Muddy waters make catching fish easy; Chinese proverb’s it. Every cloud’s a silver lining. One can add. However, not in every muddy water catching fish’s as easy as ABC. Nonetheless, for President ma’am Samia Suluhu Hassan (SSH), this may conditionally be the case. She’s become president when Tanzania’s in the cusp of huge transformation credited to her predecessor the late Dr John Pombe Magufuli (1959-2021) who took power when Tanzania’s in the bog of sleaze, drug peddling, pilfering; and had a poorly performing economy among many ills the country faced then. Now, this is history. For, after Magufuli took over, everything changed dramatically and quickly so to speak. Now that Magufuli’s no more, will his successor deliver on his promises? Ma’am SSH answers saying “let me take this opportunity to assure you that nothing will be lost. Our country is in safe hands” (Citizen, March 23, 2021). Former President Jakaya Kikwete concurs saying “I have no doubt that Tanzania is in safe hands” (Citizen, March 20, 2021).
Ma’am SSH’s an achiever with many firsts on the roll. She’s the first Vice Chair of the Constitutional Assembly whose approbations were shelved. It is at this moment her stars shone and aligned and propelled Ma’am SSH to where she’s today. She too is the first female Vice President of the United Republic of Tanzania and now the first female President not only in Tanzania but in the East African Community. She’s the first female Vice President and the first from Tanzania Islands. For, Ally Hassan Mwinyi, the union’s second President, was born in the Mainland Tanzania. Similarly, she’s the first Tanzanian VP to become president, the first unelected President and the first CCM’s female Chair respectively. Overall, she’s very strong as proved this in her first speech as President saying, “let me say something here.” She added “for those who have doubts that this woman, if can handle being a president, I want to tell them that the one who is standing here in front of you is the president of Tanzania” (VOA, March 25, 2021). She forebodingly assured to those who were still in doubts if the woman became their President.
That said, currently Tanzania’s facing its first test. Since its independence, it never buried a President who died in office. At personal level, this is yet another test for Ma’am SSH who’s a part of this huge transformation as Magufuli’s VP. Thus, she isn’t learning the ropes about how to run a country. Ma’am SSH won many accolades for after being appointed VP. Her practicability, predictability, sagacity and serenity earned her the moniker of Mama Jasiri by some Tanzanians. Being able to match Magufuli’s high rigour and speed also adds up to her quality as the president who might fit in big shoes that Magufuli left.
Magufuli’s superbly top notch and gallant services to his country can’t be gainsaid or pushed under the rag. I don’t want to call it a marvel though it looks like it for those who know how things work in the upper echelons of power. Thus, for Ma’am SSH, fulfilling all projects that Magufuli started and promises he made will not only define her but will also endear her as the person who fittingly fits in Magufuli’s huge boots. Whoever tries disparaging and underrating Ma’am SSH–––simply because she is a woman–––must automatically either be ignorant of the truth or just a Janus-faced fella, which is normal in politics, especially the politics of sewage as the late Samuel Sitta, former speaker of the parliament would agreeably put it. Such a person must think again. Similarly, whoever’ll underrate Ma’am SSH must do so for his or her shock the first place. The way she presided over the transition period when the entire nation was mourning the leader who’s hugely loved and trusted can give you a hint into the person that Ma’am SSH is.
I’m neither Ma’am SSH’s spokesperson nor even next to him or her. Surely, what I can comfortably say’s: whoever doubts Ma’am SSH’s political achievements under whatever decoy, must be doing a self-disservice and committing suttee to her/himself and to his or her ambition of unseating the Irony Lady in Dodoma. The long and short of this is that fair and square: the majority of Tanzanians have fully accepted and supported her since she ascended to power. Apart from being a workaholic like her predecessor, she’s a unifier who grew up in the CCM. Importantly, she knows the system as her palm.
The sage’s it that it’s better to arrive late in this world than early in the next one. Politically, though doubting Ma’am SSH’s capability’s a democratic right, it’s next to never to ignore her meritocratic rise to where she now’s. If anything, those who wrongly think that Ma’am SSH is in office to warm up the seat must think twice. What they might attain from such a stance is nothing but arriving early in the next political world and a shock. When it comes to winning the hearts and minds of Tanzanians–––to unseat her come next elections after lapsing her phase–––the opposition needs something credible and concrete to firm up their assertions, if any, by conducting more research in order to show what they all are about that all citizens can support. By so doing, hopefully, the message will unequivocally hit home. Again, is there anything convincing that one can pick against ma’am SSH’s poise in office? If anything, the opposition has a lot of jerky road to cover to convince any sane bin-Adam to desert the CCM even after Magufuli.
If ma'am SSH fulfills the promises she made after being sworn in that she’ll deliver Magufuli’s big and many dreams, for the opposition or any CCM cadres, to unseat her is as good as an elephant to pass through needle’s eye. Forget about the biblical Carmel. There’s more to this than meets the eye so to speak. Or put it this way. For the opposition to beat ma’am SSH in a ballot box only extraordinaire miracles must happen. Again, beating ma’am SSH is rare and next to never like dreaming to find an aye-aye in the desert or Greenland. Her political capital that Magufuli left is huge and developable shall she stay course.
Apart from the miracles that can’t happen to unseat ma’am SSH, the opposition, and others who are pondering on joining the craze and maze, the CCM can assuredly take this to bank. With ma'am SSH at the helm, it’s hard for the opposition to unseat it . If they, by any stretch of imagination mean business, those envisaging unseating ma’am SSH, must remember what happened when a rookie Magufuli burst into the scene. This is easy and simple to gauge and grasp. The support ma'am SSH got from Tanzanians makes any attempts to unseat her futile.
I heard some people cajoling her predecessor for constructing bridges, flyover, roads, ships and purchasing planes saying that such are things but not humans as if they’re constructed for themselves not humans. Go figure. Similarly, cynics used to deride Magufuli for purchasing the planes they’re now using to crisscross the country easily to tell their fibs and fabrications. It came to light recently that they are operated on loss thanks to Covid-19 among other reasons. Shall Ma’am SSH turn this situation around, nobody’ll be able to unseat her. More importantly, some were jeering the Hapa Kazi mantra saying that, when we gained our independence, the Father of the Nation, Mwl JK Nyerere had the chant of Uhuru na Maendeleo, namely freedom and Development but not Hapa Kazi they’re now misconstruing as the tool of enslaving Tanzanians! Startlingly, such people are calling themselves Christians whose book of authority says that “if a man will not work, he shall not eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10). Gender preferences aside, should we rob Peter to pay Paul? Time will surely tell.
Ma’am SSH’s an achiever with many firsts on the roll. She’s the first Vice Chair of the Constitutional Assembly whose approbations were shelved. It is at this moment her stars shone and aligned and propelled Ma’am SSH to where she’s today. She too is the first female Vice President of the United Republic of Tanzania and now the first female President not only in Tanzania but in the East African Community. She’s the first female Vice President and the first from Tanzania Islands. For, Ally Hassan Mwinyi, the union’s second President, was born in the Mainland Tanzania. Similarly, she’s the first Tanzanian VP to become president, the first unelected President and the first CCM’s female Chair respectively. Overall, she’s very strong as proved this in her first speech as President saying, “let me say something here.” She added “for those who have doubts that this woman, if can handle being a president, I want to tell them that the one who is standing here in front of you is the president of Tanzania” (VOA, March 25, 2021). She forebodingly assured to those who were still in doubts if the woman became their President.
That said, currently Tanzania’s facing its first test. Since its independence, it never buried a President who died in office. At personal level, this is yet another test for Ma’am SSH who’s a part of this huge transformation as Magufuli’s VP. Thus, she isn’t learning the ropes about how to run a country. Ma’am SSH won many accolades for after being appointed VP. Her practicability, predictability, sagacity and serenity earned her the moniker of Mama Jasiri by some Tanzanians. Being able to match Magufuli’s high rigour and speed also adds up to her quality as the president who might fit in big shoes that Magufuli left.
Magufuli’s superbly top notch and gallant services to his country can’t be gainsaid or pushed under the rag. I don’t want to call it a marvel though it looks like it for those who know how things work in the upper echelons of power. Thus, for Ma’am SSH, fulfilling all projects that Magufuli started and promises he made will not only define her but will also endear her as the person who fittingly fits in Magufuli’s huge boots. Whoever tries disparaging and underrating Ma’am SSH–––simply because she is a woman–––must automatically either be ignorant of the truth or just a Janus-faced fella, which is normal in politics, especially the politics of sewage as the late Samuel Sitta, former speaker of the parliament would agreeably put it. Such a person must think again. Similarly, whoever’ll underrate Ma’am SSH must do so for his or her shock the first place. The way she presided over the transition period when the entire nation was mourning the leader who’s hugely loved and trusted can give you a hint into the person that Ma’am SSH is.
I’m neither Ma’am SSH’s spokesperson nor even next to him or her. Surely, what I can comfortably say’s: whoever doubts Ma’am SSH’s political achievements under whatever decoy, must be doing a self-disservice and committing suttee to her/himself and to his or her ambition of unseating the Irony Lady in Dodoma. The long and short of this is that fair and square: the majority of Tanzanians have fully accepted and supported her since she ascended to power. Apart from being a workaholic like her predecessor, she’s a unifier who grew up in the CCM. Importantly, she knows the system as her palm.
The sage’s it that it’s better to arrive late in this world than early in the next one. Politically, though doubting Ma’am SSH’s capability’s a democratic right, it’s next to never to ignore her meritocratic rise to where she now’s. If anything, those who wrongly think that Ma’am SSH is in office to warm up the seat must think twice. What they might attain from such a stance is nothing but arriving early in the next political world and a shock. When it comes to winning the hearts and minds of Tanzanians–––to unseat her come next elections after lapsing her phase–––the opposition needs something credible and concrete to firm up their assertions, if any, by conducting more research in order to show what they all are about that all citizens can support. By so doing, hopefully, the message will unequivocally hit home. Again, is there anything convincing that one can pick against ma’am SSH’s poise in office? If anything, the opposition has a lot of jerky road to cover to convince any sane bin-Adam to desert the CCM even after Magufuli.
If ma'am SSH fulfills the promises she made after being sworn in that she’ll deliver Magufuli’s big and many dreams, for the opposition or any CCM cadres, to unseat her is as good as an elephant to pass through needle’s eye. Forget about the biblical Carmel. There’s more to this than meets the eye so to speak. Or put it this way. For the opposition to beat ma’am SSH in a ballot box only extraordinaire miracles must happen. Again, beating ma’am SSH is rare and next to never like dreaming to find an aye-aye in the desert or Greenland. Her political capital that Magufuli left is huge and developable shall she stay course.
Apart from the miracles that can’t happen to unseat ma’am SSH, the opposition, and others who are pondering on joining the craze and maze, the CCM can assuredly take this to bank. With ma'am SSH at the helm, it’s hard for the opposition to unseat it . If they, by any stretch of imagination mean business, those envisaging unseating ma’am SSH, must remember what happened when a rookie Magufuli burst into the scene. This is easy and simple to gauge and grasp. The support ma'am SSH got from Tanzanians makes any attempts to unseat her futile.
I heard some people cajoling her predecessor for constructing bridges, flyover, roads, ships and purchasing planes saying that such are things but not humans as if they’re constructed for themselves not humans. Go figure. Similarly, cynics used to deride Magufuli for purchasing the planes they’re now using to crisscross the country easily to tell their fibs and fabrications. It came to light recently that they are operated on loss thanks to Covid-19 among other reasons. Shall Ma’am SSH turn this situation around, nobody’ll be able to unseat her. More importantly, some were jeering the Hapa Kazi mantra saying that, when we gained our independence, the Father of the Nation, Mwl JK Nyerere had the chant of Uhuru na Maendeleo, namely freedom and Development but not Hapa Kazi they’re now misconstruing as the tool of enslaving Tanzanians! Startlingly, such people are calling themselves Christians whose book of authority says that “if a man will not work, he shall not eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10). Gender preferences aside, should we rob Peter to pay Paul? Time will surely tell.
Source: African Executive Magazine today.
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