Introduction

Tanzania under Mwalimu Nyerere: Reflections on an African Statesman

Author: Godfrey Mwakikagile

Paperback: 220 pages

Publisher: New Africa Press (28 November 2006)

ISBN-10: 0980253497

ISBN-13: 978-0980253498

Introduction

MANY PEOPLE have written about former President Julius Nyerere since his death. He has been universally acclaimed by his admirers and critics for his personal integrity and selfless devotion, and has been equally condemned for his "disastrous" economic policies.

I hope to strike a medium between the two. As a Tanzanian myself, it may be difficult to make an objective appraisal of his successes and failures. But that is what I have attempted to do in this book. Whether I have succeeded or not, is not for me to say. It is for the readers to decide.

Mwalimu, as he was and still is affectionately called, died when I was out of the country. His death was a shock to me and I am sure to many others in and outside Tanzania because of the type of leader he was. I saw him for the first time in the late 1950s when he was campaigning for independence and he left an indelible mark on me. I was under ten years old then, but I never forgot the day I first saw him, as I explain in the book.

As a mere mortal among mortals, he made mistakes like the rest of us. And he admitted his mistakes unlike most leaders. I discuss this in my book.

He was also unique among leaders in many fundamental respects, a subject I also address in this work.

But my focus is not just on what type of leader he was, but on what kind of policies he pursued especially in the domestic arena which was also his main theatre of operation; although none of this diminished his stature as one of the giants among leaders in history.

In spite of his lofty status, he remained what he was: of humble origin and a peasant at heart, at home with the masses in the villages in the rural areas unlike most leaders. His formidable intellect was equally acknowledged by friends and foes alike.

Why a leader of such high moral integrity and extraordinary intelligence could pursue "wrong" economic policies has baffled his critics, although the answer is very simple. They have never asked why he did what he did and under what circumstances. Professor Ali Mazrui described Nyerere as the most intellectual of the East African presidents, and one of the two most intellectual presidents Africa has ever produced; the other one being Leopold Sedar Senghor.

An admirer of Nyerere as an intellectual, and also his critic, Mazrui has attempted to explain why Nyerere pursued some of the policies he did; so have others.

It is a subject I also address in this work, complemented by appraisals from some of the people who understood his policies more than most of his critics did, in order to put everything in its proper perspective for a full understanding of Mwalimu.

Those amongst us who admired him, or disagreed with him, would be better advised to look at what he did without preconceived notions, remembering that Mwalimu was a mere mortal with frailties like the rest of us who admitted his mistakes but who also did his best.