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Nyerere’s legacy lives on among Tanzanians
Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere on October 10, 1997 during a news conference in Arusha. FILE PHOTO | AP
What you need to know:
- Many Tanzanians want their leaders to follow Nyerere’s ideals of natural resource protection and the necessity to make difficult decisions on matters that define the country
Dar es Salaam. Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere’s hard convictions and strictness in imposing leadership standards, as well as the sacrifices he made over years of establishing national unity, are among the legacies that many Tanzanians remember today as they mark the 24th anniversary of his death.
Many Tanzanians who spoke to The Citizen want politicians to follow in his footsteps when it comes to protecting natural resources and making difficult decisions on topics that define the country.
On October 14, 1999, at the age of 77, the nation’s Founding Father died of natural causes in a London hospital.
He died after effectively spearheading the movement for freedom and political independence from the British government, not only for his mother country, Tanzania, but also for several central and southern African countries.
They include South Africa, which, after decades of apartheid, has now emerged as Africa’s second-largest economy after Nigeria.
Speaking to The Citizen yesterday, political commentators, politicians, economists, and diplomats said Nyerere has left a legacy in different areas.
A political science and public administration lecturer at the University of Dodoma (Udom), Dr Paul Loisulie, said Mwalimu Nyerere would reproach Tanzanians over the lack of economic and political freedom in the extraction of natural resources.
He said natural resource exploration was left undeveloped in order to pave the way for Tanzanians to acquire the pre-requisite education, skills, and technology to efficiently unearth the country’s wealth.
“He [Mwalimu Nyerere] would probably reprimand that it is high time we become independent mentally, socially, and economically,” he said during an interview.
Dr Loisulie also said the founding father of the nation would also have pushed for constitutional changes in a similar manner that he championed for the re-introduction of multiparty democracy in the country.
“He [Mwalimu Nyerere] would have told us that the present constitution is outdated and encouraged us to write a more progressive, revolutionary, and inclusive document,” he said.
Dr Loisulie said Mwalimu Nyerere was a living testimony whose content of his speech never died and that he prophesied whatever he was speaking.
His University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) counterpart Richard Mbunda said conserved areas and tourists’ attractions were a result of his in-depth thinking.
“Mwalimu Nyerere also came up with leadership ethics to make Tanzanians holding different public offices accountable. He was strict on the war against corruption, especially during election processes,” he said.
“Though they were socialist ideologies, I think we have relaxed somewhere. When coupled with a leader’s freedom of doing business, things have turned worse,” he added.
ACT Wazalendo secretary general, Ado Shaibu, said Mwalimu Nyerere was the founder of the country’s unity and bravely fought against tribalism and religiosity.
“Unfortunately, tribalism and religiosity are returning to the country, as recently witnessed during public debates on investments at the Dar es Salaam port,” he said.
He said Mwalimu Nyerere believed in people-centred development, saying the recent focus has been on property development.
Chadema deputy secretary general (Mainland), Benson Kigaila, described Mwalimu Nyerere as a democratic leader and protector of the country’s natural resources who walked the talk.
“He provided free education without discrimination and taught through his books. He wasn’t involved in the embezzlement of funds despite leading the country in the early years of independence, something that made him poor. These are the things Chadema is fighting for,” he said.
The chairman of the retired ambassadors, Dr James Nsekela, said Mwalimu Nyerere was a great leader who unified the country and promoted Kiswahili as the medium of communication.
“He made it possible for both the rich and the impoverished to receive an education through the free education policy, which was a significant contribution to the effort to end illiteracy. Extraordinarily, he was able to make tough decisions, such as taking the country to pluralism,” he said.
