THE CITIZEN ON SATURDAY of 9th
March, 2019; carried the good news of the planned launching of what will be
known as the “Mwalimu Nyerere Leadership Forum”. It was reported that the Forum
is scheduled for launching on 30th March, 2019; and that this Forum
will be aimed at “discussing the legacy of Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, and how the
current generation can use his intellectual wealth for community development,
plus the lessons of his life and agenda, in relation to current
realities”. This is certainly very good news
for all those who sincerely admire Mwalimu Nyerere’s vast contributions to the
making of our nation; in the light of the solid foundations of ‘good responsible leadership’ which he laid
down, and which continue to form the
‘cornerstone’ of his legacy. I am one of those devout students and admirers
of Mwalimu Nyerere. I therefore undertake to participate fully in supporting
the work of this new Forum. And, in order to ‘hit the
ground running’; today’s article will be a presentation of some of the most
memorable components of Mwalimu Nyerere’s legacy.
Memories of Mwalimu
Nyerere.
When our
beloved father of the nation, Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere, departed from
this world on 14th October, 1999; he was mourned all round the
world, by the most humble, as well as the most exalted. This was a manifest
testimony of his greatness as a selfless leader, who always gave top priority
to the concerns, and the wellbeing, of the people. But although he is gone, his ideals must be
kept alive so that they may continue to inspire our nation, in our continued
search for stability and peace, and for justice and equality; which are the
critical ideals for which he lived and died. The famous English dramatist
William Shakespeare, said the following in his Play titled Julius Caesar: The evil that men do lives after them, but the good is
often interred with their bones”
We absolutely must not allow the “good” that
Mwalimu Nyerere did for our country and nation, “to be interred with his
bones”. Indeed, we have a binding obligation to ensure, that Mwalimu Nyerere’s
legacy continues to exist within us, in order to guide the post-Nyerere
generations of Tanzanians. It may
also be well worthwhile recalling the
words of wisdom, appearing in a
statement attributed to one Thomas Carlyle (1795 – 1881), the Scottish
historian and essayist; who said the
following in his book titled “Heroes and
Hero-worship”: “No great man lives in vain. The history of the world is but
the biography of great men”. Undoubtedly, Mwalimu Nyerere was one such ‘great men’,
and the little records like this presentation, can be taken to form part of his
biography.
In
similar vein, on the local front; I also chanced to gain access to a book
titled “Remembering Nyerere in Tanzania:
History, memory, legacy”. (Mkuki and Nyota Publishers, Dar es Salaam,
2015).
The said
book is a collection of contributions from a variety of knowledgeable persons.
According to its editor, “this book is about how Nyerere is remembered by
Tanzanians from all levels of society, in what ways, on what occasions, and for
what purpose”.
Furthermore, we must take note of
the constant and persistent reminder by the Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation
(TBC, in their daily programme appropriately titled “Wosia wa Baba”: through
that attractive singing of the words: “Kama siyo juhudi zako Nyerere, na Uhuru
tungepata wapi? Na amani tungepata
wapi? And so on.
The planned launching of the
proposed Mwalimu Nyerere Leadership Forum will, undoubtedly, facilitate the
enhancement of these commendable efforts to enable Mwalimu Nyerere’s legacy “to
be remembered by Tanzanians from all levels of society”.
Mwalimu Nyerere’ legacy.
On good governance, and
democracy.
Mwalimu
Nyerere’s firm stand on the necessity for good governance, is clearly
manifested in the directives and
guidelines which he issued to the ‘One Party’ Constitutional Review Commission
which he had appointed in 1963, for the purpose of making recommendations for the
introduction of a new democratic One-Party Constitution. A reading of these directives and guidelines
reveals his major concerns in relation these issues. They represent the
cherished principles which he wanted to be enshrined in the One-Party Constitution.
These included: (a) The principles of
democracy, which he listed as follows:- Maximum political freedom
for all citizens. (Freedom of expression, of movement, of religious belief, and
of association with others, within the context of the law; freedom for the
people to choose their representatives to all legislative bodies). And maximum participation by the people in
their own Government, and ultimate control by them.
(b)
The ‘ethics and integrity’ principles, namely the fundamental equality of all
human beings, and the right of every individual to dignity and respect. To his immense credit, Mwalimu Nyerere actually
managed to faithfully and diligently, “walk his talk” in all these matters. For example, his commitment to the
principle of giving the people “freedom to choose their representatives to all
legislative bodies”, is manifestly reflected in his subsequent (unsuccessful) campaign
against the constitutional ban on the participation of private candidates in
our elections.
In his 1995 little book titled
“Our leadership and the destiny of Tanzania”, Mwalimu Nyerere wrote the
following: “I am not denying that the
right of every citizen to stand in an election was effectively denied during
the One Party system. But I argued then, and I continue to do so now, that with
two candidates being submitted to the free choice of the voters, that was the most appropriate and democratic
system under the circumstances of that time. But after moving to the
multi-party system, a move which I fully supported, we were effectively saying
that the circumstances have changed. Therefore this restriction on the exercise
of one of the basic peoples’ rights (the right to stand for election), could be
lifted without endangering the unity and peace of our country”. Mwalimu Nyerere’s strong belief in democracy is also
demonstrated by his inclusion in the policy document which he personally authored
that is, the 1967 ‘Arusha Declaration on Socialism and Self Reliance”; wherein
he wrote as follows: “The only guarantee for genuine socialist transformation,
is for the State to take effective control. Or ownership, of the major means of
production. But a country does not become socialist simply because its major
means of production are controlled by the State. The State itself must be governed
by a democratically elected Government”.
Mwalimu Nyerere’s
legacy on the issue of ethics.
It has been said, in the books of authority on
the subject of ethics that “ethics is the heart of leadership”. Mwalimu Nyerere’s commitment on this issue is
evidenced in his statement made in the
Tanganyika Legislative Council, way back in 1958; when Mwalimu Nyerere said the
following: “The only
safeguard for the people’s rights, such
as the people’s freedom, and all those other things which they value and
cherish, can only be ‘the ethic of the nation’, or national
ethic. If the people of any given nation
do not have that kind of national ethic, it does not really matter what kind of
Constitution they have; for they can
still become victims of tyranny imposed upon them by a dictatorial leader.
Therefore, what we must continue to do all the time, is to endeavor to build a
“national ethic”. This is what will, possibly even more than the Constitution,
make even the President of the
country, whoever he may be, to always
pause and restrain himself from taking action, in circumstances where he can caution himself
by saying that “yes, under the Constitution, I have the power and authority to
do this. But the national ethic prevents me from doing it”.
To the best of my knowledge, Mwalimu Nyerere
sincerely endeavored to adhere to this ‘ethics doctrine’ throughout his
leadership period, and even beyond, into his retirement period. This is his legacy which needs to be emulated.
Mwalimu Nyerere legacy on the Constitution.
It has
been said that “the Constitution is both a political and a legal
document”. Thus, because it is a political document, Mwalimu Nyerere the ‘principled’
political leader that he was, always maintained the principle that the
country’s Constitution must be fully respected and strictly adhered to. That is why he became exceedingly annoyed when, after his voluntary retirement,
his successor into office President Ali
Hassan Mwinyi, succumbed to the evil temptation of attempting to breach the
Constitution, by his apparent desire
to continue in office beyond the
two-term limit imposed by the Constitution.
Mwalimu Nyerere’s response to that attempt is recorded in his book
already referred to above, in which he wrote the following: - “It is of vital
importance for the peace of this county, and the possibilities of harmonious
development, that all the provisions of the Union Constitution, as it stands at
any given time, should be respected and honored by all authorities in both
parts of the Union. It is therefore the prime responsibility of the President
of the United Republic, and of the Union Government under his leadership, to
ensure that the Constitution is honored in all its respects. The President and
his Government must endeavor to prevent any violation of the Constitution”.
Mwalimu Nyerere’s
legacy on combating corruption.
Mwalimu
Nyerere took his first public steps on ‘the combat road’ in the war against
corruption, on17th may, 1960; during his speech in the Legislative Council, of
which he was a member and leader of the Tanganyika Elected Members Organization
(TEMO). That is when he made the significant historical statement, declaring
corruption as “an enemy of the people”. He said the following: “Mr. Speaker,
let me also take this opportunity to add ‘corruption’ to the list of the three
enemies which consistently afflict our otherwise peaceful society, namely,
poverty, ignorance, and disease. I believe it is now necessary to add a fourth
enemy to that list, and that enemy is corruption. This is indeed necessary
because, even though we can endeavor to marshal efforts and resources to deal
with the issues of poverty, ignorance and disease; it must be realized that all
such efforts can effectively be reduced to naught, simply through the corrupt
actions perpetrated by the relevant leaders. For that reason, Mr. Speaker, the
issue of corruption must be confronted with all the seriousness it deserves; for corruption is a ruthless enemy that can
cause even greater harm during peace time, than the harm which results from
armed conflict during war time.
Therefore,
Sir, in my considered opinion, the crime of corruption deserves to be placed in
the same category as that of treason. This is because corruption among
Government leaders effectively destroys the people’s confidence in their
Government, to the extent that often promotes equally harmful political consequential
outcomes. To the best of my knowledge, at all times during his leadership
period, Mwalimu Nyerere always took appropriate measures to implement his
earnest resolve to combat corruption. And this is a legacy which must be emulated.
piomsekwa@gmail.com /
0754767576.
Source: Daily News today and for the courtesy of Cde Pius Msekwa himself.
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