Nyerere’s legacy soars high as Edinburgh University marks his Centenary
Edinburgh. On November 7, at the Playfair Library of the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, the Centre of African Studies at the School of Social and Political Science hosted Tanzanians and friends of Tanzania in commemoration of Mwalimu Nyerere’s centenary.
It has been 100 years since Mwalimu was born in 1922.
The centenary took the form of a thoughtful yet less formal symposium, something that Mwalimu would have liked. Academics and Nyerere enthusiasts from various learning institutions graced the occasion with their informative presentations. Attendees were also given the opportunity to see Mwalimu’s original records at his alma mater in his own fine handwriting.
A taste of Nyerere’s life
In her opening remarks, Tanzania’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Dr Asha-Rose Migiro, expressed a sentiment shared by many Tanzanians. She highlighted how Mwalimu Julius Nyerere’s admiration goes beyond his being the founding father of our nation. He was a great pan Africanist, a unifying force for Tanzanians and other African nations, and exemplary in political skills, hard work, zeal for progress, knowledge, freedom, unity, and human empowerment.
“Mwalimu became his title of respect, and at some point it could not be separated from who he was. He was simply referred to as Mwalimu. Even today when someone says Mwalimu, it immediately suggests Julius Nyerere. He was a teacher for his country, teaching his people good agricultural practices as well as good use of language and Swahili grammar,” Dr Migiro said.
Speaking about Nyerere’s legacy, Dr Migiro acknowledged the transformative power of Nyerere’s thoughts on freedom, dignity, and respect for all peoples. The unity of Tanzanians today and the absence of tribal and religious divisions are a testimony to the strong foundations Mwalimu Nyerere laid. Kiswahili, which has been a language so dear to Tanzanians, only became so because of his effort.
Given the one-of-a-kind nature of this centenary event, Dr Migiro commended the University of Edinburgh for taking the initiative and putting in the effort to make this memorial event a success.
Nyerere’s thirst to be useful
According to records, Nyerere was admitted to Edinburgh University in October 1949. In making his choice of his master’s degree, Nyerere wrote in his letter, “If I can be useful to my country after my studies here, I will be more useful if I take an arts degree rather than a science degree.”
Dr Thomas Molony, a senior lecturer at the Institute of African Studies at the University of Edinburgh, spent years researching the early years of Mwalimu Nyerere, which required him to spend many long stays in Tanzania. He is the author of the book “Nyerere: The Early Years.”
Dr Molony gave a historical presentation of Nyerere’s life journey, beginning with the chieftaincy family in Butiama and progressing to Tabora Boys, Makerere University, and finally Edinburgh University for further studies.
The unfinished African liberation agenda
Dr Ng’wanza Kamata, one of Nyerere’s biographers and a professor at the University of Dar es Salaam, spoke extensively about Nyerere’s role in the liberation of many African nations, the most recent being South Africa in 1994.
Nyerere was concerned about colonialism, capitalism, and the race question, which was particularly broad in neighbouring nations. Dr Kamata revealed that Nyerere knew that Africa was still under threat of being dominated even after colonialism was dealt with. Independence was not enough, and decolonization was a deeper problem than it appeared to be. It was a later realization that what people fought for was not going to work until the structure left by colonial masters was dealt with because, with the same structures, African leaders inherited both positions of power and their unjust privileges.
Dr Kamata observes that colonial powers are still in indirect control of the majority of African economies. Colonialism, which was an exploitation system, did not end with the formalities of independence.
Mwalimu Nyerere, who was at the helm of the think-tank for the young nation, categorized the liberation that we needed into four categories. First, freedom from external economic domination; secondly, not giving a chance to the rule of minorities; third, freedom from poverty, injustice, and oppression imposed by Africans on fellow Africans; and fourth, mental freedom, that is, the ability of Africans to think of themselves as intellectually capable, and not inferior as compared to non-Africans. Dr Kamata opined that, with the exception of the first, the other three aspects are still very relevant today.
Nyerere’s legacy on leadership
Deborah Bryceson is a professor of African studies and an honorary fellow at the Centre for African Studies at the University of Edinburgh. In her presentation, she made a comparison of the qualities of good and exemplary leadership among a number of African leaders who were Nyerere’s contemporaries.
Akin to Seretse Khama of Botswana, Mwalimu Nyerere proved to be outstanding in his leadership and efforts towards the economic growth and national sovereignty of the newly independent nation. Nyerere’s abolition of civic, administrative, and juridical powers in chieftaincies and chiefdoms was an act of courage, as he came from a family of chiefs himself. But he did so for the greater good, to bring in a balanced system that functions with the contributions of everyone.
Nyerere’s inclusion and women’s empowerment
Zamda Geuza is a Tanzanian doctoral researcher at the University of Exeter, with a background in communication and publishing. In her presentation, she elaborated on the lesser-known reality of women’s inclusion in government and leadership, which served as the foundation for the current progress.
Mwalimu’s unpublished manuscript of 1944, which was published in 2009 in the book ‘Uhuru wa Wanawake’ by the Mwalimu Nyerere Foundation, clearly admits the presence of oppressive social structures and advocates for the inclusion of women into legal systems and leadership.
Mwalimu also established strategies like Universal Primary Education, Adult Education, the Literacy Campaign, and Functional Literacy, which helped to give access to education to those who were denied education opportunities because of cultural reasons, early marriages, and early pregnancies. These empowerment strategies made a contribution to promoting interest in literacy and literature among women, giving birth to educated African women, including writers and publishers.
Seeing the potential in this empowerment, Ms. Geuza emphasized the need to invest in promoting readership and literacy through trainings, the supply of books among girls and women, and the collaborative involvement of women in empowerment projects.
The youth and their understanding of Nyerere
Mr. Albert Mkony is a Tanzanian and a senior tutor and researcher at the University of Edinburgh. In his presentation, Mkony elaborated on the knowledge gap across generations as it relates to Mwalimu Nyerere. With 70% of Tanzanians today being born after his leadership, there is a spectrum of opinions regarding him based on age, experience, and level of informedness.
With very few engineers, medical doctors, and other professionals, Mwalimu’s generation built the country. This is probably where the usage of the phrase “kujenga nchi” as a reference to ‘going to work’ finds its best context. Mkony is of the view that there is not enough Nyerere education among young Tanzanians.
Mwalimu Nyerere in Education
In his address, Prof William Anangisye, who is the Vice Chancellor of the University of Dar es Salaam and an alumnus of the University of Edinburgh, expressed his profound gratitude to the University of Edinburgh for such a befitting commemoration of Mwalimu Nyerere. He highlighted Mwalimu’s contribution to Tanzanian education, and in founding the University of Dar es Salaam, which has evolved into a reliable and reputable academic and research institution in Tanzania, the continent of Africa, and the world.
The University of Dar es Salaam has renamed its main campus after Mwalimu Nyerere in recognition of the good legacies he left behind.
The Rector of Edinburgh University, Deborah Kayembe, a daughter of the African continent from the DR Congo, an outstanding lawyer and human rights activist, and the first African to have her portrait hung on the wall of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, gave a vote of thanks to Dr Migiro and all who attended. In her words, said in Swahili, “Nyerere will be remembered as a precious gift to the world.”
