The day after tomorrow, 14th October, 2023, will be the 24th anniversary of the death of the father of our nation, Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere. This is the day on which the whole nation normally commemorates his life and death, in their varied ways and methods, with the official national celebration events, including a church service, being held at national level.
I have always penned special commemorative articles around this time in October of every year, hence this presentation is just a continuation of that habit; which is being done in the spirit of the inspiring statement which says that “praising what is lost, makes the remembrance dearer”. This is to be found in that famous English Playwright William Shakespeare’s Play titled “All’s well that ends well” (Act v, scene iii). And indeed, upon his death twenty four years ago this month, our nation truly lost Mwalimu Julius Nyerere. These presentations also seek to praise Mwalimu Nyerere for what he did for our country and our nation. They will, hopefully, “make his remembrance dearer”;
What Nyerere did for our nation.
This is the twenty-fourth anniversary of Mwalimu Nyerere’s death. In the life of human beings this is a long period of time; for it represents a whole generation period. We therefore now have a new generation of Tanzanians, which is entitled to know the history of where we came from; and, in particular, about his successful endeavours in laying the firm foundations for the subsequent management and socio-economic growth of our nation.
However, looking back now with the advantage of hindsight at Mwalimu Nyerere’s ‘huge basket’ of leadership initiatives and contributions; I can see some of the omissions in the story that is told in my book referred to above. For example, the omission to include samples of his willingness to admit, and the readiness to correct, the mistakes that he had made in implementing his administrative decision-making functions. This was the relatively minor administrative mistake that he made in deciding on the location of the district headquarters of the newly created Serengeti District.
The President is empowered, by law and at is discretion, to establish new administrative units that are designated as ‘Regions’ and ‘Districts’, as he may consider appropriate. On this particular occasion, President Nyerere had decided to establish a new district in Mara Region, to be named ‘Serengeti District’.
On the day of its official inauguration, the President sent his Vice President, Aboud Jumbe, to officiate at that ceremony, which had been organised to be held at Bunda. The residents of that area had generally expected that Bunda to become the headquarters of the proposed new district; but their expectation was suddenly frustrated; when, in his speech to inaugurate the new District, Vice President Aboud Jumbe (obviously on instructions from President Nyerere), announced that the headquarters of the new district will be located at Mugumu. This announcement not only disappointed, but also annoyed the huge audience which had attended the event; as they all immediately walked away in a clear demonstration of protest.
Fortunately, President Nyerere correctly interpreted this protest action as a message to him, that he had made a mistake in locating the district headquarters at Mugumu; thus, he quickly decided to correct that mistake by establishing another new ‘Bunda district’, with headquarters at Bunda.
Those of our readers who are followers of the Christian faith, will easily remember the Biblical story when the Jewish ruler Pontio Pilato obstinately refused to change his inscription of “Jesus Christ king of the Jews”. Obviously, President Nyerere did not have Pontio Pilato’s type of obstinacy.
Another omission in my book referred to above, is in relation to Mwalimu Nyerere’s achievements in laying the foundations for effective intra-party ‘conflict resolution’ mechanisms. This omission was partly due to the fact that is because that the main purpose of that book was book was to tell the story of Nyerere’s leadership and management initiatives and activities, in the country’s government. Consequently, his initiatives in respect of the ruling political party, had to be omitted. That missing story is now told briefly in the paragraphs which follow below. It is in relation to the initiative to introduce what are known as ‘party membership pledges’
The membership pledges.
When TANU was founded in 1954, with Mwalimu Nyerere as its founder President; his first task was to prepare a draft of the new party’s constitution. As this was the first ever political party to be formed in this part of the world, there was, practically, no local experience to guide the undertaking such a task; hence, Mwalimu Nyerere later revealed that he sought assistance from his political friend, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, who obliged by sending a copy of the constitution of his own political party, the Convention Peoples’ Party (CPP); and further that he borrowed the CPP’s party structure in crafting TANU’s structure TANU’s structure (which was subsequently adopted also as CCM’s structure); but that he added his own initiatives, which are the ‘membership pledges’ that now appear as Appendix ‘A’ of the CCM constitution, listed as “Ahadi za Mwanachama”.
Looked at more closely, these nine provisions actually constitute the beliefs, and principles, that should govern the life of any upright person, for each of them is a declaration of personal commitment to certain basic principles, which are the following as follows:-
Item 1 is a commitment to the belief in the equality of all human beings.
Item 2 is a pledge to faithfully serve the country and its people.
Item 3 is a pledge to participate in the fight against poverty, ignorance and disease.
Item 4 is a pledge to participate in the fight against all forms of corruption.
Item 5 is a commitment to the principle that leadership positions are a form of if a surety, which must not be used for private personal gains.
Item 6 is a pledge to endeavour to advance yourself educationally to the maximum of your ability.
Item 7 is a pledge to cooperate with fellow citizens in all community efforts aimed at achieving sustained development of our country.
Item 8 is a pledge to always say the truth, and nothing but the truth.
The final item 9 is a commitment to be a faithful and devoted member of the party.
These were the ‘ethical foundations’ that were firmly laid by the founding father of our nation, and, as already suggested above, should govern the life every patriotic citizen of our country.
I should mention also that Mwalimu Nyerere himsefl actually played his part in this respect, by truly ‘walking his talk’. For, immediately after he had completed the task of achieving the country’s independence; he reminded his colleagues in the country’s leadership about the need to implement these principles; when he said the following:- “During the struggle for independence, TANU called on the colonial government to observe the fundamental principle of human equality. Our people now expect that their new leaders will observe this cardinal principle. We also called for the granting of equal opportunities to all citizens. Now that we are in power, our people also reasonably expect to see this call being fully enforced and practiced” .
Nyerere’s practical re-statement of these principles.
In February 1967, when he was writing that major ‘policy document’ known as the “Arusha Declaration”, President Nyerere took that opportunity to re-state these principles. The document’s opening paragraph is a recitation of the humiliating colonial experience, which was distinctly marked by the deliberate disregard for the fundamental principle of the ‘equality of all human beings’; and the associated right of every individual to dignity and respect.
I therefore wish to suggest, that in our regular annual discussions that are normally held in remembrance of the departed founder-leader of our nation, we should also focus attention on his three most outstanding accomplishments; namely:-
(i) His unflinching support for the liberation of countries in the Central and Southern Africa Regions from colonialism.
(ii) His special achievement in laying firm foundations for our country’s unity, which we continue to enjoy right up to this day; as well as the foundations for the socio-economic development of our country and its people.
(iii) His achievement in introducing the important concept of ‘Leadership Ethics’. More detailed information about these matters is given in the paragraphs that follow below.
(i) The ‘liberation struggle project.
During the initial period, which covered the first few years of leadership following the country’s attainment of independence; the struggle against colonialism was the dominant political agenda for Africa.
Mwalimu Nyerere himself was of the settled view, that ‘colonialism was a violation of the human right to self-determination’; and vowed to join the struggle for its elimination.
Thus, upon taking office as President of Tanganyika on 9th December, 1962, he made a pledge to participate “fully and actively” in the efforts for the liberation of all the countries of Africa from colonialism; which he faithfully did, as best he could under the circumstances; particularly, his generosity in hosting many of the liberation parties who established their camps in this country for the training of their freedom fighters; with the associated danger of our country being attacked by the said colonialists, on the pretext of pursuing their enemies, the freedom fighters.
(ii) Laying the foundations for the country’s unity and peace.
Mwalimu Nyerere’s achievement in laying the foundations for our enduring national unity among people of diverse tribal groupings, with each such group having their own tribal Chief to whom they owed allegiance; is perhaps his most widely acknowledged achievement and legacy.
As confirmed by examples from other African countries, tribalism can be a major hindrance to the political progress of the affected country. For example, available records show that the political parties that spearheaded the independence struggle in Nigeria, Kenya, and in Uganda; were largely formed along tribal lines. Naturally, such divisions were a clear hindrance to unity, that was so important for the success of the struggle for independence.
The Nyerere’s conception of ‘Leadership Ethics’.
“Ethics is the heart of good leadership”, so the relevant books of authority say. Those of us who had the good fortune of working very close to Mwalimu Nyerere, and thus got the opportunity to observe his unique leadership endowments, can readily testify to the fact that he held a very strong stance on this matter of ‘leadership ethics’; and throughout the entire period of his leadership, Mwalimu Nyere strictly adhered to the “ethics doctrine”; which is one of his legacies that ought to be emulated.
Some of our readers may have read my book titled “Uongozi na Utawala wa Mwalimu Julius Nerere” (Nyambari Nyangwine Publishers, Dar es Salaam, 2012); wherein I described, in pretty great detail, the life and work of this unique leader. I was able to do so, simply because I had the good fortune of working closely with him, in a variety of top-notch public service positions to which he appointed me from time to time, during his leadership period as President of the United Republic. That gave me the opportunity, and advantage, of being able to observe his ways of doing things, plus his unique personal endowments; which, I humbly submit, all public leaders should endeavor to emulate.
I have always penned special commemorative articles around this time in October of every year, hence this presentation is just a continuation of that habit; which is being done in the spirit of the inspiring statement which says that “praising what is lost, makes the remembrance dearer”. This is to be found in that famous English Playwright William Shakespeare’s Play titled “All’s well that ends well” (Act v, scene iii). And indeed, upon his death twenty four years ago this month, our nation truly lost Mwalimu Julius Nyerere. These presentations also seek to praise Mwalimu Nyerere for what he did for our country and our nation. They will, hopefully, “make his remembrance dearer”;
What Nyerere did for our nation.
This is the twenty-fourth anniversary of Mwalimu Nyerere’s death. In the life of human beings this is a long period of time; for it represents a whole generation period. We therefore now have a new generation of Tanzanians, which is entitled to know the history of where we came from; and, in particular, about his successful endeavours in laying the firm foundations for the subsequent management and socio-economic growth of our nation.
However, looking back now with the advantage of hindsight at Mwalimu Nyerere’s ‘huge basket’ of leadership initiatives and contributions; I can see some of the omissions in the story that is told in my book referred to above. For example, the omission to include samples of his willingness to admit, and the readiness to correct, the mistakes that he had made in implementing his administrative decision-making functions. This was the relatively minor administrative mistake that he made in deciding on the location of the district headquarters of the newly created Serengeti District.
The President is empowered, by law and at is discretion, to establish new administrative units that are designated as ‘Regions’ and ‘Districts’, as he may consider appropriate. On this particular occasion, President Nyerere had decided to establish a new district in Mara Region, to be named ‘Serengeti District’.
On the day of its official inauguration, the President sent his Vice President, Aboud Jumbe, to officiate at that ceremony, which had been organised to be held at Bunda. The residents of that area had generally expected that Bunda to become the headquarters of the proposed new district; but their expectation was suddenly frustrated; when, in his speech to inaugurate the new District, Vice President Aboud Jumbe (obviously on instructions from President Nyerere), announced that the headquarters of the new district will be located at Mugumu. This announcement not only disappointed, but also annoyed the huge audience which had attended the event; as they all immediately walked away in a clear demonstration of protest.
Fortunately, President Nyerere correctly interpreted this protest action as a message to him, that he had made a mistake in locating the district headquarters at Mugumu; thus, he quickly decided to correct that mistake by establishing another new ‘Bunda district’, with headquarters at Bunda.
Those of our readers who are followers of the Christian faith, will easily remember the Biblical story when the Jewish ruler Pontio Pilato obstinately refused to change his inscription of “Jesus Christ king of the Jews”. Obviously, President Nyerere did not have Pontio Pilato’s type of obstinacy.
Another omission in my book referred to above, is in relation to Mwalimu Nyerere’s achievements in laying the foundations for effective intra-party ‘conflict resolution’ mechanisms. This omission was partly due to the fact that is because that the main purpose of that book was book was to tell the story of Nyerere’s leadership and management initiatives and activities, in the country’s government. Consequently, his initiatives in respect of the ruling political party, had to be omitted. That missing story is now told briefly in the paragraphs which follow below. It is in relation to the initiative to introduce what are known as ‘party membership pledges’
The membership pledges.
When TANU was founded in 1954, with Mwalimu Nyerere as its founder President; his first task was to prepare a draft of the new party’s constitution. As this was the first ever political party to be formed in this part of the world, there was, practically, no local experience to guide the undertaking such a task; hence, Mwalimu Nyerere later revealed that he sought assistance from his political friend, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, who obliged by sending a copy of the constitution of his own political party, the Convention Peoples’ Party (CPP); and further that he borrowed the CPP’s party structure in crafting TANU’s structure TANU’s structure (which was subsequently adopted also as CCM’s structure); but that he added his own initiatives, which are the ‘membership pledges’ that now appear as Appendix ‘A’ of the CCM constitution, listed as “Ahadi za Mwanachama”.
Looked at more closely, these nine provisions actually constitute the beliefs, and principles, that should govern the life of any upright person, for each of them is a declaration of personal commitment to certain basic principles, which are the following as follows:-
Item 1 is a commitment to the belief in the equality of all human beings.
Item 2 is a pledge to faithfully serve the country and its people.
Item 3 is a pledge to participate in the fight against poverty, ignorance and disease.
Item 4 is a pledge to participate in the fight against all forms of corruption.
Item 5 is a commitment to the principle that leadership positions are a form of if a surety, which must not be used for private personal gains.
Item 6 is a pledge to endeavour to advance yourself educationally to the maximum of your ability.
Item 7 is a pledge to cooperate with fellow citizens in all community efforts aimed at achieving sustained development of our country.
Item 8 is a pledge to always say the truth, and nothing but the truth.
The final item 9 is a commitment to be a faithful and devoted member of the party.
These were the ‘ethical foundations’ that were firmly laid by the founding father of our nation, and, as already suggested above, should govern the life every patriotic citizen of our country.
I should mention also that Mwalimu Nyerere himsefl actually played his part in this respect, by truly ‘walking his talk’. For, immediately after he had completed the task of achieving the country’s independence; he reminded his colleagues in the country’s leadership about the need to implement these principles; when he said the following:- “During the struggle for independence, TANU called on the colonial government to observe the fundamental principle of human equality. Our people now expect that their new leaders will observe this cardinal principle. We also called for the granting of equal opportunities to all citizens. Now that we are in power, our people also reasonably expect to see this call being fully enforced and practiced” .
Nyerere’s practical re-statement of these principles.
In February 1967, when he was writing that major ‘policy document’ known as the “Arusha Declaration”, President Nyerere took that opportunity to re-state these principles. The document’s opening paragraph is a recitation of the humiliating colonial experience, which was distinctly marked by the deliberate disregard for the fundamental principle of the ‘equality of all human beings’; and the associated right of every individual to dignity and respect.
I therefore wish to suggest, that in our regular annual discussions that are normally held in remembrance of the departed founder-leader of our nation, we should also focus attention on his three most outstanding accomplishments; namely:-
(i) His unflinching support for the liberation of countries in the Central and Southern Africa Regions from colonialism.
(ii) His special achievement in laying firm foundations for our country’s unity, which we continue to enjoy right up to this day; as well as the foundations for the socio-economic development of our country and its people.
(iii) His achievement in introducing the important concept of ‘Leadership Ethics’. More detailed information about these matters is given in the paragraphs that follow below.
(i) The ‘liberation struggle project.
During the initial period, which covered the first few years of leadership following the country’s attainment of independence; the struggle against colonialism was the dominant political agenda for Africa.
Mwalimu Nyerere himself was of the settled view, that ‘colonialism was a violation of the human right to self-determination’; and vowed to join the struggle for its elimination.
Thus, upon taking office as President of Tanganyika on 9th December, 1962, he made a pledge to participate “fully and actively” in the efforts for the liberation of all the countries of Africa from colonialism; which he faithfully did, as best he could under the circumstances; particularly, his generosity in hosting many of the liberation parties who established their camps in this country for the training of their freedom fighters; with the associated danger of our country being attacked by the said colonialists, on the pretext of pursuing their enemies, the freedom fighters.
(ii) Laying the foundations for the country’s unity and peace.
Mwalimu Nyerere’s achievement in laying the foundations for our enduring national unity among people of diverse tribal groupings, with each such group having their own tribal Chief to whom they owed allegiance; is perhaps his most widely acknowledged achievement and legacy.
As confirmed by examples from other African countries, tribalism can be a major hindrance to the political progress of the affected country. For example, available records show that the political parties that spearheaded the independence struggle in Nigeria, Kenya, and in Uganda; were largely formed along tribal lines. Naturally, such divisions were a clear hindrance to unity, that was so important for the success of the struggle for independence.
The Nyerere’s conception of ‘Leadership Ethics’.
“Ethics is the heart of good leadership”, so the relevant books of authority say. Those of us who had the good fortune of working very close to Mwalimu Nyerere, and thus got the opportunity to observe his unique leadership endowments, can readily testify to the fact that he held a very strong stance on this matter of ‘leadership ethics’; and throughout the entire period of his leadership, Mwalimu Nyere strictly adhered to the “ethics doctrine”; which is one of his legacies that ought to be emulated.
Some of our readers may have read my book titled “Uongozi na Utawala wa Mwalimu Julius Nerere” (Nyambari Nyangwine Publishers, Dar es Salaam, 2012); wherein I described, in pretty great detail, the life and work of this unique leader. I was able to do so, simply because I had the good fortune of working closely with him, in a variety of top-notch public service positions to which he appointed me from time to time, during his leadership period as President of the United Republic. That gave me the opportunity, and advantage, of being able to observe his ways of doing things, plus his unique personal endowments; which, I humbly submit, all public leaders should endeavor to emulate.
piomsekwa@gmail.com / 0754767576
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