni.

Nafikiri imefikia wakati kuwa na kampeni kama za ukimwi kwa hili jambo. Yaani kampeni za kuwakinga watoto wetu na mawazo finyu Kama hili la babu wa loliondo na mengine Kama hayo ya albino. Ziwe ni kampeni za kitaifa kuanzia upigaji marufuku source ya hizo imani kuanzia makanisa ya kitapeli (wanajulikana), Imani zisizo na msingi (tumeona Zanzibar na mbagala), waganga wa kienyeji wenye mawazo finyu (sio matumizi ya dawa za kienyeji). Challenge ni hao viongozi wa kitaifa wenye mahusiano na upuuzi huu. Maana sirahisi kuwabadili hasa ukiangalia mshikamano wao na hayo makanisa, wahubiri, misikiti, imani, waganga wa kienyeji wanaoshinda majumbani kwao, etc. muhimu ni kwa kila mmoja wetu kuhakikisha watoto wake hawaingii katika huu mtindio wa akili na fikra na kuwa rahisi kurubuniwa na hawa jamaa.

 

[mama kubwa]

Hawa ndio wa kwenda SA sio akina reddies and gentromen.

 

[Uliza_Bei]

Hiki anasema Jenerali ni janga siyo kichekesho....nchi ambayo Babu wa Loliondo alitengeneza pesa kwa kushabikiwa na viongozi tena wengine Madaktari....ni janga siyo kichekesho; ndiyo maana tuliambiwa tunaongoza kwa sayansi eti mtoto aliyezaliwa bila kichwa akawekewa nazi na leo anaongoza....Twafa Tanzania tuzinduke tutende kama watu wengine wenye kutumia akili. US Bush aliwaudhi na wakaipiga chini hadi Republican wakampa Obama...tunaweza kuwapiga chini viongozi na chama chao cha CCM 2015 maana wametufikisha pabaya

 

[Deo]

Hongera Jenerali kwa kutuambia ukweli. But what is the way out?

 

[NOD]

Uliza_Bei sidhani Kama hili ni swala la kisiasa kwani Kama ni mapungufu ya kifkra sidhani Kama yana itikadi. Hawa watu wenye ufinyu wa kufikiri wako kote kuanzia Chama tawala, vyama vya upinzani, makanisani, misikitini, wasio na vyama, wasioamini, etc. ingawa kuna Haja ya kuwa na uongozi wenye wide vision ilikuweza kuuangalia mfumo uliopo na kwa nini tumefikia hapa. It is a big challenge Kama litachukuliwa kiitikadi na kiushabiki badala ya kuangaliwa kwa marefu na mapana na kuwekewa mikakati ya kitaifa regardless of Chama wala Imani. Narudia tena kuwa inabidi tuanzie kwenye familia zetu ili watoto wetu waseme hapana kwa upuuzi then hata akiingia kiongozi mwenye mawazo finyu iwe vigumu kwake kuwabadili au hata kutawaliwa

 

[kajembe]

mkuu english yako nayo imekaa Ki-Mlugo Mlugo vile. Hebu isome vizuri post yako

Aisee imenichekesha sana! nimecheka sina hamu aisee du! jamaa bora ajiuzuru tu.JF kuna mambo humu sitoki,sitoki hii forum.

 

[Wamunzengo]

Hongera Jenerali kwa kutuambia ukweli. But what is the way out?

The way out hapa ni kuiondoa ccm madarakani ili tuwe na a fresh start, ccm ndio wameharibu kila kitu kwenye hii nch. WAMEDUMAZA ELIMU, HIVI UNADHANI KAMA NCHI TUNAWEZA KUFANYA NINI BILA ELIMU??? Nchi zilizoendelea zinathamini elimu na utaalamu, sisi ndo kwanza elimu imejaa mizengwe. wasomi hawana thamani, tafiti zinatupwa kwenye dust bins. Mwanasiasa ndio kila kitu hata kama ni mbumbumbu wa darasa la saba. Yaani ccm wametufikisha kubaya saaana, lakini bado hatujachelewa. Tubadilisheni utawala.