Mugabe’s concern on Nyerere’s legacy apt

On Saturday, Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe described as embarrassing the failure by African leaders to honour Tanzania’s founding President, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, for his role in liberating the Continent. The 90 year-old leader was speaking at his birthday party hosted by his staff shortly after his return from Singapore, where he had gone for an eye operation.

He said African leaders must do more to honour Mwalimu Nyerere who made his country a sanctuary for liberation movements. Clearly, President Mugabe has exposed how Africans tend to downplay their own, who made it possible for the Continent to be free. Granted, Nyerere wasn’t an angel, but he was a highly conscientious man who did his best to boost the Southern Africa liberation struggle. We consider it a shame that even in South Africa, a country for which Mwalimu sacrificed immensely to help its freedom fighters fight against apartheid, they don’t have a single street or institution named after him!

Naming, say, roads, streets, schools and universities after an iconic figure is one way we immortalise heroes to whom we owe so much to. A people need to know where they come from in order to chart their way into the future. Tanzania, for instance, is graced by roads, schools, universities and streets named after great sons of Africa such as Kwame Nkurumah, Ahmed Sekoutoure, Nelson Mandela, Nnamdi Azikiwe and Haile Selassie.

In Addis Ababa, Nyerere’s portrait was missing in the new, Chinese-funded African Union headquarters. Tanzanian delegates had to fight hard to ensure Mwalimu occupies his rightful place amongst other founding fathers of free Africa.

In 2007, African National Congress—South Africa’s ruling party, named what it termed top heroes of anti-apartheid struggle. On that list, Nyerere’s name was missing! President Mugabe has spoken, not only for Mwalimu Nyerere, but for all other great men and women who sacrificed for Africa and the dignity of its people.