This Damned Country!: Nyerere's Forgotten Speech

[Kahinda]

In some of my writings I have alluded to one of the most fiery, provocative and incredibly poignant speech by Nyerere to the Tanzanian educated youth. It is one of the few speeches that remains forgotten. As the nation wrestles with the question of public spending, entitlements of the educated ruling class (part of which is corrupt) and the burden this government has put on the poor peasants (as Nyerere would call them) I have found an urge to share this speech with you just to make us think where we are coming from and why we are here. A bunch of those students who marched to the State House have found their thrones at the helm of power in the past 10 to 15 years. They have never changed.

In the first part, a group of university students (almost 400 of them) from DUC (before it became UDSM) marched to the Statehouse protesting the National Service arrangement which they considered to be exploitative in nature. Without fear or excuses Nyerere and his Cabinet were prepared to meet them. Force was not used to stop them.

The incident is recorded in “We Must Run, While They Walk, pp 26-32- a book by William Edgett Smith” Digital transcription is mine; all italics and brackets original. I will have a Pdf file with the complete text next time.

THE SECOND PART
“My salary! Do you know what my salary is? Five Thousand damned shillings a month! Five thousand damned shillings in a poor country! The poor man who gets two hundred shillings a month - do you know how long it’s going to take him to earn my damned salary? Twenty-five years! It’s going to take the poor man in this country, who earns two hundred shillings a month, twenty-five years to earn what I earn in a year.


“The damned salaries! These are salaries which build this kind of attitude in the educated people, all of them! All of them! Me and you! We belong to a class of exploiters! I belong to your class! Where I think three hundred and eight pounds a yeas is a prison camp! Is forced labor! We belong to this damned exploiting class on top. Is this the country we fought for? Is this what we worked for? In order to maintain a class of exploiters on top?


“I agree with you! We are paying too much! Everybody in this damned country is paid too much- except the poor peasant. I’ll slash the salaries! I agree with you! I’m glad you’re so concerned about this country! Forced labor? Where do we get this language? The day I can give every worker of Tanzania three hundred and eighty pounds, we will have worked a revolution that has not been worked anywhere in Africa. The day that I succeed in giving everybody in this damned country three hundred pounds, we shall have worked a terrific revolution; we could stand all of us on top of Kilimanjaro and proclaim the Tanzanian revolution!


“Forced labor! Go, go in the classroom, go and don’t teach. This we shall county as National Service for three hundred and eighty pounds a year. You are right salaries are too high. Everybody in this country is demanding a pound of flesh. Everybody except the poor peasant. How can he demand it? He doesn’t know the language. Even in his own language he can’t speak of forced labor. What kind of country are we building?” He fairly screeched the words.


“I have accepted what you said. And I am going to revise salaries permanently. And as for you, I am asking you to go home. I’m asking all of you to go home. Rashid! You are responsible to see that they go home.”


There was mild applause, presumably from those students who didn’t realize what had happened. He expelled them, three hundred and ninety three in all and sent them home.


***

Mkuu wa kijiji
Halafu mtu kama faiza anabwabwaja mbele yako?. Asante kwa elimu hii.

 

[X-PASTER]

Nakumbuka Kikwete alishinda kwa asilimia 80!

Mkuu, huyu babu mwacheni tu apumzike maana mnavyozidi kuleta mabandiko yake ndio mnazidi kumtukanisha, Nyerere hauziki kabisa yani.

 

[X-PASTER]

Nakumbuka Kikwete alishinda kwa asilimia 80!

Ah ah ah ah, si nasikia aliiba au alichakachua kura.

 

[Taso]

Mobutu hadi anaondolewa ... isipokuwa Banda (Rais wa Maisha) na Obote ( Uganda ilikuwa na vyama vingi) walikuwa wanajeshi. Unathubutu kumweka Mwalimu kundi hilo kweli?

Sawa, kama tusimweke Nyerere kwenye kundi hilo la kina Banda, Obote, Mobutu, Bokassa, Babangida basi tusimpime Nyerere kwa mizani hiyo ya wakati ule kwa kuseme "hakuwa peke yake." Unapojitetea kwa kusema sikuwa peke yangu maana yake una plead guilty.

Ndio maana nikasema kama uetetezi wenyewe ni kwamba wakati ule Afrika ilijawa na watawala wa mikono ya chuma basi nakubali kwamba Nyerere alikuwa autocrat kama wenzake wakati ule kina Banda, Babangida, Bongo, Bare, Bokassa, Biya, Bashir, Bozize.

 

[Prof Griff]

Sawa, kama tusimweke Nyerere kwenye kundi hilo la kina Banda, Obote, Mobutu, Bokassa, Babangida basi tusimpime Nyerere kwa mizani hiyo ya wakati ule kwa kuseme "hakuwa peke yake." Unapojitetea kwa kusema sikuwa peke yangu maana yake una plead guilty.

Ndio maana nikasema kama uetetezi wenyewe ni kwamba wakati ule Afrika ilijawa na watawala wa mikono ya chuma basi nakubali kwamba Nyerere alikuwa autocrat kama wenzake wakati ule kina Banda, Babangida, Bongo, Bare, Bokassa, Biya, Bashir, Bozize.

Hiyo argument yako ni too simplistic aisee. Lazima uwe na uwezo wa kweli wa kuchambua hoja na mambo kiusomi kulingana na mazingira ya kisiasa ya wakati ule. Kama huna elimu au upeo wa kutosha wa kufanya hivyo, basi ni bora ukae kimya tu. Besides, huwezi kumuweka JKN na group la akina Mobutu, Obote, Babangida, Abacha, Siad Barre, na huo upupu uliyoanishia hapo juu. Huo ni upotoshaji tu, na ni wazi kwa kufanya hivyo tayari unaonyesha biases zako zipo wapi.

 

[Taso]

Hiyo argument yako ni too simplistic aisee. Lazima uwe na uwezo wa kweli wa kuchambua hoja na mambo kiusomi kulingana na mazingira ya kisiasa ya wakati ule. Kama huna elimu au upeo wa kutosha wa kufanya hivyo, basi ni bora ukae kimya tu. Besides, huwezi kumuweka JKN na group la akina Mobutu, Obote, Babangida, Abacha, Siad Barre, na huo upupu uliyoanishia hapo juu. Huo ni upotoshaji tu, na ni wazi kwa kufanya hivyo tayari unaonyesha biases zako zipo wapi.

Unadai argument yangu ni too simplistic halafu na wewe unaongea ki shalow shalow tu. Mazingira ya kisiasa ya wakati ule ndio nini? Eleza. Kwamba madikteta walikuwa wengi sana kwa hiyo autocracy ya Nyerere ilikuwa inakubalika? Huo ndio unaita uchambuzi wa kisomi? Kama wewe unajiita msomi na mchambuzi yataje hayo mazingira ya kisiasa yanayo justify autocracy.

Kama mazingira ya kisiasa ya wakati ule hayakuruhusu democracy mbona vyama vingi vilikuwepo? Nyerere alikuta vyama vingi akavifuta, hivyo kumpa credit kwa kuruhusu vyama vingi alipotoka ni kui rape tume ya Nyalali inayostahili commendation for recommending political pluralism in Tanzania even though the antediluvian majority favored status quo.

 

[Prof Griff]

Unadai argument yangu ni too simplistic halafu na wewe unaongea ki shalow shalow tu. Mazingira ya kisiasa ya wakati ule ndio nini? Eleza. Kwamba madikteta walikuwa wengi sana kwa hiyo autocracy ya Nyerere ilikuwa inakubalika? Huo ndio unaita uchambuzi wa kisomi? Kama wewe unajiita msomi na mchambuzi yataje hayo mazingira ya kisiasa yanayo justify autocracy.

Kama mazingira ya kisiasa ya wakati ule hayakuruhusu democracy mbona vyama vingi vilikuwepo? Nyerere alikuta vyama vingi akavifuta, hivyo kumpa credit kwa kuruhusu vyama vingi alipotoka ni kui rape tume ya Nyalali inayostahili commendation for recommending political pluralism in Tanzania even though the antediluvian majority favored status quo.

Uanze wewe kwa kuelezea sifa zote (mazuri na mabaya) na kutoa tathmini yakinifu ya "autocracy ya Nyerere". Ainisha mazuri na mabaya ya utawala wake wote kulingana na vigezo vya mazingira ya kisiasa ya wakati ule ukitilia maanani siasa za vita vya baridi kati ya Marekani na USSR, ideologies mbalimbali zilizotowala enzi zile na harakati za ukombozi za nchi za kusini mwa Afrika. Kuhusu suala la "demokrasia" na Vyama vingi, hiyo ni value judgement tu na ideal au imani inayotegemea muelekeo fulani wa mtu kisiasa kama vile ideologies za Ukomunisti, Usoshalisti, na hata Ujamaa vilivyokuwa maarufu enzi zile na siyo kitu ambacho its out there and is objectively attainable.

 

[Chapakazi]

It came from what we call "colonial mentality". Ukisoma kitabu cha Mohammed Said juu ya Abdulwahid Sykes utaona kuwa wasomi wengi wa zama zao walijitahidi sana kuonekana wanakubalika na wakoloni. Msomi alijiona amefikia mahali fulani kwa kadiri wazungu walivyoonesha kumthamini na kumjali. Mwenyewe (Said) anawaita "wasomi wa Makerere".

Baada ya kupata uhuru kizazi kilichoshika madaraka kilianza kutenda kama wakoloni; wakitaka waogopwe, wapewe posho na ujiko wa kila aina kitu kilichomfanya Nyerere kuandika ule waraka wa "On Pomposity" akipiga marufuku misafara mikubwa ya magari ya viongozi na kubeza wale ambao walikuwa wanataka kupigiwa wimbo wa taifa kila wanapokwenda. Kinyume na watu wengi wanavyofikiria ni masalia ya fikra za kutawaliwa ndio kilikuwa kikwazo kikubwa sana kwa viongozi wetu wa mwanzo kwani wengine walimuona Nyerere kama Gavana wa Kiingereza na baadhi ya viongozi walijiona kama wamewareplace wale ma DC na AC wa kikoloni. Hizi fikra zipo hadi hii leo. Utaona kuwa watendaji wengi wanafikiria wanamfanyia kazi Rais kama vile mtu anavyomfanyia kazi mfalme. Kumbe, wanatakiwa kuwafanyia kazi Watanzania. Hii ilikuwa ni tofauti kubwa sana kati ya Nyerere na viongozi wenzake na lazima tujue mbwa mzee hafundishwi mbinu mpya.

Viongozi wengi walioshika madaraka wakati wa Nyerere - walikuja wakiwa na mifuko na masunduku yaliyojaa fikra za kikoloni. Ndio maana unaweza kuona kile ambacho mwandiishi amekiita "the ultimate insult" pale wanafunzi waliposema "maisha wakati wa ukoloni yalikuwa bora"! Huwezi kumlaumu Nyerere kwa hilo.

Sorry for late reply, but i agree with you. You are right on. Hii hapa ndio basis ya ufisadi uliopo sasa ivi.
Lakini kwenye point yako ya viongozi kuwafanyia kazi wananchi vs rais, je political structure ya nchi kwa sasa ipoje? Nadhani kwa sasa watendaji wote wapo answerable to the president au Chama tawala.